Best of both worlds
If sleeping in a dorm with strangers snoring all night is no longer something you wish to endure, perhaps it's time to admit that your backpacker days are numbered. You still want care-free days of river-rafting, visiting villages, buying local snacks, learning about the culture and meeting people, but you also need your own room with fluffy towels, a king-size bed and designer toiletries at the end of each day? Then "flashpacking" is for you. An incongruous mix of slumming it and luxury; of adventurous travel with those on a budget by day and sedate dining and sleeping with the better off by night.
Fiji is the perfect place to be a flashpacker. The tropical archipelago is the favourite destination for many a seasoned traveller with its idyllic beaches on rugged islands and tiny atolls, its mountainous rainforest, multicoloured reefs and equally colourful cultures. Generous hospitality is part of the culture and friendly Fijians are arguably among the best hosts in the world.
As a tourist, most of the Fijians you meet are likely to be indigenous Melanesians and Polynesians, but almost half the country's population is of Indian origin. Friction between the two communities has boiled over into three coups since independence in 1970. Ongoing racial tension is the sad reality behind the otherwise lively bonhomie.
Long-known for exclusive luxury resorts, Fiji suffered a major downturn in upmarket arrivals when the most recent coup shook the country in May 2000. It was backpackers who blazed the trail to return and now that sector is one of the fastest growing, with many new tours available for the young at heart. If you want to see more of the place than the edge of your infinity pool, joining one of these tours could be the way to go.
Feejee Experience is a hop-on, hop-off bus service which tours the main island of Viti Levu and is owned by the same people who run Oz Experience and Kiwi Experience, which explains the emphasis on cultural tours and adrenaline-pumping activities included as part of each day's journey.
Come evening, most passengers bundle out of the aged but air-conditioned vehicle, retrieve their rucksacks from the luggage compartment and bunk down in a hostel dorm. But it doesn't have to be so. The bus will also take you and your wheelie suitcase to a nearby five-star hotel for a quiet and cool night between crisp, white cotton sheets before you rejoin the melee the next day.
While other passengers had been picked up from cheap hostels , I was collected from the Sheraton Royal, a short drive out of the town of Nadi. My large bedroom was tastefully decorated with traditional Fijian art, but the bathroom, with two hand-basins and power shower, was all chic first world. I sat on the balcony over the beach sipping Australian wine from my mini-bar. The large pool had a swim-up bar. At night, men in grass skirts lit flaming torches along the palm-lined beach.
The 33-seater Feejee Experience bus which collected me from the airy hotel foyer had torn vinyl seats. Rock and rap were blaring from the sound system. Most of the other passengers were in their 20s, but there were a handful in their 30s and 40s. I was the last pick-up for this trip - one of four weekly departures which follow a four-day circuit, on tarmac and unsealed roads, around the 146 mile by 106 mile island of Viti Levu, where some 70% of the population live. Viti Levu has a "dry" western side, where the sugar cane industry is based and there are many small island resorts. The eastern side is wetter and less visited by tourists. The capital, Suva, is here - a scruffily endearing place, within a picturesque, mountainous bay.
"Fiji Time" is a factor to bear in mind when on such a trip. Each day seemed to incorporate slack time and yet another stop at an ATM - for while backpackers may have a limited daily budget, many travel for months on end and are rich in terms of time.
As a flashpacker, I wanted to (comfortably) see as much as I could in a limited time, but despite the occasional wasted hour I saw more with Feejee Experience than I would have if I'd tried to do the itinerary by public transport.
During four days of travelling, we visited beaches and local markets, kayaked across clear blue seas to a small island, threw ourselves down steep sand dunes on boogie boards, swam under a rainforest waterfall and swung from a rope into a deep rock-pool. We floated down a wide, muddy river on rafts made of lashed bamboo and would have floated down another on inner-tubes after trekking for three hours to get there, but the wet-season weather was against us.
One highlight was the first day's village visit. After a stop at the impressively sandy and unspoilt sweep of Natadola beach (which will soon be out of bounds when another new resort is built), we wrapped our sulus (a Fijian version of a sarong) around us in preparation to enter the nearby village. Kids came running towards the bus and paired off with us, taking us by the hand and leading the way towards the one thatched building in the village - a large bure. We removed our shoes to enter and sat cross-legged on pandanus mats. Local men were already seated when we entered. Next to one was a circular wooden bowl with four short legs. This was full of a muddy-brown liquid called kava, the local narcotic brew. This was our anthropological moment.
That night, I relaxed at the Warwick Fiji, a comfortable hotel on the beach where the large, firm bed and sandy-floored seafood restaurant on a small islet under the stars were a welcome relief from a day of muddy village paths, equally muddy-looking drinks, pit toilets and the scruffy bus. There were two swimming pools, wooden deck chairs and loungers, attentive staff, restaurants overlooking the sea and a long, sandy bay. (My fellow bus passengers spent the night at a pleasant enough hostel, four to a room, and the dorms had fans and even air-conditioning. It was not on the beach, though there was a swimming pool which needed a good clean.)
I was the only flashpacker in the group. I worried that when my shiny suitcase and I rejoined the bus in the mornings, the others would shun me for being precious. But thankfully not. Gone are the days of hair-shirt suffering on world travels, where "real travellers" stoically boast about staying in the cheapest accommodation possible.
I like adventure and group travel, I really do. It's just I'd rather the adventure (and the group) didn't last through the night while I'm kept awake by cheap mattresses, stultifying heat and unfathomable sounds emanating from strangers in my bedroom. I'm proud to be a flashpacker.
The bus stops here
Canada: Moose Travel Network
Where does it go? The West Pass (£199) offers goes from Vancouver to Banff and Whistler and back. The East Pass covers Quebec, Montreal and Toronto (£185).
Hop on or tour? Fully flexible.
Can I avoid the dorm? You fix accommodation yourself using on-board information files. A range of options is available.
· moosenetwork.com.
Australia/New Zealand: The Oz and Kiwi Experiences
Where does it go? The Experiences cover most of Australia and all of New Zealand. The ever popular Cairns to Sydney 'Cobber' pass costs from £180.
Hop on or tour? Main routes fully flexible; valid 12 months.
Can I avoid the dorm? Your guide can help, but there's not much choice in more out-of-the-way places.
· ozexperience.com.
Turkey: The Fez Bus
Where does it go? A three-week circular tour from Istanbul taking in Gallipoli, the coast and Cappadocia from £119. Do a short section if you've less time.
Hop on or tour? Yes, but fixed tours are also available.
Can I avoid the dorm? Fixed tours include accommodation - you can choose the class of hotel.
· fezbus.com.
Russia: The Beetroot Bus
Where does it go? A nine-day trip between Moscow and St Petersburg, including accommodation and breakfast for £399.
Hop on or tour? Fixed date tours - visa regulations restrict changes to arrival and departure dates.
Can I avoid the dorm? 'Cream of Beetroot' is the same trip with three-star accommodation for £549.
· beetroot.org.
South Africa: The Baz Bus
Where does it go? Travels the coast from Cape Town to Durban then inland to Johannesburg from £155. You can also take in Swaziland and the Kruger game park.
Hop on or tour? Fully flexible.
Can I avoid the dorm? You fix accommodation yourself using on-board information files.
· bazbus.com.
Jeremy Head
Way to go
Getting there: The Flight Centre (0870 4990042, flightcentre.co.uk) offers return flights to Fiji from £639 with Air New Zealand via LA, or from £640 with Korean Airlines via Seoul. Qantas (08457 747767, qantas.co.uk) flies London-Sydney from £680; Sydney-Fiji for £342 rtn inc tax.
Getting around: Feejee Experience's 'Hula Loop' (+672 0097, feejeeexperience.com) around Viti Levu starts from £110, touring and activities only.
Where to stay: Sheraton Royal (+ 675 0000, starwood.com) from £124 per room B&B. Warwick Fiji (+653 0555, warwickfiji.com) from £83 per room.
Further information: bulafiji.com.
Country code: 00 679.
Flight time: Heathrow Los Angeles 12hrs, Los Angeles-Fiji 4hrs.
Time difference: + 11hrs.
Currency: £1 = 3.31 Fiji dollars.