It is one of the hardest choices to make - to pick between the land of aloha with Jurassic Park scenery or the nation of bula with heartfelt service. But our duelling experts are here to help.
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HAWAII
By Amy Cooper
Bula or hula for a family break? I'm a Fiji fan, but Hawaii has my heart.
Ohana. That's the Hawaiian word for family and you'll hear it there almost as often as Aloha, which conveys in just three syllables an ocean of welcome, love, peace and kindness. Ohana means family in its fullest sense: not just your nearest and dearest, but also friends, community, culture. Ohana is belonging. It's a feeling that wraps every visitor in its glow and permeates every pursuit in the awesome archipelago.
I took my child to Hawaii before she was born. As a five-month bump she was bathed in Aloha on our "babymoon" on Oahu, where friends and strangers showered us in lei and so much goodwill it made up for missing out on Mai Tais. She's since come to love the islands as much as I do. She's slurped sweet shave ices, counted rainbows, danced on the sand, and swum and snorkelled in the safe, balmy Waikiki shallows where keiki (kids) can ride baby waves on buoyant longboards.
She's had a mermaid makeover and met Moana at Aulani, a Disney Resort and Spa, which I reckon is Disney's finest hotel anywhere. From the free Aunty's Beach House kids' club to the massive menu of youngsters' treatments in the gorgeous Laniwai spa, the endless pools and gardens, treasure trails and nightly fireside Hawaiian storytelling, it's the magic that happens when Mickey meets Aloha.
Up on Oahu's North Shore at Turtle Bay Resort, in scenes worthy of Disney, little ones can take to a board with Rocky Canon's gentle surf instructor pups Hina and Aka at Hawaii Surf Dogs.
On Maui, hundreds of rescued animals at Leilani Animal Sanctuary teach kids the power of kindness, while green sea turtles bask island style on nearby Ho'okipa beach.
She's slurped sweet shave ices, counted rainbows, danced on the sand and swum and snorkelled in the safe, balmy Waikiki shallows.
Kauai, the "garden isle" and location for Jurassic Park and multiple other family movies, is a real-life action adventure with ziplining, kayaking, mountain tubing, trekking and horse riding, and the island of Hawaii (AKA the Big Island, because it is) has active volcanoes with lava trails, and the transfixing Imiloa Astronomy Centre, where kids can soak up the secrets of the stars and traditional Polynesian voyaging.
Hawaiian hotels bring kid-friendly culture right to your door. At Waikiki's beachfront Twin Fin you can stargaze with an astronomer every Monday night and there's free hula, ukulele and lei-making lessons plus ocean-friendly art sessions using marine debris.
On every island, there's so much to see and do your child may forget what a phone looks like. But it's Ohana that will keep calling you back. Once you've been to Hawaii, kids of all ages belong forever to an extended family bound by balmy shores, trade winds and a beautiful spirituality as deep and ancient as the ocean itself.
FIJI
By Mal Chenu
Ah, the overseas family holiday. A chance to transfer the chores of parenting to another part of the world. Where screens are your best friend and you find yourself checking the hotel day spa menu for a combination hot rocks massage/vasectomy. When "kids' club" get you more excited than "cocktail beside the infinity pool". Of course, it doesn't have to be like that if you choose Fiji, the sandy tropical island idyll that should be at the top of everyone's bucket and spade list. Fiji will create memories that last well beyond the "Are we there yet?" preamble. For a start, Fiji is much closer than Hawaii, so you will be able to answer this perennial pester in the affirmative a lot sooner. It's cheaper too, so you get more Bula for your buck.
The hospitality in Fiji is legendary. And the Fijian nannies are world-famous for their enthusiastic embracing of ankle-biters, which comes with humour, a beaming smile and a hibiscus flower behind the ear. Vomo Island Resort goes so far as to call them "Baby Butlers", while babysitting at the enduring Aussie-favourite of Castaway Island in the Mamanucas will set you back about $5 an hour. Fiji has the most family-friendly resorts in the world. Family-sized hotel rooms and bures are regular features and many offer a "kids stay and eat free" inducement. The kids' clubs run cooking classes, too, and you can be reasonably sure they won't be feeding them Spam which, inexplicably, is considered a delicacy in Hawaii.
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Denarau Island (just 15 minutes from Nadi International Airport), is home to nine top-end resorts and hotels, including Sofitel, Sheraton, Hilton, Radisson Blu and Westin, all of which are minutes away from the giant water slides and obstacle courses at Big Bula Waterpark. Outrigger Fiji Beach Resort on the Coral Coast makes cultural activities a focus and nonstop entertainment extends across two kids' clubs. Also on the Coral Coast, Sigatoka offers more teen-leaning experiences, including the World Heritage-listed Sigatoka Sand Dunes, colourful birdlife at Kula Wild Adventure Park and the Sigatoka Jet Boat Safari.
Throughout the islands, from the Bula Maleya welcome song to the tear-jerking Isa Lei farewell song, your fam will be loved up and immersed in shell-necklace crafting, coconut hunting, basket making, swimming with manta rays and turtles, mud baths and hot springs, kayaking, outrigger canoeing and paddle boarding, and joyful singing and dancing. And above all, snorkelling. Fiji is known as the "Soft Coral Capital" and just off the gorgeous white sandy stretches of coastline lie kaleidoscopic underwater life in water that's much clearer and warmer than at Waikiki, where a fun game for the kids is "Find enough space to lay down a towel".
For a South Pacific family getaway that's full 'o Bula, it's Fiji Time every time.
