Suva is the rare Pacific capital where the best sights cost nothing: Thurston Gardens, Albert Park and the harbour seawall are all free. Add FJ$3 curry lunches, FJ$1 buses and cheap dorms in Toorak, and three days runs under FJ$100.
Suva's botanical garden since 1913, free and open daily from dawn to dusk. Wander banyan avenues, the lily ponds and the 1918 Thurston clock tower. Locals arrive early to beat the humidity; the Fiji Museum sits inside if you want the FJ$10 add-on.
The grass field where Charles Kingsford Smith landed the Southern Cross in 1928 after the first Pacific crossing. Free to walk across any day; on Saturdays you can watch rugby sevens and touch matches from the edge of the pitch for nothing.
Suva's main South Indian temple on Ratu Mara Road, with painted ceiling deities and a quiet inner courtyard. Entry is by donation; remove shoes and cover shoulders and knees. Far less visited than Nadi's version and free of tour buses.
A three-kilometre concrete seawall running from the Suva Bowling Club past the USP campus. Free, and at sunset it fills with joggers, kava circles and families. Look west across the bay to the Bega-side ranges as the light goes orange.
The Pacific's biggest covered produce market, on Usher Street beside the bus stand. Free to enter, busiest Saturday morning. Kava roots, taro, dalo leaves and pineapples sell for a fraction of supermarket prices; a bundle of bananas runs about FJ$2.
Vegetarian thali counter above Pratt Street serving unlimited-rice plates, dhal, curries and lassi. A full lunch tray lands around FJ$8, individual curry and roti under FJ$5. Open weekdays into early evening and packed with office workers at one.
A narrow lane of Indo-Fijian textile shops, spice sellers and the open-air flea market behind it. Bula shirts go for FJ$15-25, sulus about FJ$10. Bargaining is normal and cash-only; the sewing stalls will hem trousers while you wait.
Evening vendors set up along Victoria Parade near the GPH selling BBQ chicken, cassava chips and green coconuts for FJ$2-6. Sit on the wall and eat looking at the harbour lights — the cheapest dinner with a waterfront view in the capital.
Rainforest reserve eleven kilometres north on Princes Road with 6.5km of marked trails, swimming holes and a rope swing at the lower pool. Entry is about FJ$5 for visitors and the Sawani bus from Suva bus stand costs roughly FJ$1.50 each way.
The regional university's open campus has free-to-enter grounds, the Oceania Centre for Arts with rotating exhibitions, and a student canteen where a plate of curry and rice runs about FJ$5. Walk in from Laucala Bay Road without a pass.
The 1902 sandstone Catholic cathedral with twin towers on the corner of Pratt and Murray Streets, free to enter outside Mass. Cool stone interior and stained glass; the adjoining grounds are a shaded break from the heat of Victoria Parade.
A small green square between Victoria Parade and MacArthur Street where informal kava circles form after work and market vendors sell FJ$1 snacks. Free live music appears on Friday evenings and during festivals; benches face the bandstand.