Ten Days in the Mamanucas and Yasawas

Days one and two, Denarau into the Mamanucas. Board at Port Denarau an hour after wheels-down at Nadi. A short first leg to Musket Cove to find sea legs, then Monuriki, the Cast Away island, with its ridgeline walk and empty leeward beach.

Day three, surf or spa. Anchored within tender reach of Cloudbreak and Namotu Left, the world-class waves are optional; Cloud 9's floating pizza deck is the softer landing. The two halves of the party need never compromise.

Days four and five, into the Yasawas. North past Waya's dramatic ridgelines to the Blue Lagoon: swimming caves at Sawa-i-Lau, sand cays that exist only at low tide, and the first village sevusevu, kava presented, the bay opened to you. It is not theatre; it is how this water works.

The sevusevu is not a show for visitors. It is the courtesy that opens the bay, and the door to the Fiji charter money cannot otherwise buy.

Days six and seven, the far north. The upper Yasawas are the emptiest water of the trip: manta rays in the channels between May and October, reef walls that drop into indigo, beaches without a footprint. This is what the crossing bought.

Days eight and nine, south with the trades. A long lazy run back down the chain, collecting the anchorages the weather rationed on the way up, with a last Mamanucas sunset off Mana or Malolo.

Day ten, Denarau. Alongside by mid-morning, airport in twenty minutes, and the argument about coming back next season already under way.

Impulsive holds Fijian water through the dry season, the winter window and the crossing itself are covered in the case for Fiji. The season books early; the enquiry desk is where it starts.