Until I visited, I thought of Fiji as a dot on the map, a pinprick in the Pacific. In reality, it is an archipelago of more than 300 islands occupying a swath of ocean about 300 miles long and 200 miles wide, with enough variety to keep visitors exploring for months or years.

The nation of Fiji has about 7,000 square miles of land, compared with 6,423 for the state of Hawaii, and about 840,000 people. Half are native Melanesians and 45 percent descendants of indentured labor the British brought from India, with the other 5 percent primarily European and Chinese.

The resulting stew makes Fiji not just a tropical paradise but a place where Hindu temples, Muslim mosques, Christian churches and multi-ethnic mosques intermingle.

Low-cost alternative

Once avoided as the "Cannibal Isles," Fiji today is a low-cost favorite of nearby New Zealand and Australia. To give an idea of its beauty, the Tom Hanks movie "Castaway," the Brooke Shields movie "Blue Lagoon" and the heaven scene from the Jodie Foster movie "Contact" were all filmed there.

Americans will find a welcoming place where English is the official language (taught in school and widely spoken) and where prices are often less than half what they'd be in Hawaii. Fiji is also much poorer than Hawaii, and the simmering tension between native Fijian and the Indian community led to a failed coup in 2000.

This political instability has held back Fiji, but in the past couple of years there has been a land rush of foreign investors. On tiny Malololailai Island, we walked new dirt roads where utilities were being extended to scores of future home sites with spectacular views.

In some ways Fiji is like Hawaii perhaps 50 years ago, on the cusp of development. If you visit now, you may see an "unspoiled" Fiji that may be unavailable to your grandchildren once this island group is truly discovered.

Fiji is so unexpectedly big that some orientation is required. Most travelers will probably fly into the international airport at Nadi (pronounced Nahn-di) on the biggest island of Viti Levu, home to the capital city of Suva and gateway to the most popular resorts.

Resorts for every crowd

A common path for arrivals at Nadi is to take a shuttle bus to the nearby tourist port at Denarau Island and then travel by large motorized catamaran to one of 20 or so major resorts in the sunny arc of islands to the west and north called the Mamanucas and the Yasawas. It was in these chains that the Hollywood films were made, and they range from steep volcanic knobs to low, sandy, palm-fringed islets.

Here you can swim, snorkel, surf, sail and sun in islands that are a world unto themselves. There is a huge range in prices, from "backpacker" resorts where you can crash for as little as $15 to $20 a night to the Turtle Island Resort in the Yasawas where room and board runs about $2,000 a night. There is everything in-between.

Some cater to singles, some families, some are bustling and some are quiet. For example, we stayed at the serene Musket Cove resort that is more adult oriented, while the Plantation Island resort next door was less refined but more aimed at children, with a playground, kid's activities board and better swimming beach.

The "Lonely Planet" guidebook can help steer you to the right one. Other information can be had from Web sites such as www.awesomefiji.com, which caters to young low-budget travelers, or www.fijilive.com/fijimagic.

Experience "real" Fiji

By all means enjoy these islands, but take time to see the "real" Fiji, too. Viti Levu is circled by a good highway and can be negotiated by rental car, bus or taxi. The capital at Suva is rainier than Nadi, but it has an excellent museum and its handicrafts market probably is the best place to buy souvenirs, at prices a third those of the resorts. There are a number of fine resorts on this main island as well, and numerous opportunities for day trips to snorkel, scuba dive, horseback ride, canoe, bicycle and hike.

A ferry or airplane can take you to neighboring islands. Vanua Levu, the next largest, boasts a hurricane hole for yachts at Savasavu. Nearby, the son of famed oceanographer Jacques Cousteau has opened a high-priced and swank resort specializing in scuba and snorkel trips to nearby spectacular reefs.

On the other side of island are the sugarcane fields, and at Lambasa you can visit an open-air market with a flavor of India. Nadi, too, has a large number of Indian shops and the biggest Hindu temple in the Pacific, brilliantly colored.

On Ovalau Island you can visit the old whaling town of Levuka, Fiji's first capital, a beautiful and quiet historic site. More remote islands reached by ferry include rugged Kadavu, lush Taveuni or the distant Lau group. Fully exploring the archipelago would take weeks or months, and a sailboat visitor said he could easily spend two years exploring its anchorages.

In our limited stay we found the food good, the people consistently friendly, and connections easy. Any political tension was invisible to us.

The most important thing to remember is "bula!" It's the Fijian word for hello, and you'll be hearing it a lot. Reply with a smile and add "Vinaka vakalevu," or thank you very much.