5 Dreamy Overwater Bungalows in Fiji (and Fiji Bures)
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Are you wondering where to stay in Fiji?
Most visitors prefer to bed down in Fijian bures – traditional palm-roofed bungalows – rather than in a typical hotel.
The ultimate Polynesian fantasy? A stay in an overwater bungalow.
Call them what you will. Fiji huts on water. Fiji water bungalows. Fiji overwater villas. They’re all dreamy!
But only five resorts offer accommodation on the water. So if you want to bed down in one of them, make sure you book well in advance!
Our Fiji overwater pick
Where we stayed
Likuliku Lagoon Resort (5-star) – Adults-only, reef-set bures with glass floors and next-level snorkeling. (Read why we loved it.)
👉 See all five overwater options in Fiji.
Pro tip
After your international flight, break up the journey with a couple of nights at the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort – before transferring by boat or helicopter to your overwater resort.
About Fijian bures
We’re overwater bungalow junkies.
We’ve stayed in overwater bungalows in Bora Bora and in Caribbean huts over the water, along with an overwater bungalow in Panama (at Punta Caracol Acqua Lodge).
And it was just as wonderful to stay at one of the top resorts in Fiji with overwater bungalows. (We’ll get to it in a jiff.)
But first, let’s talk about why Fijian bures are perfectly suited to the local weather – and why you’ll love staying in one over the water.
The ancient Fijians were on to something with their bures.
It makes you wonder…
Did they ever imagine these simple village homes would inspire today’s luxury resorts in Fiji – beautifully reimagined for modern travelers?
Bures or bungalows in Fiji aren’t just prettier and roomier than standard hotel rooms. They’re cleverly built to beat the heat too, in an energy-efficient way.
Typically spaced well apart for privacy, resort bures are designed with plenty of louvered windows to catch the ocean breezes. Ceilings also often soar as high as 20 feet to help you stay cool inside.
In the cooler winter months (July and August), you can even sleep comfortably in a bure without air-conditioning.
But don’t worry. If you like your luxury (like we do!), most 5-star Fiji resorts come with air-conditioning.
Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort
Consider the Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort, Fiji’s first luxury digs.
Located on the main island of Viti Levu, we found it lovely to stay here for a few days to get over jet lag after our long international flight.
(The resort is about a 45-minute to one-hour’s drive from the Nadi International Airport.)
The Outrigger’s most popular room type is the traditional bure.
There are 47 bures (including enormous two-bedroom family digs) scattered about the resort’s plantation gardens and along the beach, in addition to 207 hotel rooms.
Not only are the bure ceilings high, they’re beautifully decorated too.
Look up at the vaulted ceiling, which is lined with tapa cloth, hand-made from local mulberry bark and painted with traditional Fijian designs.
You’ll see it’s both artistic and functional.
Outrigger Fiji Resort
Ancient Fijian villages with bures
Early villages in Fiji (a nation of 322 islands) were laid out according to rigid traditional rules.
In pre-Christian Fiji, the tallest bure served as the temple of ancestor worship (the bure kalou).
The bure kalou at most of Fiji’s modern island resorts also takes on a communal use, but usually as a dining room, lounge and social center.
The second-tallest bure was the chief’s home, built on an elevated platform in the center of the village to honor his rank.
Family bures fanned out from here, their foundations built progressively lower to the ground as the outer limits of the village were reached – the lower your status, the smaller in height and further away your bure was.
The 5 Fiji resorts with overwater bungalows
But all good designs can be improved upon.
And so in a contemporary twist, five resorts have upped the bure’s wow factor by suspending some of their bungalows over water.
1) Likuliku Lagoon Resort
Likuliku’s overwater bungalows
The adults-only Likuliku Lagoon Resort built ten of its 45 thatch roof bures over a colorful coral reef. (Huge ecological studies were done first to ensure the bures could be safely built over the water with little impact to the environment.)
With glass floors, they offer a truly novel experience.
While nibbling on your afternoon delivery of canapés, you can peer down through two large glass panels in the polished hardwood floor of your living room – and watch lime-and-violet parrotfish and even baby reef sharks swimming below.
Another long looking glass behind the his-and-hers bathroom sinks provides you with an additional colorful marine show while brushing your teeth.
Best of all?
As noted by Likuliku Lagoon Resort reviews, the key attraction to these particular overwater bures in Fiji is climbing down the steps from the deck, directly into the pristine lagoon, to snorkel along the coral reef.
One day, we pretty well spent the whole day snorkeling in the calm waters – just coming up to shower for a meal, before dipping down underwater again.
The snorkeling really was that fabulous!
Add in modern creature comforts like air conditioning, wireless internet access and flat screen TV’s – and you have the recipe for seriously ultra-luxe overwater sanctuaries.
No doubt the ancient Fijians would be proud.
Likuliku’s bures on the beach
If you can’t stay in an overwater bure, don’t fret. Likiliku Lagoon’s other 35 beachfront bures are pretty special too. Each features an outdoor shower.
And if you book a higher-category deluxe beachfront bure, you’ll also get a private plunge pool.
2) Koro Sun Resort Fiji
Set on a beautiful coral-filled bay, with lush rainforest as a backdrop, Koro Sun Resort Fiji offers an off-the-beaten-path escape on the less-visited island of Vanua Levu.
Of its 50 air-conditioned rooms, eight (called Edgewater bures) are partially over the water in the resort’s adults-only area.
Each porch has a private beach area with a ladder offering direct access into the lagoon.
There are also seven new Edgewater Pool bures (580 square feet in size).
They have private plunge pools and ladders leading down from their private decks into the water.
A tandem kayak is tied to your deck so you can paddle around the lagoon.
What to do in Fiji at the Koro Sun?
Complimentary use of bicycles is included in your stay to get around and explore the island.
The resort’s Rainforest Spa offers treatments ranging from Polynesian massages to papaya facials to banana-leaf body wraps.
If you’re a scuba diver, you’ll want to book a day trip to the Namena Marine Reserve. Find world-class diving there just off the coast of Vanua Levu.
Bottom line? A 4-star resort, Koro Sun offers relatively affordable Fiji overwater bungalows.
Fiji Koro Sun Resort
- Location: Vanua Levu
- Number of overwater bures: 15
- More information: See the resort’s website
- To book: You may find lower rates on Booking.com
3) Fiji Marriott Resort Momi Bay
You don’t even have to leave the main island to stay in an overwater Fiji bungalow.
The Fiji Marriott Momi Bay is located on the western coast of Viti Levu. (Like the Outrigger resort above, it’s about a 45-minute to one-hour’s drive from the Nadi airport.)
And 22 of its 200 rooms are over-the-water villas (for adults only).
Minimalist in décor, each of these light and bright lagoon bures sport a king-size bed and free-standing bathtub.
While they’re lovely, the water isn’t as inviting as what you find in the further-away outer islands. And there’s no coral or fish to see either.
But the resort compensates with two pools, one an adults-only pool.
And prices for the Marriott’s overwater bungalows aren’t as high as Likuliku Lagoon’s rates.
4) Musket Cove Island Resort
Okay, this resort doesn’t have true over-the-water bungalows in Fiji.
But they come somewhat close to being over-the-water villas.
Six of Musket Cove’s 55 bures perch at the water’s edge of an inland lagoon canal (called “lagoon bures”).
Your private deck extends out into the water, giving you that feeling of being over the water.
Family-friendly (except for the lagoon and beachfront bures, which are adults-only), the 4-star Musket Cove Island Resort is on the same island as Likuliku Lagoon Resort.
It fronts a shallow beach that is swimmable, except at low tide, when the water rolls out.
Kayaking and stand-up paddleboards are free, as are daily snorkeling trips.
A general store by the lobby is a hit – you can buy deli items, fresh baked goods, drinks and snacks. Nibble when you want and cut down on restaurant costs too!
Musket Cove Island Resort
- Location: Malolo Island (Mamanuca Islands)
- Number of overwater bures: 6
- More information: See the resort’s website
- To book: You may find lower rates on Booking.com
5) COMO Laucala Island
Talk about exclusive! COMO Laucala Island resort is tucked away in an Eden-like paradise on a private island, with fly-in access only.
It consists of 25 villas or “residences” – each with their own private pool.
The enormous villas (minimum size 10,000 square feet) come with all the mod cons too.
You’re totally hidden away in a remote setting in the South Pacific. Yet you’ll find huge plasma TVs, a bar in your villa stocked with chilled champagne, Bluetooth sound systems and more.
The resort even has an 18-hole golf course and spa, along with a 240-acre farm for supplying much of the food you eat at the three restaurants.
You’ll want for nothing.
Except maybe the one overwater bungalow.
This is a true overwater villa in Fiji. We’re talking over-the-top luxury.
The Wai Residence is a split-level two-bedroom villa perched above an emerald lagoon.
Its private pool is carved out of a rock at one end of the villa. And you have a butler to cater to your every whim.
It’s the perfect place for the ultimate overwater experience.
COMO Laucala Island
- Location: Laucala Island
- Number of overwater bures: Only one
- More information: See the website
- Other reviews: See TripAdvisor
That’s our guide on the best overwater bungalows in Fiji
Which of these is calling out to you?
And let us know if you’ve stayed at any of these. You can share your thoughts in the Comments below.
Discover more overwater bungalows around the world
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→ Tours: For the best local food, walking and other guided tours, plus skip-the-line tickets to attractions, check out Viator (a TripAdvisor company) and GetYourGuide.
→ Car rental: Renting a car can be a great way to explore off the beaten path. Discover Cars searches car rental companies for the lowest rates.
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Photo credits: 8, 9, 12, 14, 16, 17, 20 © Janice and George Mucalov, SandInMySuitcase | Photos 2, 4 Fiji Marriott | Remaining photos courtesy the respective Fiji resorts
About the authors
Very envious would love to visit one day, it looks very beautiful! Love your photos as always.
We loved Fiji, especially the smaller islands – great scuba diving, beaching and making like Robinson Crusoe (the luxury version :-). Hope you get to visit…
Wow! This place looks stunning. I love all of the photos, but especially the one of the boy in the tree, that’s a great shot :)
Happy Travels!
That little boy was a natural model! Thanks for commenting…
We stayed in an over water bungalow in the Maldives and I absolutely loved it! Listening to the water underneath you at night and being able to swim right off your deck…heaven!
Over-water bungalows are quite special, aren’t they! Now the Maldives is a destination we’d luv to visit one day… And stay in an over-water bungalow, of course :-).
Have to agree with you on the over water bures. They look wonderful And that’s a cracking shot of the boy in the tree – gorgeous!
The over-water bures were so handy. We spent all our time in the water snorkeling over the reef – so we’d snorkel for a bit, then climb up the ladder to our bure (rinsing off with the fresh-water shower on the deck), read or get some sun or eat, then climb back down into the water for more snorkeling time. It was quite heavenly…
What lovely places to stay!
We loved the over-water bures at LikuLiku! We’ve now stayed in overwater bures on Bora Bora too (also special).