Savusavu
The hot springs across from the Hot Springs Hotel reach close to 100 degrees Celsius, and locals have been using them to cook taro and breadfruit for centuries. That detail tells you something about Savusavu: things here have a long, practical life before they acquire any official status. The Nakama springs only became a designated tourist attraction in August 2022, after a F$75,000 refurbishment — but the ground was already doing what it always did.
Savusavu sits on Vanua Levu, Fiji's second island, small enough that the wharf doubles as a social occasion. Yachts from a dozen countries tie up there, and a community of expats from the US, Australia, New Zealand and Europe has settled quietly alongside the local population of a few thousand.
💛 What travellers fall for
People who come back tend to mention the same few things: the dawn arrival by overnight ferry from Suva, watching the hills take shape out of the dark; the old Copra Shed Marina, where the Savusavu Yacht Club now operates inside a 19th-century building that still smells faintly of its former life; and the local market, worth an early morning.
Deals in Savusavu
Book directly at the providerHow Savusavu came to be
Savusavu built its early economy on sandalwood, beche-de-mer and copra — the trading commodities that drew ships to Fiji's outer islands throughout the 19th century. The first Roman Catholic mission on Vanua Levu, the Savarekareka chapel, went up around 1870, about ten kilometres north of town. Savusavu was incorporated as a town in 1969 and formally declared one in September 1976.
The copra trade ran long enough to leave a significant mark: a $2 million copra mill opened on 23 August 1985, and the old Copra Shed Marina — built in the 19th century — still stands on the waterfront, renovated in recent years by geologist and local resident Geoff Taylor, now home to the yacht club.
Who and what shaped it
People who shaped it
Landmark buildings
Plan your visit
On the map
When to go
Year-round temperatures hover around 28°C with humidity consistently between 70 and 90 percent, so the air is always warm and close. May through July is the clearest window — cooler, drier, and well clear of the November-to-April wet season, which can bring heavy rain and, in severe years, cyclones like the Category 5 Yasa that struck in December 2020.
Right now
Background & history adapted from Wikipedia (CC BY-SA) · specs from Wikidata (CC0) · weather from Open-Meteo · map data © OpenStreetMap contributors · photos from Wikimedia Commons / Unsplash with per-image credit. No third-party reviews or social posts reproduced.