A Solo Stay at Turtle Island, Fiji’s Romantic Couples-Only Resort

Turtle Island. Tanveer Badal

As I stood on the dock in Nadi, staring at the tiny hopper plane that I was about to board, I couldn’t help but wonder if I’d made a huge mistake by coming to Fiji. The plane looked straight out of the ‘60s, and when I reluctantly entered the cockpit, my eyes nearly popped out of my head at the hundreds of buttons, dials and other thingamajigs that looked way too outdated to still be in operation. The idea of visiting a couples resort solo already had me on edge, and to top things off, I was panicking over the wifi situation, which I had learned was basically non-existent across most of the resort. Despite being in one of the most serene tropical paradises, I was consumed with stress.

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Before I knew it, my plane was taking off. For the first 10 minutes, I was fully convinced that we were going to drop out of the sky. I kept my eyes closed as we ascended into the air, and even texted a few friends asking them to please take care of my dear cat Daisy if I wasn’t to return. However, once we leveled out, I was awestruck as I looked down at the Listerine-colored waters, admiring the various islands and coral gardens from above. I had never seen anything quite like this, and after a short half-hour flight, we began our descent toward Turtle Island.

As the rickety plane door slid open, I saw the magical island that awaited. Two Fijian men in traditional warrior garb literally picked me up and placed me on their shoulders, carrying me through the crystal-clear water until I was gently placed on some of the whitest sand I’d ever seen. Between the natural beauty and being physically carried around, to say that I was experiencing sensory overload would be an understatement. Then, the singing started. I looked up to find about 15 different staff members clapping and smiling from ear to ear. One by one, they greeted me with an embrace. I’m not the touchiest person, but it was a heartwarming welcome, and felt surprisingly genuine. Once I got my bearings and remembered that I was still on planet Earth, I was........

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