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Jan 05, 2010
Fabulous Fiji Vacation

Hello Faye,

I just wanted to say thank you so much for all of your help with our trip to Fiji. This trip would not have happened without your help. I will most certainly contact you in the future for any travel needs and I will gladly recommend you to others I know that are planning vacations as well. Thank you so much!

Have a great day and thanks again,
J. Kelly
Denver, CO

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Jan 04, 2010
Wonderful Fiji Vacation

Dear Hiapo,

We have just returned from a wonderful trip to Fiji. You arranged a terrific package, on very short notice at a peak time, at the Intercontinental Hotel, which is a stunning property.
A friend recommended we call McCoy Travel when we said we were thinking about a trip to Fiji. You made our trip absolutely seamless and you suggestions were right on point for our needs. We will certainly call you when we are ready to plan a trip to Moorea.

Thank you, Hiapo and a Happy New Year.

Kindest regards,
M. & B. Schaefer
Kihei, HI

PS The gourmet restaurant at the Intercontinetal is called Navo. It is a delicious eating adventure. We loved it!!

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Dec 28, 2009
Great FijiVacation

Bula Mike,

Happy Holidays and Happy New Year. Thank you for helping to put together my families' trip to Castaway Island Resort last month, our second trip you've helped put together for us. I thought I'd give you a critique of our week there, as well as give you the opportunity to make suggestions re what we might consider for the summer of 2010.

As a reminder of who we are, we are a family of 5, with 3 kids currently ages 13, 10, and 7. I've travelled fairly extensively-lived in Malaysia as a high school student for a year, speak 5 languages, my wife's family originated from the Phillipines, etc... I often like to dive on tropical vacations, but my wife does not. My 10 year old got his Jr certification while at Castaway. We are activity oriented. A lovely beach is fine and appreciated, but there have to be activities to engage in as well. My wife enjoys tennis, so usually wants to find a place with or near opportunity to hit a bit if she can.

Castaway: My wife and I booked with you at Koro Sun 3 years ago on your recommendation, just the two of us without kids. Great trip-just about perfect. Great food, beautiful people, good diving, my wife cried as we left. Not much of a beach or pool, and the intimate nature of the place accepts but isn't too populated with kids, so Castaway was a better destination for family, but set the standard for comparison of accommodation, food, and friendliness for us to date. So with that in mind, there were things that were nice about Castaway and some things that fell a bit short.

The good: Beautiful location. Beautiful beach. Nice facilities: Nice size pool in good condition, tennis court, spacious bures, beautiful dining area, boats in good condition, good dive facility, lots of families with kids to make friends with, great dive staff (good with kids too, as my 10-yr-old will testify).

The fair: Food was good, but not great. Nothing bad, but just a notch above good buffet quality. Certainly not the level of Koro Sun from '06. The staff were nice, but with many the radiant warmth was just not there. ( My wife was not moved to tears when we were leaving.) The diving is beautiful but tame - great for my 10-year-old to learn, but similar at all sites so that 6 days of diving clear calm waters with pretty corals gets monotonous for me. No schools of barracuda, no large sharks, no rays, no swim throughs, etc... And, while relaxing, being contained on a beautiful island, nice as it is, is a bit limiting compared to the opportunities available on Vanua Levu with the waterfall trek, mountain biking, access to village, church, pearl farm, etc... Not as much "ethnic" fiji. The meke was great, but otherwise was a nice-sized family resort on a beautiful island, but would give B+, whereas Koro Sun would have received an A-, with their demerits coming from lack of a real beach and small not-really-viable pool area.

Thanks again, and if you've got some nice creative thoughts, feel free to think about what you'd recommend to close friends with similar backgrounds/experiences, and let me know. Happy New Year.

Sincerely,
A. Schwarz, MD
Tustin, California

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Dec 09, 2009
Wonderful Fiji Dive Vacation

Bula Lori,

We had a wonderful time in Fiji! Garden Island Resort was a perfect choice for us. The location for our dive spots couldn't have been any closer and our oceanfront balcony was literally feet from the water. What a great view of Somosomo Straits. The rooms were adequate and well maintained and the food was good, too. I also liked the newly renovated dining area with its wide open view of the water as well as the fruit bats hanging from the trees above! Also, like everyone says, the staff and island people were very nice, accommodating and genuinely happy. How refreshing!

The diving was amazing with all the multi-colored and shaped soft corals as well as a variety of other corals and sea life. The blue ribbon eels were beautiful and a first for me as well as the poisonous and very docile sea snakes that I'd read and heard so much about. When the currents were cranking it was also quite a ride--spread your arms and fly underwater!

The island itself with the waterfalls, rivers, greenery, hills, villages and the people was absolutely something special. Combining the land and sea life all together made for an unforgettable trip by all.

Thanks for all your help in planning this trip for us, Lori.

K. Baird
Newport Beach, California

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Dec 02, 2009
Marvelous Fiji Vacation

Bula Lori,

Your year of adventures sounds wonderful and now I know why you are such a knowledgeable travel agent ! You travel!!! We arrived home from Fiji Thanksgiving Day just in time to enjoy Thanksgiving dinner in Newport Beach with my Mom and family. An appropriate ending to a great trip.

We had a marvelous vacation. Taveuni Island and the Matalau villa could not have been a more perfect choice for us - the entire week we felt like we were in heaven and I could have not felt more welcomed or more catered to. Taveuni Island is beautiful, surreal, and spiritual. All I can say is that that island really touched my heart. On our last day there Doe informed us of the village ceremony that would be performed that evening and I had a momentary shudder of a commercial Hawaiian luau (no offense) but suddenly felt intrigued and drawn to it ... WOW - within five minutes of their beautiful singing, dancing, the sun setting, the gorgeous ocean, the irony of a 3 masted ship pulling into the bay right during their performance I was sobbing it was all soooo touching.

Anyway I just wanted to touch base with you and let you know we feel very lucky to have found you and McCoy Travel.

Thank you so much for all of your effort and expertise that you put into making our vacation a great one. I'll get back to you later with a few personal experiences that might be pertinent to your info on Taveuni Island re: scuba, horseback riding, Lavena Coastal walk etc.

Vinaka valelevu,
N. Flathers
Orange, California

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Nov 20, 2009
Luxury Fiji Vacation

Bula,

Spent 8 nights at Royal Davui. This was our fifth time to Fiji all at luxury resorts, and this was the best. The accommodations are superb, very contemporary but definitely Fijian in feel. The resort was impeccably maintained. The staff was simply amazing.They were genuinely friendly and warm, and eager to make your stay most enjoyable. The managers Julie and Darryl were great. They kept close tabs on things and mixed freely with the guests. In such a small resort you got a chance to meet everybody, and it was like one big party every evening at the bar. A real 10.

Incidentally, our travel agent Susan M. with McCoy Travel got it all right. They really know Fiji and not a detail was left out. This is the fourth time we have used them for Fiji and I couldn't recommend them or Royal Davui Resort any more highly.

M. Fields
Seal Beach, California

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Nov 3, 2009
Tokoriki Fiji Dream Vacation

Hello Faye,

Thanks for your email. Our trip was simply amazing. Couldn't have gotten a better honeymoon than this :) Tokoriki was definitely up to the standards, just like you told us. And the helicopter ride to the Island was quite helpful after such a long travel from Toronto. I would recommend it to anyone else who goes there. Once we got to Tokoriki, the staff were very welcoming and I just loved how they greet everyone with their Bula song. Both rooms that we booked were great. Actually, the deluxe beach bure that we were in first, had probably the best view to the beach than all the other bures. Thank you for getting us that room. The honeymoon island picnic was good, except that we had gone there on a windy day, so we were fighting with the wind in order to made sure that our food and champagne didn't get attacked with sand ;)

I really enjoyed the quality of service of the staff. They were always smiling and courteous to everyone who stayed there. And the food was really great. Quite the variety and freshness in the menu. Only suggestion would be if they could have explained to us on the first day how the meal plan worked and what it included. Another suggestion would be to have a little more variety in their dessert menu for lunch.

The PADI Tokoriki diving personnel were really great too. They answered to all my questions prior to the trip via email and their customized service to us was really appreciated. I liked that they gave us a private lesson instead of having us join a bigger group. Usually, here in Canada, diving courses are given in groups only, not in private lessons. So, we really liked the fact that we had our own instructor for the duration of the open water diving course.

I was surprised to see how after a day or two, we didn't miss our technology and gadgets when we were in Tokoriki (no TV, no cell phone service, no internet, no telephone in the rooms, not even an alarm clock in the room!). Life there doesn't need to depend on those things :)

Thanks again Faye for booking our honeymoon. We will refer your name to our friends and when we decide to go to our next vacation, we will definitely contact you.

All the best,
E. Ambroise
Quebec, Canada

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Oct 30, 2009
Fiji & Australia Dream Vacation

Faye!

Trip was just incredible. Seriously. From the absolutely AMAZING food and hospitality at Wakaya to the unbelievable sunsets at Lizard, you truly enabled Chrissi and I to have the best honeymoon ever! Thank you SO much for all of your help. Everything logistically was perfect and we were blessed in that we never had any delays or lost bags at all (though our bags were the last two off in Nadi which got us freaked out!). All the resorts, including the Circular Quay in Sydney were just brilliant so thanks again for your suggestions and recommendations. I am especially pleased that you convinced us to stay at the Pavilion at Lizard as that view was really not to be believed.

Given the serious hit to our wallets on this I doubt we'll be planning anything like this in the near term but we will definitely reach out to you again if we do. We'll also forward over your name to any friends we may have considering similar trips.

And we'll send over some pics just as soon as Chrissi gets them up online!

Best and THANKS AGAIN!

C. & C. Crampton
New York, NY

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September 02, 2009
~ Wonderful Tokoriki ~

Dear Faye,

We are about to leave from Tokoriki and we wanted to tell you how much we enjoyed our stay. The resort was absolutely gorgeous and we had the opportunity to go on several day trips to Castaway Island and a nearby village. The staff was so nice and really made us feel at home. We have no complaints – this trip was by far the best vacation both of us have ever experienced. We’ve already started talking about visiting Tokoriki again next year!

Thank you so much Faye planning our incredible vacation.

Sincerely,
C. Faltermeier
Gruson, France

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September 01, 2009
~ Fiji Travel Consultant ~

Bula Mike,

I am an internet junkie and do 99% of my business and personal things online. However, when it comes to my S. Pacific travel, my agent beats any price I can find online. I don't know how he does it? wholesaler maybe? McCoy Travel is online and my rep is Mike Brown. He's spectacular and I'm very picky. Have him quote you something before you book...if he's higher than what you find, I'll eat my words. I would also encourage you to look at Taveuni Palms (only two homes, private staff - different than the island resort). Also look at Royal Davui. Qamea and the rest isn't my cup of tea. Again, if you're looking for exclusive, high-end, you'll want to choose a smaller resort (if privacy and intimacy is a priority) and at least a 5 star. The bigger resorts feel more like a Hyatt to me....

A. VanGoey
Eagle, Colorado

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August 29, 2009
~ Fabulous Fiji ~

Hi Mark,

OMG!, That was the best trip ever. Thank you soo much for the recommendation, the Hyatt was great. The breakfast buffet was excellent and I would recommend it to anyone that is going to stay there. We didn't have any problems. Even the weather, besides the first few hours of rain, it was warm and sunny... We also appreciate the assistance of the staff at the breakfast orientation, they helped us plan the rest of our stay and gave us great deals.. I loved everything, although we were over budget... it was all worth it... Thank you for your help, I will definitely consult with you next time we plan a trip. It might be a while because I have to pay my credit cards... lol.. Thanks once again and hope you are doing well..

Best!
M. Sayed
San Ramon, CA

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August 25, 2009
~ Amazing Fiji Vacation ~

Dear Lori,

Well, We have figured out why you guys are so excited about Fiji! Our trip was nothing short of phenomenal!! We got back to Seattle about midnight Sunday and are still talking about what a great time and what a great experience we had. The Outrigger was truly beautiful and the staff was so friendly and helpful. We did get off the property almost every day and found the native Fijians equally friendly no matter where we went. I did two scuba dives and the diving was comparable to any place in the Caribbean, including Cozumel. Beautiful coral, multitudes of fish (nice white tip sharks!), great visibility, and good dive master.

We landed at Nadi early morning in a pouring down rain. Uh-oh, we thought, this looks like Seattle! But after the first day of rain, we had pretty good weather most of the rest of the time. Not too much sun, but it was warm and water was still 80 degrees. That didn't dampen our spirits and we stayed busy just sightseeing and walking up and down the beach at low and high tides beach combing and hitting all the little beach bars and cafes, talking to locals and anyone else who looked like they could answer our questions. We met very few Americans, about 99% were from AUS and NZ. Nice folks and we came home with several email addresses from people who wanted to keep in touch.

The Outrigger has most anything you'd want........several bars and restaurants and great buffet and live entertainment everyday. Our only negative comment would be the price of food and drink at the Outrigger. We found equally good quality food and drinks at several little private places down the beach a 5-10 minute walk for less than half of what the Outrigger charged. A local beer at the resort was about FJ$7 and down the beach the same beer was FJ$3. Food was equally cheaper. But, the Outrigger has huge overhead and lots of employees so I know they must charge more to maintain the property. This is not a complaint, just an observation.

We visited the closest town of Sigatoka several times. Shopping was good for local products and the open market was a hoot. The Indians are a little pushy, but once you figure that out, you can ignore them and move on. We ate in town several times and had great food at very reasonable prices. We had curry quite a few times and it was all delicious and they'd make it as spicy as we liked. Wonderful!

Overall, we both give the trip 5-stars!! On the way back, we both talked about our return trip and what we'd do differently. I think the main thing is we'd stay longer, at least 10 nights. It was possibly the most restful trip we've ever had, but I think that's part of the laid-back attitude on the island. We loved it and certainly want to go again.

Thank you so much for your recommendations and help making this work so smoothly. The entire trip was flawless without a single problem. Vinaka to you and the rest of the McCoy team!!

Best wishes,

P.S. We met a local lady at a beach bar and we were invited to her village, Vatukarasa, about 5 miles from the Outrigger, for her cousin's 16th birthday. It was complete with very native food and kava ceremony until the wee hours of the morning. It was quite an experience, but that's a story for another time!

Thanks again,
B. & J. Kemper
Bothell, Washington

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August 24, 2009
~ Fiji Vacation ~

Bula Mike,

We had a very nice time! Thanks again!

All the best,
L. Zaltsman
Brooklyn, New York

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August 14, 2009
~ Fiji Honeymoon: Special Place in our Heart ~

Bula Mike -

We just wanted to thank you for planning our wonderful honeymoon. It was a perfect vacation and a very smooth travel. After flying for 16 hrs it was nice to know there was someone offering a drink on the boat. While everyone was sitting outside we were comfortable in the captains lounge. Patu was the best! He was very knowledgeable about the island and he says "hi"...lol I learned so much about the Island and became very close to the people who work on the island. I actually spent the day on their island (Tavua). We spent the entire day with Captain Paul (the Chief's son) and Oni (activities director) learning about the village and speaking to the ladies who sell stuff.

Overall, the trip was great! Food - you were correct a little slow, but everyone is on Fiji time! I did suggest on the suggestion page a snack bar at night. Although dinner is great, I became a little hungry after games and drinks. It would be nice if they had a little snack bar people can buy stuff or they can make quick things to go and take back to the rooms.

For fun, we took a helicopter around the islands and went shopping. It was the perfect place to relax and get away. We brought a float for the ocean and started a tradition on the island. We passed it onto an Australian couple and they will pass it on when they leave...smiles. On a great note, it only became cloudy on our last day, so we really lucked out. We look forward to booking our next trip with you, you have earned our complete trust! Thank you for making it a perfect honeymoon this island will forever hold a special place in our hearts.

All the best,
K. & N. Scrivanich
New Jersey, NY

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August 12, 2009
~ Fiji Dream Vacation ~

Mike,
It has been a pleasure working with you. Thanks again for all you have done. I'm sure we'll talk again soon.

Take care,
R. Montellano
San Diego, CA

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Aug 03, 2009
~ Fiji Time of our Lives ~

Bula Faye!!!!

Oh my goodness---we had the time of our lives in Fiji!!!! Thank you so much for designing the best vacation ever!!! Truth be told, our favorite part was Matava.... Maggie was the coolest person we've ever met and the diving there was unbelievable! Our dive master was Mas, and he was so phenomenal, he took us to the best spots, we swam with sharks and manta rays and titan triggers... We couldn't have been more pleased with our time there.When we walked to the village and experienced sunday church my husband cried with joy and i've only seen him cry a few times in the 7 years we've been together!!! A little angel, only 8 years old led us to the waterfall and jumped in and then brought us to her home and we sat with her family and ate fish head and taro root... we were so honored, and on the day of our anniversary we met the medicine man and walked through the forest to his village and played with his grandchildren and took pictures and felt like we had met the most wonderful family in the universe...

Wow, I could go on and on about our experiences on Kadavu - It absolutely changed our lives.....we are so moved and touched to have been there.

As for Cousteau, not really our style because the people were kind too rich!!! I'm sure you know what I mean. The diving wasn't the best because visibility was cloudy, but nonetheless, it was the perfect way to ease back in to reality and on our final night there they brought us a cake for our anniversary and sang to us!!! Which brought me to tears....

thank you SOOOOO much, Faye, we can't wait to book our next trip through you, we are thinking Belize at Christmas,although we are tempted to go straight back to Matava!!!! But because life is short and we want to see the world,it may be silly to go back to the same spot, however, we absolutely FELL in love with the entire experience there.
Looking forward to our next chat,

Thank You, Thank You, Thank You Faye,
M & E. Norian
Castaic, CA

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July 31, 2009

Mike,
Thanks for all your assistance Mike.... you are an awesome travel agent..

Take care,
D. Patel
Reston, VA

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July 28, 2009
~ Awesome time in Fiji ~

Hi Lori,
We’re back in the real world again. We had an awesome time. Thank you again for all of your effort in putting together an itinerary for a perfect vacation. We’re always very appreciative of the extra effort that you put forth in advising us and looking out for our interests when putting together our vacation. We really enjoyed staying in Duavata (of course how could you not). The first day we were there, there was only one other couple and then we had Namale all to ourselves for the 2nd and 3rd day of our trip. By the time we left, the resort was about 50% capacity. We also really enjoyed Vomo. It was perfect for “on your own, do it yourself” types like us, because we could snorkel, kayak, or hike whenever we wanted without really seeing anyone else.

A few comments:
Namale:
Namale was great as always. The Duavata villa was perfect to relax and unwind. It is also worthy to mention that it had a little AC unit in the bedroom, since they do not mention it on their website. We met the new managers (Ron and Margaret), who are nice people (they had only been there a week). The service was even a little better than the last time we were there, such as for special requests, or customized activities. Kay who works in reception (also was the interim resort manager until Ron and Margaret came on board) took us kayaking from her house out to an island where the fruit bats roost. They would ask us if wanted anything special for our meals, or if we wanted any snacks during the day. They have great soups. Probably, the only downer was that we didn’t get kava every night like the previous visits. Instead, it was only offered twice while were there. We were going to ask the managers what their plan is for that, since everyone seems to enjoy the kava evenings.

Vomo:
We really enjoyed Vomo. It was cloudy pretty much the whole time we were in Namale, so we didn’t go snorkeling there. We could have still snorkeled, but we knew we would have plenty of time to do that on Vomo. That was okay because we had plenty of other stuff to do in addition to just relaxing. However, it was nice to get some sun on Vomo. Vomo was perfect for us because most of the guest would spend their time hanging around the pool, so it was like having an entire island to ourselves. The island is beautiful and we saw several reef sharks around the island. The food was good although, we ordered cheese burgers off the kid’s menu a couple of times. The bures had excellent air conditioning units (probably the best that we have had). The only knock that we really had on the bure was the bed because our bed consisted of two twin beds combined so that left a dip in the middle. It took a couple of nights to adjust after staying in the awesome Duavata bed. However, we managed. There we a lot of families so we definitely appreciate you making sure we got a free standing bure. However, the kids were not a big deal for us since the island provided plenty of room to get away. Since we had plenty of places to go on our own, we liked Vomo better than say, some place like Qamea, although we don’t feel it is necessarily worth $/night, which is what it would have been if you were unable to get us the stay 5/pay 4 deal. However, Vomo is a place that we will definitely return to someday.

In summary, we really thought it worked great to include time in the Mamanuca's along with a Namale stay so that we had a good variety in our stay. We would definitely recommend it to others. As always, we are happy to provide additional information should you have future clients who have questions about the resort, or this type of itinerary.

Thanks again,
C & A. Stump
Prescott, AZ

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July 22, 2009
~ Great Fiji Vacation ~

Hi Melissa & Holly,
I wanted to let you know that the trip worked out great. We had a great time. It was very relaxing and Tokoriki was beautiful. One of the best things about the island was the people at the resort. We meet some good people and also people staying at the resort from other parts of the world. We took a trip to the Island where the Fijians lived and also got a look at the Island where Castaway was filmed.

The trip back home was long and one suggestion is that if we could have checked out later before leaving it would have been better. We had to check out at 10am but the Helicopter did not pick us up until 4:30pm so the wait without doing anything was long. Otherwise this was a great trip and we will definitely use you again if we travel to other destinations. Thank you for all of your support and help arranging this trip for me.

Thank you for your time and attention,

L. Smith
Longmont, CO

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July 15, 2009
~ Fabulous Fiji ~

Dear Lori & Mike,

We had the entire place to ourselves the whole time! We were the only guests! With that the managers and staff pulled off a remarkable balance of making us feel like family, but in a ‘perfect host’ sort of way, giving us space when we wanted it, and letting us into theirs when we wanted that, too. As always in Fiji, the staff were immeasurably kind and gentle, thoughtful and thorough. Our dive master Zachariah was a hoot and eminently trustworthy underwater, especially for Oliver.

The place itself was pristine and manicured and immaculately maintained. Have you toured the Royal Bure? Our jaws dropped when we saw it from the outside. They stayed dropped after walking through the door and realizing it would be home for ten days. No accommodation we’ve stayed in Fiji is in the same galaxy, certainly not Turtle Island at seven times the cost. The house lived up to its monarchical name with all of its appointments and furnishings and bathrooms and decks. In the end we brought a friend with us for five days, and they didn’t even charge us for his room, just a nominal fee for food.

We found the food outstanding, by the way. As good as anywhere we’ve had in that country. It didn’t matter that we couldn’t order off a menu because we liked everything they brought us, and they brought it in ridiculously huge amounts. I shared a few likes and dislikes before we arrived and they remembered everything without having to be asked. Though copious and yummy the food was always healthy—okay maybe not the coconut batter-fried chicken—and fresh as fresh, like eating in the home of the most gracious country host. You know about their dishes, right? Annalise’s massive china collection on which the meals are served? It was too Out of Africa for words.

“Gracious” also describes the management and staff, in spades. Elisabeth was warm and flexible and accommodating without fault. Whatever we wanted she made happen with a great joviality. She was terribly generous about spontaneously offering to waive charges, like for our dive equipment rental and Oliver’s bubble course, which ended up turning into a full Junior certification. We wanted to help a couple of the nearby villages with their water problems, so Elisabeth boated over an American Peace Corps volunteer posted on Kadavu to manage that very thing. She put him up and fed him just so he could meet with us, and she offered to be the conduit through which the equipment is purchased. On a similar score we wanted to sponsor for scuba certification the young man they found to buddy around with Oliver (didn’t charge us for him either). Elisabeth made the arrangements, but in the end wouldn’t let us pay for it, covering it out of pocket instead. Overall the pricing at the place is unbeatable.

Can I say how wonderful it was to have a full-time RN on site in the form of Lydia? She checked me out every morning before my (shallow) dives to give approval. You may know that Annalise has her there for guests and the villagers. What a thing. The staff and locals speak of Annalise with exceptional respect and appreciation. Annalise’s contributions come with no eccentricity or expectations, and they, the contributions, seem to be endless.

Thanks, as always, for hooking us up.

Yours,
The Kohen family
Nelson, New Zealand

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July 10, 2009
~ Fiji Vacation ~

Hi (Bula) Faye,
The trip went great, and without too many hitches. Lalati, is undergoing a transformation with the new ownership, and have a few things to still work out. With that said, they did everything they could to make us happy, and it was a great experience in the end. I gave them some feedback that they were already working on to improve. The people there were amazing, and the culture was fantastic. I really enjoyed taking a trip to a nearby village and being able to share in the culture and there way of life.

Thanks again, and I look forward to booking again with you!!

M. Teitsort
Windsor, CA

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July 09, 2009

Aloha Mike!

Thank you for all of your professionalism and personal touches - we are very impressed and certainly would be booking with you in the future , as well as recommending you to our friends and family :). I'm off to California (south Bay Area/Santa Cruz) tomorrow to see my family in a whirlwind of a summer for this teacher.

I meant to say more about how nice and woodsy with shells, books, tapa cloth, etc.. the Dive Kadavu lodge was (both lodges and bures were fine). Really everything was great. Most important to us was the DIVING which was out of thiis world! We hope to return soon and check some more islands. Thanks again for a great job - we will be in touch. PS - we really enjoy reading your ongoing information and updates!

Sincerely,
L. Baldridge & S. Menor
Kapaa, HI

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July 07, 2009

Thank you so very much Faye,

You are truly the best!!! How did we ever get so lucky to find such an awesome travel agent.....

p.s. the dive magazines that PADI sends us are chalk full of destinations we now want to go. Will be contacting you to book Belize, Virgin Islands and/or Philippines!!!!

A Million Thanks!
M. Norian
Castaic, CA

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July 07, 2009

Hey Lori,

I just wanted to drop a quick note to say Thank you for such a well put together trip.. It was great even though we had 4 hrs of sun.. Luckily it was a high overcast with little rain so it didn't hold us back. Sarah and I both loved the diving and it looks like she is hooked.. The accommodations were great but the people are definitely what made it memorable.. We are already thinking of where to dive next.. but we know there will be a return to Fiji and we will definitely book thru you. Thanks again for everything, we will always have great memories and friends from going to Qamea..

Thank You Again,

H. Fox
Broken Arrow, OK

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July 07, 2009

Bula Mike,

Thanks for your help Mike, we had a great time! Tokoriki was great, the people were really nice and the pool was great. Arrangements with Rosie's went really well - logistically a great trip

Cheers,
K. Greengrove
Raleigh, NC

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July 03, 2009

Aloha and Bula Bula Mike!

We are still unpacking from our fabulous trip to Fiji - thank you very much for steering us to the two great dive resorts. Incredible diving - only unfortunate was the weather wasn't very good for our first week at Beqa Lagoon Resort, but with the scuba diving activity it was all fine . Loved our little oceanfront bure - as you know, the food was European influenced and fabulous - especially the desserts at Beqa (although didn't lose the weight we thought we would!).. Did the shark dive which was amazing to end the week and bought the DVD which is fun to have (well done). The staff was so nice and very professional. They are almost finished with a new massage and spa area - Sue said will be done in a couple of weeks. Overall, Beqa Lagoon Resort is a very professionally run dive resort , although the weather there might be alittle more overcast, but I think a big low pressure was hanging over the whole state that week - even the Yasawas someone said.

Dive Kadavu was more campy - we were the only ones there that week! We had the scuba boat all to ourselves , the sun came out, and they dropped us off at a beautiful long deserted beach to look for shells in between dives which was really nice (dive sights closer). Unfortunately too rough to get to the other side to see the manta rays. The managers, Mere and David, provided a homey and friendly atmosphere (although harder to understand David's accent). The villages next door did not allow for as much privacy (their path went right through and around our bure), although made a very authentic experience (we learned not to leave our shoes by the path - one pair went missing). Our only suggestion would be to upgrade the bathrooms . The diving was not as "valet" in terms of setting up your own equipment etc....was fine for us, but for some divers they may prefer. The Namalate reef there was very fun - but don't know how it would have compared to the Astrolabe reef I read about as it was too far away from this resort.

Thank you again for your excellent service in setting up our vacation , and we look forward to booking with you again in the near future. Next time we will be ready for the Somosomo straits, rainbow reef, and Taveuni now that we are intermediate divers! Maybe also a few days in Mamanucas/Yasawas.

PS - there is now just started, Mere and David said, twice daily plane service from Suva to Kadavu which would be shorter than going all the way back to Nadi.

Aloha for now and vinaka naka levu !!!!!!
D. Menor
Kapaa, HI

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June 30, 2009

Hi Robin!

We are back from Fiji and we wanted to share with you. There was an unusual amount of rain, but everything was beautiful and one of the few days of sunshine happened to be on our wedding day. Mere and Maravu was just wonderful, I was so thankful for her.

Thanks again for all your help. It as truly wonderful!

K. Mulhall
West Chicago, IL

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June 30, 2009

Bula Lori,

Sorry it has taken me so long to get back with you. Things have been quite hectic since we have been back. We had a great time, thank you. Our wedding turned out beautiful. The photographers were great. I would definitely recommend them to anyone who is having a wedding. We enjoyed both islands. If we were to do it over again, I think we would do 5 nights at Matamanoa, 5 nights at Qamea and then 5 nights at a nice hotel on the main island. The staff was very friendly and wonderful, but the service isn't what we were are used to in the States. The massage therapists at Qamea were fantastic, probably the best we've had. Jordan and I got many massages. Overall, we had a nice time. Thank you for all of your help planning our Wedding and Honeymoon.

Thank You Again,
N. Bedard
Richmond, VA

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June 23, 2009

Bula Lori,

I've been so busy with school the past couple days i haven't had time to get to you. I can't thank you enough for you work and attention to Kayla and I and wanted to share my experience to show you how grateful for you we are

With all the wedding planning i was only given two jobs and one was the honeymoon. I had never before dealt with a travel agent as I have always travel inside the 48 continuous states up until this point. I had been given dozens of names, agencies, tips, cautions etc. and was very overwhelmed. I did as much research as possible before I was ready to start talking to people but was still rather clueless. On the day that I began to give my information to travel sites on the web McCoy was one of the first because you're company was one of the recommendations I had received. Obviously being a normal American consumer I looked at many different sites to find the best price. After sharing info with 'Tripology' 'South Seas Adventures' Travel Wizards' ' Fiji-Honeymoons' and about 6-8 others, I sat back and waited to see if anyone would call me unprovoked as I don't Email when I don't have to. I feel an actual conversation is more personal. 2 people did call though I received about 5 other emails. You were the 2nd person to call me which automatically pushed the other man to the top of my list until I found out the time zone difference and realized that you called FIRST THING in the morning where as it took him half the day to get to me. Not a huge deal all things considered but this is my honeymoon and I want to be treated like it's the biggest thing in the world even from the beginning because to us, it is. All told I talked to 6 trip planners in the next three days, as some didn't bother to call or email at all, all the while still planning to get the best deal possible. That, however, didn't last long because your service far exceeded the competition for many reasons.

As I mentioned before, you the quickest to call me back which spoke volumes to me being that I hate waiting and especially with the excitement I had about my first overseas trip. I knew everyone I talked to would have worlds of info about Fiji otherwise they wouldn't have the job they do and was correct. Every person I talked to 'knew' resorts and had plenty of knowledge to offer. Having already looked at more than 50 resort myself before all of this thought I had a great idea of what I was looking for and had already narrowed it down to 5. Three of the other people I talked to did nothing but try to discourage me from where I wanted to go. One in fact insisted on other resort so much I had to hang up on her because she would not listen to me. You did. My fiance and I wanted to stay in one resort for 12 days. We DID NOT want to island hop. We're there for relaxing, not packing and unpacking every couple days. It seems to me that if you're planning a trip for someone you may want to listen to what they want. Call me crazy I guess. Others insisted on strict itineraries that included hikes and village visits. Again not listening! We wanted to hang out with nothing to do except what we want to at that time. Spontaneity! You listened, YOU cared, YOU wanted us to what we wanted to do where we wanted to do it, and worked QUICKLY to ensure we could do so. The only other person out of six that agreed to put us where we wanted to go said he'd call me back "in 4 weeks and go from there." I did get a few quotes from other people but not for what we wanted. I even had one lady that spent the first 20 minutes of MY cell minutes talking about her rate. Really? I know you don't do this for free!

After you called with our final quote and we hung up the phone I talked with my fiance and both said instantly we wanted to go with you no matter how much cheaper anyone else could get it for. We simply didn't care at this point because YOU did. We felt like we were your only client! You really made everything easy and fun. We are both VERY 'brand loyal' people who love to travel. I am graduating for Radiology school the month before our marriage and trip to Fiji and will be traveling quite a bit in the future and because of our experience with you on this trip, NO ONE but you or someone at McCoy that you recommend will be helping us plan. I cant thank you enough for your help Lori and I hope you continue the outstanding work.

Vinaka,
J. Janosik
Richmond, VA

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June 19, 2009

Faye,

Everything was just wonderful on our trip. I could not recommend Taveuni Palms any higher to anyone else. They were absolutely wonderful! Our experience was phenomenol with them. I have traveled many places over seas and usually I am glad that I went, but then am ready to explore other places later.....but honestly, this is one place I would go back again and again. Kelly and Tony's staff was so attentive and the place was so peaceful and quiet. We did feel so spoiled and like we were their most important people. Kelly was so helpful with so many things. We felt right at home.

I also want to thank you for all of your information and for helping us with everything. Matt and I are both very controlling and making sure every detail is handled, and with you....you took care of everything and that was so comforting to us. We thank you for making this time in our lives the absolute best it could be!

If there was any one thing I could change, it would be to have stayed in Taveuni that extra night instead of overnighting in Nadi. Their next clients didn't come in until the next morning, so although our original plan was to leave there and then get on our plane....then the plane go changed to the next day....it would have been nice to have just stayed there since they weren't expecting people until the next day anyway. Other than that, we really had a fantastic time and great start to our live together.

Thank you again, and Taveuni Palms is really the best place to connect and feel pampered with the one you love!

Thanks again!
E. & M. Colyer.
Farmington, NM

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June 16, 2009

Bula Mike,

I wanted to thank you so so so much for arranging our Fiji wedding/vacation/honeymoon. We had an absolutely fantastic time. It was beyond our expectations. You were right about Vomo, we absolutely LOVED it. They are the friendliest people in the world. They went above and beyond anything we could have imagined for our wedding. Having our wedding on Thursday before Lovo night was fantastic, as they made us feel as if it was wedding celebration. David got to be Chief, and of course, every guest offered him cava, so he was feeling good :) hehehe.

We are already talking about going back to Vomo, it was just absolutely fantastic. I am so glad we got married there. It was absolutely spectacular. The folks at Vomo were so excited about our wedding, we were treated like royalty the whole time. They even surprised us one night decorating our bure with candles and flowers. And we also got a surprise champagne breakfast the day we departed (they even wrote our names on top of our cappuccinos). They trully made the time we spent there unforgettable.

As promised below are pictures, so in case you need to show anybody what a Vomo wedding looks like. Yoshi did an amazing job, he is phenomenal.

Likuliku was also very nice. The facilities are fabulous and the staff very friendly (although nothing like the folks at Vomo, they are hands down the best). Food in both places was spectacular, thus I have to say I enjoyed Vomo's better as they had more seafood in the menu.

Thank you for the tip on getting some wine at the Airport, this was good call.

Panto the Rosie's driver is such a sweetheart, and speaks very highly of you and Melissa McCoy. He also told us where you go to get your beef pies that you like .. hehe.

Anyway, take a look at the pictures and I hope that it will help convince other couples for a fantastic wedding celebration at Vomo.

Thank you so much for arranging all of this for us, we had the wedding of our dreams! Thank you for making that possible.

Monica

Aloha,
M. Echezuria
Falls Church, VA

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June 16, 2009

Hi Lori,

Thank you so much for all of your work to create such wonderful and lasting memories for Daniel and I. This was a dream honeymoon! Thank you for all of your work to ensure that we had a terrific time, your personal touch was evident in how you took care of every detail for us. We loved Qamea and our stay at the resort. We are looking forward to returning one day.

We stayed in the honeymoon bure the last two nights of our stay and were so grateful for this added luxury and experience. Thank you for checking on this, it was incredible! We did meet Jordan and Nicole on the last few days of their stay. Danny and Jordan played volleyball together one of the afternoons on the island.

Thank you again for all of your work in creating this honeymoon for us. We'll have memories for the rest of our lives!

Many Thanks,
E. Macias
Gaithersberg. MD

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June 7, 2009

Faye,

Thank you so much for your card. We are here and made it with no problem. We are so very tired, but this place seems to be bringing us back to life with no problems. We are so happy this is the way we could begin our marriage and are so grateful to you for making it so stress free and taking so much time to personalized this and care about us. You are truly wonderful! Except that I will l blame you for the extra ten pounds I know I am going to gain here. The food is insanely good and we have only had a couple of meals so far. Wow!

Thanks again!
E. & M. Colyer.
Farmington, NM

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May 28, 2009

Dear Faye,

We had such a wonderful time! The resort was great and our vale was beautiful. All worth it! What a wonderful way to spend our birthdays...they really made it special at the resort. A very quiet resort...there was one day I think Frank and I were the only guests. I think the top numbers of guests were 12 people which makes it very private - we felt like we had our own private island. The food was very good. I think I gained 10 pounds! The activities..Frank and I went snorkeling (which is beautiful), jet ski to another island, we did the sandspit (which is separate little island in the middle of the ocean, white sand, and had a picnic - the weather was a bit crazy...but we still had fun!). Julie and Daryl the management team was great - they made sure everything was going ok - they were very personable and got to know us.

The airline from San Jose to LA and LA to Nadi - all worked out great...no issues. Frank and I did get exit seats on the flight to and from LA/Nadi - which really helped! The only thing I would say to be cautious about...is the flight from Nadi to Pacific Harbor - it all worked out all ok...but there just seemed to be some confusion - we talked to Julie the resort manager and she said they have had challenges - they have purchased a plane so they will have more control over that. The boat ride to the resort was fine and on time.

The day we left...we were a bit confused we thought we were going to leave at 11:30 then do the tour on Nadi but they let us stay until 4pm which was wonderful then they got us to the pacific harbor by 5pm and then to the airport around 5:30pm - which all worked out great. Rosie's lounge was GREAT! that was so nice to go there to refresh ourselves and get ready for the long flight.

I will definitely refer you to my family and friends for any travel plans.

My sister and I are already thinking about next year....we want to rent a villa in Italy or France...we are brainstorming now :-) on ideas.

Thanks again!
Susan D.
San Jose, CA

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May 20, 2009

Dear Melissa,

I am writing to let you know how extremely pleased we are with our travel plans to Fiji this summer and it wouldn't have been at all possible without the outstanding help and service provided by Faye. She is so informative, professional, sweet and helpful. I couldn't have asked for a better agent to help me book this trip and organize all the details. I can't thank her enough for all of her help and ideas.
She is truly the best,

Thank You,
M. Norian
Castaic, CA

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May 20, 2009

Greetings Mike!

We're so very excited about out castaway vacation ! Thank you for making it extra great with that fabulous room upgrade , wow , for sure we won't want to be coming home anytime soon!

We'll definitely also make sure to go on the Manta Ray dive after reading about it, sounds like a can't miss .

You have been so helpful ,descriptive and efficient thanks again for arranging all .

P.S. I'm sure you'll soon be enjoying your " lifestyles of the rich and famous " vacation very soon .

Aloha,
D. Menor & L. Baldridge
Kapaa, HI

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May 18, 2009

Hi Mike!

Mike you are wonderful. I don't know if we'll do this itinerary but I hope we can do business with you soon as you are so nice. Deanie

Thanks,
D. Martino
Dallas, TX

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May 14, 2009

Hi Mike!

A friend gave me your name and said you are an amazing travel agent!!! Kate and I work together on Treximet and our submission won the award for the trip. She mentioned that you might be able to help me out with some insight into Fiji and which island to go to, where to stay, etc..

Our travel itinerary is listed below. Looking forward to hearing from you.

Thanks,
K. Olivia
North Carolina

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May 13, 2009

Hi Lori,

We just want to thank you for your guidance while researching our trip. We are filled with the beautiful spirit of the Fijians and sunny memories of the islands. We are very grateful you steered us in the right direction and absolutely loved our accommodations. Mana and Qamea was a great combination. We could not imagine a better, more beautiful place for a honeymoon!

Vinaka,
P. & L. Ribeiro
Evanston. IL

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May 12, 2009

Hi Lori,

I am very happy to be able to write this letter regarding McCoy Travel (i.e. Lori Evans). When my son decided to marry, we, as a family, strongly considered Maui. We phoned numerous travel agencies for information and advice.

It was ONLY after finding McCoy Travel and speaking to Lori that we cinched the deal. I was a nervous mom of the groom and was most concerned about my only son's honeymoon being a huge and fabulous adventure for him and my new daughter in law. Lori is by far, more than an agent, even more than a friend, more like a member of the family. She calmed my nerves and went through the whole program with me.....more than once. She went above and beyond, letting me know she was there, only a phone call away if any concerns should arise. And they did (even if in my own mind, and she was there).

I don't know about other mom's. but in this day and time, feeling comfortable about your children being so far away is PRICELESS and knowing Lori was there, right there...............helped me sleep at night.

She is absolutely wonderful and I would highly recommend her for your travel needs. I would love to recommend her and would be glad to have you phone me for any information. Believe me, I know the questions you would ask.

Most Sincerely,

C. Lomax
San Antonio, Texas

Hey Lori, thanks so much for the messages and the great gift baskets-- we did receive both. This honeymoon is definitely perfect and we couldn't ask for anything more. We had an incredible time here and I have a feeling we will be back. Thanks so much for your help and ideas on our honeymoon, they were much appreciated. Thanks.

The Lomax's

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April 30, 2009

Hi Lori,

It was so nice speaking with you and we Thank You SO much for helping us with our Fiji trip. I wanted to send some photos of us just in case one day you decide you want to adopt two more kids and some baby great danes!

It has been a pleasure working with you,
Thanks so much!

Sincerely,
H. & S. Fox
Broken Arrow, OK

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April 30, 2009

Dear Mike,

You da man. If you need any objective information about our experience, call anytime. But, we were satisfied, and feel that you did well.

Bless you,
P. Oconnor
Irvine, CA

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April 26, 2009

Melissa,
Thanks for the message you sent. We LOVED the resort! It was amazing. Great service, friendly, wonderful beach wedding and honeymoon. The deluxe bure was great and then we made it to the point for the last 3 days, Aahhhhhhh! We saw your name in the guest book, too! It was so beautiful there. We hated to leave after 9 days of luxury and relaxation.

Overall, we were happy with most things. We would recommend your travel service to our friends.

Most memorable experiences - our beach wedding, The Point stay and butler service there, the friendly staff.

Best wishes,
M. & M. Yonan
Chicago, IL

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April 7, 2009

Bula Melissa,

The trip was fantastic. Many, many things done right. Mike was great, tolerating my frequent mind changes in the planning process. His suggestion or Raffles for a day room was good too – they just opened a new pool which is actually pretty nice for a “crash pad” level room.

Diving had to be the highlight, although the accommodations are a close second, followed by the quality of snorkeling around Davui.

We were more or less the only divers there at the time so we had essentially a personal boat driver and dive master. Even if there were a few more people, it beats the cattle boats from the big dive resorts. Mini, the dive master was excellent and a lot of fun to spend time with. The night dive just off the island reef was a highlight. Definitely a different set of critters out at night, and a couple sharks in the dark… Did the big fish encounter – good, checked the box, a bit like a zoo under water, without bars. Glad we did it, but the small reef sharks appearing out of the darkness and disappearing just as fast on the night diver were more impressive/a little unnerving. On a related topic – snorkeling is amazing – the colors in the coral are innumerable, throw in the vertical wall dropping down to about 30 feet, cool shells and I spent hours just kicking around the island.

The rooms at Davui are great. They do have a resort map now with locations. If I had that to overlay with sun/shade times of each, it would have been the ULTIMATE. We started with an upgrade Mike arranged (Valle 3) that for our time of the year, great sun/shade mix and evening sunsets. Then moved over to 6, which turns the corner and only got sun on the splash pool for about an hour – not a huge deal and since I picked it over Valle 1, oh well (1’s pool overlooks the boat area and thus a little less private). Bottom line though, the rooms are great and for the rainier season, we were lucky enough to have perfect weather right up the day we left, which rained and made it just a hair easier to leave, but only just.

After reading reviews, we had already determined that we weren’t the kind of people likely to write a disaster story review and nothing changed after the trip. It was a little humorous to see how some of the things people thought disastrous weren’t (at least to us). Mosquitoes, yes, we got bit. Inside and outside the netting, sometimes at dinner – its tropical. We had very, very strong repellent we brought with us – it helps a lot but still… the mangers were in transition but seemed to recognize that and went a little extra to make sure they weren’t missing an element we needed. They were good about setting some expectations up front as well – such as letting us know if there was ANYTHING we needed to ask, and yet reminded us that we were on an island and although they would always do their very best, sometimes they would not be able to accommodate certain food requests, etc. They had a smoked tuna breakfast sandwich that they never got the tuna in for, but they did know I had inquired about it a couple times and seemed to genuinely try and get it but could not. They substituted with smoked Salmon they were able to get. On the topic of food, it was amazing. In particular the fish, which seemed available at every meal in some form including the breakfast sandwich I mentioned. I read a very contrary review online about them never having fish before going so who knows why when that happened. It was definitely NOT an issue and it always seemed extra fresh.

One other pleasant, and not minor surprise, all drinks (except alcohol) WERE included. They don’t list it as that on their website that way (I think they say tea, coffee and water is). Probably saved us a little bit and kept us more hydrated than we otherwise may have. It also means that with a bottle or two from duty free in Nadi and the minibar stocked with coke, tonic, club soda, etc – we didn’t have to have drinks delivered, ordered, etc.

Staff was very friendly and mostly fast. We learned that if you get to know them a little better, ask them questions, etc, they seemed more at ease and more in tune with what you liked – by the end, they knew that I LOVED the fresh baked bread (they made a pesto bread, kind of swirl of pesto inside – to die for…), and got a kick out of keeping me well stocked at meals.

Airline was good – upstairs in the air pacific 747, bulkhead seat was KEY on the way there. The little commuter 3 seater plane Davui used was a kick. If you have any fear of flying or small plans though, watch out. I have great photos from the plane, including out the front window landing. But then I like flying, and small planes. If they have any reservations about it, a car from Nadi takes a little longer – but you do get to see the country and I think is a little cheaper, and does offer more options for departure/arrival time. I’m sure they like to keep boat trips from Davui to Pacific Harbor to a minimum so if multiple people arrive on the same day, the plane is a charter. We enjoyed it as I said. On the way back, we were on a United plane – luckily had economy plus so leg room was tolerable there too. Upgrades on the united plane was crazy expensive despite plenty of room. US air lines – Oh well.

Have I left anything off? I could probably go on for a lot longer...

Thanks again for a wonderful vacation.
J. & A. Lunzer
Hermosa Beach, CA

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March 23, 2009

Hello Melissa & Robin!

We had a wonderful trip. Rosie's had everything arranged (multiple taxis etc) just right. They were helpful indeed. We recommend highly Blue Lagoon Cruises - the crew is fantastic and they REALLY go the extra mile to make everyone feel welcome and comfortable.

The Anchorage (where we only stayed 1 night) was also pleasant.

Air Pacific was fine. I bought an upgrade to fly Business on the way back (Nadi to LAX). Wow - was it ever worth it. The only thing we were not pleased with were the internet usage charges and meals at one of our stop-overs. All in all - a great time, and I would DEFINITELY use McCoy travel in the future.

Vinaka!
B. & S. Guza
San Diego, CA

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March 21, 2009

Hi Lori,

Got back from Fiji last Sunday, the place is amazing! You were right, Qamea was the perfect place, splitting the week between the beachfront bure and premium villa was perfect, and the food was great. The premium villa was wonderful (having the meals brought to the villa was so luxurious). We had a bright sunny day for the wedding, in fact the day of the wedding was the only day without rain in Qamea while we were there. The Sofitel was the definitely the best place to stay in Denarau. I have sent you a link for our photo album online. Please feel free to share the photos with other couples we are thinking of getting married in fiji so as they can have a better idea as to what its like and how qamea is a great spot. I would also highly recommend the Sofitel for staying in Denarau and the Novotel as a stopover hotel in Nadi. Our stay was definitely luxury in paradise!!

Thank you again for assistance in our perfect paradise weddingmoon!!

Sincerely,
L. & D. Healy
Dublin, Ireland

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March 5, 2009

Bula Mike!
The trip was fabulous! Thank you for taking care of all the details --everything worked out great! The upgrade to Paradise Taveuni was wonderful! It's a beautiful resort and a well run dive operation and we would recommend it highly. We're already talking about our next trip to the Pacific, so keep us in mind for any tantalizing deals out there!
Vinaka vaka levu!
Marie and Peter

Warmest,
M. & P. Gentele
Harrisburg, PA

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March 4, 2009

Hello Melissa & Robin,

Matamanoa was awesome, we loved every minute of it, and the staff they were awesome and Rosies did an awesome job. Thanks for your part in our vacation.

Vinaka!
B. & B. Christie
Grand Prarie, AL

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Feb 16, 2009

Mike, Bula Bula Bula and Aloha!

Mahalo and Denaka for your help on my trip.

Fiji was absolutely magical...

The best thing you did was be the foil in my lodging selections, and recommend the Fiji sailing "adventure". Without the give-and-take on the lodgings, I would have not found the ones I found, or made the same decisions. Thank you!!!

Fiji was also other worldly. A very different pace and place. Stopping for one night in Honolulu and Nadi on the way out was good for the time adjustment, and to break up the flight times. The first nite in Nadi, on the way west, the Mercure was great. Newly remodeled with good food, good pool and a great respite for the night. I visited Nadi and ate at an OK curry/seafood place with a wonderful owner/waitress. Visiting Nadi for several hours was an eye opener to their politics, economics, and very welcoming cultures (Indian and Fijian).

Capt. Cook's sailing was the best. I had no expectations at all. It wasn't really sailing, but a nice slow paced cruise around the islands with lots of snorkeling. I brought a bottle of wine for each nite and shared with the other guests (2 Aussies, 2 Dutch, 2 Canucks, 2 Coloradans) and the extremely warm and friendly staff. The coral and fish were better than anything I had seen since the 70's in the Carribean. The village we visited was heart-warming and heart-wrenching. The people were so open and friendly and kind and sweet (where is my thesaurus?). The on-island setup was a bit primitive, but I would not change a thing. Very camp-like. By the time we left I was relaxed. (It only took one bottle of wine, jungle drinks and snorkeling everyday to calm a type A personality down, hmmm.) Again, I could have stayed twice as long....with half the days just lounging around the base-camp island. Capt. Cook is a marvelous organization: everyone was the "bestest" person I ever met....but then all the Fijians (in Nadi too) I met were.

Many Thanks,
D. Brown
Aspen, Colorado

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Feb 12, 2009

Hi Faye,

All of your planning and tickets, etc. went very well. We were met by Rosie's and by the others who were supoosed to do so. The Fijians were all so nice we really enjoyed the country. We were very pleased with our choices of the Tui Tai and Moody's Namena. The snorkeling and diving in Fiji were amazing and our only disappointment was the weather.

Unfortunately we had terrible weather ("worst floods in a century") which literally put a dampener on the trip.

On Tui Tai we were 3 of only 6 passengers on a boat holding 22 passengers and with a crew of about 20. We were very well looked after!. The weather meant our snorkeling and diving were severly curtailed. They had planned 4 shore excurions, 3 to villages and one to a waterfall. With a bit of adjustment we were able to do them all and were very glad they were planned. Seeing the villages was a real treat and added a lot to our trip.

The Tui Tai was fine. Not normal weather. The boat felt very seaworthy, even during our night of 6-8 foot seas. The captain was very good.

Moody's was another adventure that we enjoyed. It is a mile long island, holding about 12 guests (we were the only 3), and surrounded by a reef, with at least 24 dive spots. Due to the weather we had only 1/2 hour on the reef. Our accomodations were fine, and simple lifestyle was the correct description. Our bedside reading lamps were powered by solar, and the room lights were gas lamps. The toilets use salt water and the fresh water showers had individual hot wter heaters. They worked fine. All water is catchment but shortages were not a problem to us!
Tom and Joan Moody were very interesting and we enjoyed being there. We would defintely go there again.

We went to Palau last year in early Jan and had rainy weather so next time (maybe next year) we will go later in the year.

All for now,
K. McLeod (Melvin Village, North Carolina)

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Jan 23, 2009

Hi Mike,

Well, I've been meaning to do this for a long time and finally have a quiet moment. I decided not to send you a bunch of pictures from our honeymoon since you definitely know what everything looks like. Instead, I'm sending a picture of RJ and me because you don't know what we look like. This was taken at Taveuni before dinner one night.

Anyway, I don't know if I ever formally thanked you for all your help with planning our honeymoon. We really had the absolute dream honeymoon, and I loved that all we had to do was show up. Everything was taken care of for us, and we didn't have to figure out anything. That was soooo nice. You did a wonderful job of arranging and rearranging everything for us. Thank you so much!

Taveuni Island Resort was the best place I have ever stayed - from the privacy to the accommodations to the food and staff - it was perfect. We weren't thrilled with the beach but found plenty other stuff to do. Likuliku was fun too but we really just hung out by the pool the entire time we were there.

I really don't know why so many people refuse to use travel agents in the age of the Internet. You guys are so helpful, and the Internet isn't always cheaper. Plus, for someone like me who hates logistics, you guys are super heroes.

Ok, that's it. I'll definitely be keeping you in my contact list for future island excursions.

Thanks,
A. Pales (Oak Park, Illinois)

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Dec 28, 2008

Hello Lori,

We had a blast, Vatulele has to be the most beautiful place we have seen, complete perfection!! Thanks so much for your help it was really appreciated.

Once again thanks, we know now that if we go back to Hawaii or anywhere in the Pacific Ocean, we will call you first. The trip was so worth every dollar. We even meet a couple from Australia who booked through your company, they were in the Bure next to ours.

Happy New Year

Aloha,
K. Franco (San Jose, California)

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Dec 14, 2008

Lori -

Good evening. The trip was amazing. It was very relaxing, and the calm atmosphere was just what we needed.

I thought the flight in was great, it really let's you see part of the island that you wouldn't see from the coast. We were also glad to have taken a car on our return trip, it gave us an interesting view of the villages and locals. We had an Indian driver that was very knowledgeable.

The resort was great, we had Thanksgiving dinner with the GM and the owner who were both gracious. They asked us how we had heard about the resort and we told them your name. They were very aware of the number of guest you send them.

The resort itself was great, the rooms were very clean and nice, and the plunge pools really made the place fantastic. The employees were extremely nice and that added touch made our stay even more enjoyable.

From an activity stand point, we did everything we could, my daughter went zip lining and I did the shark dive. All 3 of us went out to the resort owned island for a day of snorkeling. My wife and I saw a 6 ft reef shark swim under us, right before we had our grilled lobster and chicken lunch.

If there was any negative feed back we had, it would be the snorkeling right off the beach of the resort and the water quality. We didn't know that most of the rivers are polluted on the main island and that most of the reef is dead on the coast. The only other item that was unexpected was the set up at the resort. It seemed like the resort wasn't really sure what it wanted to be, a resort or property development company. While we very much enjoyed the resort, it seemed as if the owner had changed their direction and wanted to sell the property rather then focus on the "Resort experience". The only down side here was that the food was somewhat average.

We made some great friends, but we don't know if the resort will be there in the next few years to return.

My family and I agree that we would go back to Fiji again, but we would want to stay on an island with a lot a reef around it that we could just walk into the water and snorkel for hours. I'm sure there are a lot of resorts like this, in fact if I recall you recommended we try two places....my bad! :)

We are already starting to plan our next trip, I enjoyed working with you and hopefully you can help us on our next adventure.

I think you can sum up what we are looking for in two things, a really nice resort with great food, and untouched reefs that are warm and thriving with life that can be accessed right in front of the resort.

Thanks again for all of your advice, the resort over all was great and very cost effective.

I believe you also specialize in Tahiti, please feel free to send me any recommendations you might have.

Have a great holiday!!!

D. Cameron (Aliso Viejo, California)

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Dec 03, 2008

Hey Michael,

We had such an amazing time! the people were so sweet and fun. the only downside was that we only had a week to spend there. Thanks for all of your help organizing the trip to Fiji!
C. & E. Speron (San Clemente, California)

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Nov 26, 2008

Hi Hiapo!

I just wanted to take a moment and thank you for the wonderful experience we had in Fiji with your arrangements. The Hotel was beautiful, all the pickups and transfers went perfectly and everyone was so helpful. Let's say my husband was very surprised because we had a lot of transferring and moving around to do.

We love Fiji - I fell in love with Naigani Island and we will definitely return. If someone is looking for the more primitive "Gilligan Island" style of Fiji, enjoys meeting people and making friends and wants a truly special experience meeting the Chief and people of the village - this is the place for them. And I must say, I really got into the whole Kava thing! :o)

The Extra bonus was we were the only divers so everyday was just us and the dive master - perfect!

Thank you so much for helping to make our experience stress free and well organized. I am so glad I found you!

I will be in touch when we get ready to return!

Happy Thanksgiving wishing you a wonderful holiday season

Sincerely,
C. & R. Oxford (Oxnard, California)

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Nov 18, 2008