Lori,
We really lucked out on our trip to Lalati.  We had left a lot of our short trip to chance and things went really smoothly.  We managed to get to Lalati the same day and we had 2 days of diving.  We did just miss a storm that skirted past the islands, which turned the water up a bit – water visibility was a short 20-50 feet.  However, the island was very relaxing.  It is the first time we have stayed in such a place, sterile from the area around it.  It was a bit odd for us – we chose to eat with Jayne and Clint and the other guests at the group table – we enjoy spending time with other people.  Contrary to B&B’s we’ve stayed at in the US, Jayne and Clint sat with us and had all the servers work diligently around us; like a Georgian mansion; that took getting used to.  The Fijian’s are extremely friendly and fun to get to know.  I had a massage from Filo.  Joe the boat master tried a professional bravado, but melted at the idea of a photo with him and the dive master.  The dive master was so very kind when I unlaced the BC strap from the tank to transfer the BC to the other tank – we had a bit of trouble trying to figure out how to get it to go back.  After we figured it out, he was very kind to all my apologies at having caused such trouble.  We did have a 2 hour delay on the flight back to Australia, but better that direction.

Anyway, we had a wonderful time.  It was very relaxing, albeit very sheltered from the actual Fijian culture.  If it is ok, we would love to keep you in our list of people to call for other trips that we might do in your areas of expertise – the Fijian and Hawaiian islands, I presume.  Thanks again! 

Take care,
C. Chabot
Melrose, Massachusetts
Fabulous Fiji Getaway

Aloha Mike:

Want to thank you for a fabulous trip to Fiji.  You were worried we wouldn't like Paradise Taveuni much, but let me tell you it was probably the best vacation week of our 60 year lives.  We landed in Taveuni and were picked up right on time by a wonderful young man who drove us to Paradise over the worst road.  When we finally got to Paradise, we were welcomed by the most wonderful people. We were escorted to our bure and were rewarded with a complimentary foot massage. From there it only gets better.  It turned out, we were the only guests at the resort for the first 3 days.  When other guests arrived our treatment never changed, everyone from the owners, Terry and Alan, to the Fijians that were tending to the grounds were so nice and genuine.  The  diving was fantastic, the food was outstanding, and the service was  unreal.  We did trips to the local village, waterfalls and took part in the weekly traditional feast. I was made Chief, drank a lot of Kava, and danced the evening away. When  we left we felt we were leaving family behind.

Vinaka,
D. & J. Costa
Glendale, California
Fiji Dive Celebration

Melissa,

Sorry for the delayed response.  It was an awesome trip.  I think we really were blessed with Beqa.  It’s definitely a hidden gem.  We were blown away by the beach welcoming.  Sometimes we don’t really mean Aloha but they always seem to mean Bula.  Your staff was right that it was fairly priced and it would appeal to people like us already living in Hawaii.

The amenities were fabulous and the grounds and people are some of the nicest I’ve ever encountered.

Single favorite experience:  Diving and hanging out in an authentic Fijian village, food was also some of the best we’ve ever had…

Thank you for your service (specifically Mark Cardoza's),

Sincerely,

D. & M. Perry
Kailua, Hawaii
Fiji Vacation Getaway

Our trip was amazing! Lalati Resort catered to our every need, we were completely pampered! Everything went very smoothly. We experienced flight problems on the trip home but it was due to late planes and could not have been prevented. Air Pacific got us on a flight with Air New Zealand and they were very accommodating. 

Lalati has excellent food, accommodations and staff! We have absolutely no complaints! The diving was perfect and the diving crew taught us alot of things we did not know. Lalati is the perfect place for quiet relaxation and alone time.

Robin was the best best travel agent we have ever used and we will definitely be calling again for our next vacation!

T. Axelson
Lufkin, Texas
Fijian Getaway

Greetings!

As we’ve booked through McCoy in the past, we knew that every detail would be well thought out for us. Mike Brown is our agent and I take every opportunity to recommend him to friends, forum boards, etc.  Based on our travels to Namale in the past (sans children), Mike was confident that Cousteau would be a great fit for our entire family.  We were hesitant, as the cost was higher than other resorts, etc. As expected, Mike’s suggestion was spot on!  Cousteau was as wonderful as I had hoped…I take that back, it exceeded our expectations.  Rosie’s was perfect, our flights were flawless and the resort….well, it was superb!  It was as luxurious as Namale, the staff were actually more consistently pleasant and the food?  Each morsel was a delight!  It was a perfect way to introduce our favorite place (Fiji) to our children.  I have a feeling that we’ll be back many, many times.

After spending some time on your website, I learned that you can also assist in travel elsewhere.  I plan on contacting Mike soon to start our (parental obligatory) spring trip to Disneyland!  ( :

Thanks again for a wonderful trip, McCoy Travel!

A. VanGoey
Eagle, Colorado
South Pacific Christmas

Bula Lori!

What a fab trip! Vinaka! We fully enjoyed our time in Fiji (Likuliku Lagoon Resort) and thank you for all your help in getting everything so well organized.

We have friends in from Boston and they would like to visit Fiji while here in Australia too.  They have a small window of time to work with and their focus is on scuba diving. What would you recommend? I will cc  her on this so you can work out arrangements with Cindy and her husband Martin. They are looking at about 3-4 days in Fiji.

Kind regards,
C. & B. Ferguson
Australia
Fabulous Fijian Holiday

Cindy -

I'm sooooooooo sorry. I can't tell you what a world wind it has been since I got back from vacation and I just have no excuse for not getting back with you sooner. Please, please forgive me. I will give you a call, but I did want to mention just a few things. First of ALL, it was just amazing! The people, the people the people. You should know that God put us there for much more than a vacation. As you may or may not know, my husband and I also do mission work. We both travel quite a bit with our ministry and little did we know what we were really sent to Fiji for on that island! We spent more time with the people in the villages than ones at the resort. We went to church and we planted a church! Can you believe that! I can't spell all these names right, but we installed a new Pastor and our first member. The food was just amazing. The water, the peace....it was just amazing.

We loved the private dining places and the night I requested was just as planned and beautiful at during the most amazing sunset.

We want to go back again and plan to at least twice next year.

It was great having the day rooms coming and going.

I can do without Kava..lol Not my cup of tea, but we loved the experience.

I would tell anyone and everyone to go here. This was a dream vacation. We had the best time, it was like a honeymoon all over again and I would do it again in heartbeat! We made friends for life and talk to our Fiji family weekly. We LOVED the POINT! But I know we can't afford that stay...lol

I thank you for being such a beautiful person. I thank you because you made this trip effortless and personal. I thank you because I was able to trust you and we didn't have not one problem coming, going, or during our stay.

We plan to travel a few times next year and I would like to use you as often as I can. Please tell me where all you book and you can count on us as customers for life!

PS..I met your driver and for the life of me can't remember his name. We met him on the way back and said he knows you well. He wishes we would have met him coming in and he would have been our guide. So next time we are to ask for him. I think his name is Pontay? Something like that..lol He said you would know. He gets our thumbs up and we enjoyed his company. Next time, we get him the whole trip!

Have a blessed Christmas and lets chat soon!

Blessings
J. Devereaux
Pearland, Texas
Fiji Islands Vacation

Thanks. Lori has been great and I can't tell you what a pleasure it's been working with your company.

All the best,

J. Amodeo
Costa Mesa, California
Fiji Holiday

Ia Orana and Bula Melissa,

We have been very pleased with both of our trips, last year to Fiji and this past month to Bora Bora and Moorea. A big part of that was the wonderful service and assistance we received from Lori. She was very responsive, listened to our concerns, preferences, etc., and delivered on what was promised or agreed upon. Just as an example, we requested POWB # 45 and 426 for the Pearl Resorts in Bora Bora and Moorea, respectively, and we got them. Her insight and advice on must-do excursions and other particulars with regards to the resorts and islands itself was dead-on!

We were very pleased with our accommodations and overall travel experience to both Fiji (Qamea) and French Polynesia. The food and service at Qamea, in particular, was amazing!! And we cannot say enough wonderful things about the genuine warmth and hospitality of the Fijians, and the beauty of their country. In fact, we are planning a trip for next year back to Fiji, with diving in mind…

We look forward to a long and productive relationship with you, Lori, and McCoy Travel.

Maruru and Vinaka Vaka Levu,

LJ & A. Gimenez
Chesterfield, Virginia

Hi,
Well I had a great time at The Garden Island Resort in Fiji the staff were so lovely and the dive masters were awesome so thanks Mark for recommending the place. Also I booked very late like 3 days before I arrived so a huge thanks to Mark who did an amazing job sorting out my reservation and adding a small flight on that i could'nt find on the internet myself.

I would definitely recommend your company to friends and use you again myself someday so everything was wonderful thanks again.

S. Williams
Mount Riverivew, Australia
Fiji Dive Adventure

Hi Lori,
We just got back last night. We had a fantastic trip!
We are definitely going back-the Cousteau was perfect!
The Cousteau was the perfect place for the kids and amazingly was perfect for us too. It felt like a second honeymoon but at the same time, we enjoyed all the family activities of a family vacation. Watching my 3 year old loving snorkeling was something I thought I'd never experience. The Cousteau is so great-even looking at fish just off the pier was an experience. My 19 month old was watching saying "Mommy fish, mommy fish, mommy fish, mommy snake (as an eel swam by)" He even started looking for fish in puddles after the afternoon rain!

Thank you for all your help-everything went like clockwork.
You'll hear from us again on the next trip!
A. Brock-Utne
Kensington, California
Fiji Family Holiday

Dear Melissa/Lori,

Our trip was just FAB. We had a lot of relaxation time as well as great adventures. Met some wonderful people too. We just love FIJI and want to go back as often as possible.

My Dad is doing well. He lives in Suva and is 85. Went into the Peace Corps and just never came home! He was so happy to have us there.

We took the Navua River boat tour this time. I had done this once before but it was my husband's first time. Just so stunning! Went for a swim under a waterfall and ate a sumptuous lunch in the village. Kava ceremony, dancing, etc. Godwin loved it. Took lots of pictures of the waterfalls.

Mango season was on so we ate a lot of them. The papaya was out of this work delectable too. We ate lamb curry, fish in coconut milk, all of the local stuff. Numm!

Our FIJI family (my Dad is married to a Fijian) had a lovo dinner for us on the Sunday. What a feast!  Dad enjoyed that day very much. Even made a little speech about how grateful he was to be part of their family and how much he appreciated their hospitality of his daughter. He got a little teary eyed. Of course Godwin made a speech as well. I just sat and grinned the entire time.

The resort we stayed at, the Hideaway,  was fantastic! Very nice accommodations facing the beach. Air conditioned, king bed, fresh flowers and fruit in the room, hibiscus on the pillow, nice porch to sit out on. Fabulous restaurant and bar! Breakfast buffet included too. Lots of activities to chose from: Coral planting, snorkeling, hobie-cats, canoes, surf boards, beach walks, etc. All inclusive. Great pool with a water slide, massage pavilion, work out room, night club disco each night. Stage entertainment every night. We just loved it! Best of all was a wonderful staff of warm, friendly people.

I read about 3 books while there. Spent a lot of time just relaxing with a book on the lawn facing the beach. Lots of breezy days. I went snorkeling a lot and, Oh my goodness! Just me, the vast variety of fish, coral, sea anemones and the quiet, clear water. Like communing with God. Amazing! 

Thank you for your help and I will be using you in the future,

Michael -

When I get the chance, I'll say more.  But for now... the trip was GREAT!!!  SPECTACULAR!!! AND MOST MEMORABLE!!

R. Cunningham
Lumberton, New Jersey
Kea  Lani Adventure

Robin and Melissa,

We had a wonderful trip.  Rosie's was there to greet us and direct us to their office for our vouchers. 

Navutu Stars was very nice and the staff extremely accommodating.  We went with Noah to his village to visit the school.  Our climb to the top of the island provided magnificent views.  The island Eddie took us to for snorkeling was fantastic!  The Yasawas were beautiful.

Qamea was outstanding.  The staff was friendly and accommodating.  The bures were pretty and I loved the outdoor shower.  Our biggest disappointment (which no one can be faulted for) was that it rained EVERY day!  We never saw a sunset the whole time we were in Fiji.   Navutu, the sun was out most days but every evening seemed to be cloudy.  At Qamea, pretty much all the activities were canceled due to the weather.  The only thing we got to see was the first waterfall at Bouma.  We did some snorkeling in some coves but they were unable to take us to cabbage patch, etc.  We thought it quite an adventure and wouldn't have traded it for anything.  When we married, 40 years ago, at the ages of 19 and 21, it was never on our radar screen to even think that we would one day go to Fiji.  We have wonderful memories and met some great people that we will most likely keep in contact with for years to come.

When you asked what was our favorite thing, it would have to be the warm, welcoming people of Fiji.  I bought some Frangipani lotion at the airport so I could always be able to smell those beautiful flowers.  The welcome and farewell songs were heartwarming.   The food was delicious.

Rosie's departure lounge was relaxing.  You did a good job and I heard many good things about your agency while in Fiji which was good as I was a bit hesitant choosing an agent off the Internet. 

Let us know when there are some good deals from the east coast to Fiji or some other equally beautiful and friendly place.  Thanks.

Mark,
We just returned from a phenomenal time in Fiji.  My family and I would like to thank you for all your work and effort in planning our trip.  It was one of the smoothest trips we have ever enjoyed.  There was no problem with any aspect of the trip, including my wife's passport and name change.  The people at Air New Zealand and the Hideaway Resort were the most helpful people imaginable.

Thank you again for all your work.  We hope to be using your services for another one of our family vaccations in the future.

A. Liebow
Brentwood, California
Fiji Family Getaway

Hello Lori,

I really wanted to thank you for your assistance in scheduling and rescheduling our trip.

Kaleo and I got in and were well received by the Sammy, the driver of Beqa. It was nice driving to Pacific Harbor and it went very quickly.  All the people getting off the Beqa lagoon boat were praising their experience there.  Unfortunately the weather the entire time was not great for surfing but we adjusted and Beqa was very accommodating.  Sue and Mark who run Beqa are great and the locals were awesome.  We were comfortable with the accommodations and the food was good.  Sue and Mark really made sure we were okay since everyone else was diving for the days. We surfed once, took a boat around Beqa and surfed and fished, hiked to the waterfall and visited the school. Wise did a private kava ceremony with us and that was fun. We ended up just talking about life for about an hour.

We then had an adventure getting to Kadavu.  Sammy drove us through Suva to Nausori and we took off but the weather was so bad we could not see the island of Kadavu. The pilots tried to land 3 or 4 times but turned around and went back to Nausori. So we had to get back to Suva and find a place to stay.  After trying a couple of places we went to the Holiday Inn to kill a night. We made the most of it. The next morning we went back to the airport and were able to land in Kadavu.  It is a 45 minute drive to Matava.  Pulling up, the Bures are along the hillside over looking the water and it is a beautiful view to see and feels very serene pulling up.  We couldn’t surf here and there was not too much to do but we made the most of it by kayaking in the ran, snorkeling, some walks and just relaxed with our books and each other.  We contemplated going North or somewhere else when we couldn’t land but weren’t really prepared to do so. I did look in our book and contemplated a few places but we just loved the remoteness and descriptions of them.  The other ones north seemed to mention night life, families and seemed to be like Waikiki resorts a bit???  Anyway, we had a good trip.  On the last day we got into Nadi at 2ish and our flight was at 11pm so we ended up going to Tanoa hotel and got a room for the afternoon. This was well worth it because we got to rest, eat, shower up and felt great before our flight.  Being that it was Sunday there was not much opened in the city anyway and there was no way we were going to wait at the airport if we could help it. 

R. Krohn
Kailua, Hawaii
Beautiful Fiji Honeymoon

McCoy Custom Travel -
Thank you for your continued professionalism. I am impressed by your continued level of service. If you ever need assistance in traveling around the world or in doing research or bookings, please let me know.

We had a great trip to Fiji. We had uncooperative weather but made the most of the trip.  We enjoyed the places we stayed, the food, hospitality and the Fijian culture.  We really tried to engulf ourselves with the locals and found a mutual appreciation.  I think being from Hawaii has its advantages in warming up to people.

Thank you for your assistance in coordinating the trip!

R. Krohn

Hey Lori - It's good to hear from you.  Yeah, Fiji was unreal.  Summer and I were completely blown away.  I showed Mark the video from Frigates and was telling him all about it.  I think he's ready to go now.

Lalati was great.  We pretty much had the place to ourselves the first 4 days as there was only one other couple there.  I think when we left there were only a total of 10 people staying there.  The honeymoon bure is ridiculous.  I mean, we would've been happy with just the regular oceanfront but the honeymoon bure was way above our expectations.  After staying there, it's definitely a step down to the oceanfront....not that we minded but it is different.

I'm not sure that Summer and I were prepared for the food.  We were blown away by the meals.  I mean, we may go out for a meal like that once or twice a year.  Everything was great.

I think the best thing about it was that we got to know all of the fijians working there.  That was one of the high lights of the trip  though.    It was amazing to learn about how they live and their families.  We had a lot of laughs with them.  It really put things in perspective with our day to day lives in busy SoCal.  

I had one of the best days surfing ever.  Summer and I were the only ones on the boat (other than the two guys from Lalati).  They packed us a nice lunch and had drinks and everything.  The waves were unreal.  Summer had a great time on the boat just watching and I had an unbelievable experience in the water.  On the way back the guys swung by a snorkle spot so Summer could get in a check things out.

All in all it was an amazing experience.  Hopefully sometime we'll be able to make it back.  We were talking about it and said while we would love to go back to Lalati it seems like next time around we should try something new so that we can compare.  Speaking of that, Mark sent me the picture you took from the plane off the over water bures.  I was speculating that was Likuliku.  It looked nice and perhaps sometime we'll make it there.

Anyway, thanks for all your help is setting everything up. 

Thanks again Lori.

A. Paxton
Huntington Beach, California
Fabulous Fiji Honeymoon

Hi all and a special Hi to Hiapo

To start with we have not taken our trip to Fiji yet but are definitely looking forward to it as a wind down from our three weeks in Australia. Our trip is planed for mid winter, lets see snow storms blizzards below freezing temperatures all the good things in Nova Scotia.

So why am I writing this?

Well Kay and myself are from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada and we are doing the big one, the big retirement trip vacation, once in a life time sort of thing, any ways I was trying to book this trip through travel agents in Halifax Canada and just kept running into stone walls. They just wanted to sell me the book packages and get the money so I said the heck with them all and decided to book the trip myself through the Internet. I never thought I could do an add on to an island like Fiji but all of a sudden the Canadian dollar went par with the American dollar. Fiji here we come..

Here I am trying to book a Fiji trip on the internet at 3 am in the morning and I run across this travel agent site with a toll free number, like that is going to work from Halifax Nova Scotia Canada especially at 4 am in the morning, so I said what the heck. I dialed it and got this guy from Hawaii  who was really fantastic and by the time we finished he gave me several options to choose from and his knowledge of Fiji was unbelievable. The result was one more 4 am phone call and he gave me what I could afford and what I wanted not what some travel agent that I was dealing with here wanted. He even figured out a flight that saved me a $329.00 hotel room in Melbourne ( race week upcharge ) and it gave me 2 extra days in Fiji. I booked the flight using my travel points and got the flight from Melbourne that no one here knew anything about, I called back Hiapo and together we choose the resort that best suited my needs and I said Book it Hiapo here's the visa number and we booked it on line, one small glitch but it was all done and paid for.
Normally I would be hesitant in my praise but I am sure everything will be just as we dreamed about when we arrive in Fiji. Why because I was treated right, my concerns were met and I had the right options and personal knowledge and insight from some one that knew what they were talking about. Thanks Hiapo. If you ever get to Halifax the lobster is on me .

I will confirm when we get back about our trip to Fiji, but somehow I think it will be fantastic. If you ever need a travel agent in Halifax Canada I am available.

Kindest regards

R. & K. Blackburn
Lower Sackville, Nova Scotia, Canada
Fiji Stopover

Bula -
Our Fiji trip went well.  The accomodations at Kulu Bay Resort were perfect for us.  Mike was right on target for recommending this resort.  The bures have lots of space.  We had not problems with ours.

We loved the remoteness of Beqa Island.  The villagers made us feel very welcome.  A highlight was attending the intra-island, inter-school rugby tournament at one of the villages. 

The weather was not great so our diving was not as good as it could have been.  No one can control that.  The dive operation at Kulu Bay Resort was a little bit more primitive than what we are accustomed to.  However since we were the only divers at the resort, we had plenty of room on the boat.  Also, the dive boat doubles as the guest transfer boat. 

Thanks for your assistance,
N. Sandler
Seattle, Washington
Fiji Trip

Hi Melissa/Sue,

Our experience in Fiji was fabulous! I couldn't have imagined a better vacation. Thank you very much for the recommendation to Matamanoa for our honeymoon. From what we could see it was one of the best islands
compared to the other Mamamuca islands. It is so hard to choose one, single most favorite experience.... but if I absolutely had to it would be the staff at Matamanoa. They were incredibly kind and made us feel right at home from the moment we stepped onto the island. I will be sure to not only use you for future vacations but will gladly refer anyone I
know to come to you for travel planning help. Thank you once again for an incredible Honeymoon.

Warmest Aloha,
P. Thorne
Elk Grove, California
Fijian Honeymoon

To Whom It May Concern,

I have now finalized the booking of my honeymoon to both Bora Bora and Fiji.

I would like thank McCoy Travel for their assistance.  However, I would particularly like to thank Faye for her continuous help and assistance in making our plans so special.  She has been an absolute pleasure to work with and an asset to your company.  Her customer service skills and knowledge have been brilliant!

Thank you and all the best!

V. & G. Allen :-)
London, England
Fiji/Tahiti Honeymoon

Mark,

Sorry I have been meaning to contact you but,  we are still in the process of catching up with everything after the wedding. 

The honeymoon was absolutely AMAZING, we were in Heaven for the entire trip.  The Ritz in Los Angeles was perfect and the hotel was close to everything we wanted to do.  The concierge at the hotel did a great job giving us "must-do" things during our stay. 

Namale was perfect, we have never been so pampered in our entire lives.  The staff refused to let you lift a finger and was completly dedicated to making sure it was the best vacation you ever had.  Our bure "Rosie" was also amazing, we could have stayed in that room for the entire 7 days and just enjoyed the beautiful view.  I am very picky about what I eat so I was very worried about the food, but since we left I have done nothing but crave the wonderful food there.  The chef was amazing and everything they put in front of us was delicious.  We were never alone for our entire trip, there was always someone there to help us and point us in the right direction.  We planned this trip thinking it would be a once in a lifetime event, but after the first day we knew that we would have to return.

There are not enough words in the world to describe what an amazing honeymoon we had and we have no one to thank but you and all of your hard work.

Thank you again and I am sure we will be working together again in the future!!!

Hey Mark,

We just wanted to thank you for all the work you did on our honeymoon package.  The trip was great and all the scuba diving/snorkeling we did at Qamea was great. 

So, Sally's little brother Jimmy is due to graduate from college next year and we're thinking of sending him on an Asia tour as his graduation present and we were wondering if you do any sort of booking related to that and if not, could you recommend a colleague of yours.  Jimmy and his gf would like to go to HK and Japan (Tokyo) I believe, and possibly Thailand.  They have accomodations for Japan already, so there wouldn't be a need for a hotel stay there.  And if there are any options for an extended layover in Hawaii, we'd like to know about that also.

Thanks!

B. Chen
Derwood, Maryland
Romantic Qamea Honeymoon

Lori,

Bula!  Hope things are going well with you.  I would like to thank you again for helping us with our honeymoon trip to Fiji back in 2004.  Jennie and I still talk about it to this day. 

The reason I'm contacting you is because I'm starting to look into a couples trip to the golf coast of Mexico and wanted to get an idea of our options.

As a side note, Jennie and I went to Cancun last January and stayed at Dreams Resort.  It was absolutely lovely.  Food was great and lots of activities to keep us busy.

Kind regards,
P. McGinley
Chicago, Illinois
Fabulous Fiji Honeymoon