The word arrives even before dry land: "Bula!" Called out from the dock by musicians in flowered shirts, echoed by every shopkeeper and every driver, this Fijian greeting sets the tone for a port call where kindness is not a polite formality but a way of life. The Fijian archipelago has more than three hundred islands, but it is here, on the west coast of the largest of them, that the country's tourism heart beats: Port Denarau serves as the gateway to Nadi, the inland valleys and the reefs offshore.

The marina, gateway to Viti Levu

Depending on their size, ships anchor offshore and bring their passengers ashore by tender to Denarau Marina, the heart of a low-lying island linked to Viti Levu by a bridge. Around the pontoons cluster shops, restaurants and excursion counters, while guitar trios play one Pacific melody after another in the shade of the banyans. The place is convenient and lively, but it tells only a small part of the Fijian story: the country's true face begins as soon as you leave it behind.

Nadi, between temple and market

About twenty minutes away by road, Nadi lines up its shops along a lively main street where Fijian and Indian influences mingle. At the southern entrance to town, the Sri Siva Subramaniya Temple raises its towers painted with multicoloured deities; it is billed as the largest Hindu temple in the Southern Hemisphere, a testament to the Indo-Fijian community that arrived in the days of the sugar cane plantations. The municipal market is then worth a stop: pyramids of papayas, kava roots and mountains of spices make up a fragrant scene, under the amused gaze of the market women. A few Fijian dollars are enough to leave with your arms full of tree-ripened fruit.

The Sabeto Valley, gardens and mud baths

At the foot of a range of hills whose silhouette evokes a reclining giant, the Garden of the Sleeping Giant is home to thousands of orchids originally collected by the actor Raymond Burr. Wooden boardwalks, water lily ponds and dense forest make for a peaceful walk, about twenty-five minutes from Denarau. Nearby, the Sabeto mud pools offer a joyful ritual: you coat yourself in clay, dry off in the sun, then rinse off in hot springs while laughing with the village guides. Allow half a day to combine the garden and the pools, transportation included, which still leaves time for the beach in the late afternoon.

The islands from the marina

The marina is also the departure point for archipelagos that make sailors around the world dream:

• the Mamanuca Islands, the closest, with their sandbars and reefs ideal for snorkelling;
• day cruises to a coral islet, with lunch and snorkelling gear included;
• the Yasawas, farther away and wilder, best kept for the longest port calls.

The lagoon changes colour with every cloud, shifting from turquoise to inky blue, and the catamaran ride becomes an attraction in itself, dolphins included when the sea is willing to cooperate.

Before heading back on board

Back at the pontoons, treat yourself to an ice-cold coconut facing the masts of the sailboats, or join a brief kava ceremony, an earthy-tasting root infusion shared with a clap of the hands. The sun sets quickly at these latitudes; it then sets the hills of Viti Levu ablaze as the crews prepare for departure. Many passengers walk back up the gangway wearing a shell necklace and certain they have met one of the most welcoming peoples in the Pacific. "Vinaka," thank you, people say here: the word stays in your memory long after the islands have disappeared over the horizon.