Birthday Bucket List: A Floating Festival Bar in Fiji

by Jake Kilroy

You can have a smaller haven tucked away in a larger Heaven, it turns out; a paradise within paradise. In the South Pacific, lazily floating on sparkling turquoise waters like a giant floatie beneath a lounging golden sun, a two-story bar and pizzeria gives you the time of your life, promising what feels like an eternity of bliss. Welcome to Cloud 9, a floating pizza pie shaped festival on water and this week’s #BirthdayBucketList.

Photos by Anaïs Chaine Photography

Relaxing off the coast of Fiji’s largest island, Viti Levu, floating fire-watering hole Cloud 9 loosens itself from the world, cooling the heels of its onboard drinkers, diners, and dreamers. Breaths of the up-to-100 guests slow to a thoughtful hum and the good life becomes inevitable, working your wild heart divine with a whimsical sense of time-loss. You'll never find a bar that could melt your bones faster or set your muscles this loose and free, working them to be more akin to kites and balloons.

Cloud 9 in Fiji

Top Photo: Aerial Vision Australia | Row 2-3: Anais Chaine Photography

The Breeziest Bar in the World

With a spectacular 360-degree view of the waters of Vanua Malolo and the Ro Ro Reef, Cloud 9 manages to give nightclub offerings a backyard patio spin with the most luxurious sight in any direction. Its staff blesses the barge with a fully stocked bar that features top-shelf drinks from around the world, happily serving up cocktails and smoothies. Local favorites of Fiji Gold, Fiji Bitter, and Fiji Rum Co are ready to make you a resident rather than a traveler, but it’s up to you and your lot to decide what suits the day, whether restful or restless.

Pizza & Party Central

Cloud 9 knows how to party. Aiming to bring the best music to the islands, the staff blasts a custom-made playlist during the week and ensures a cutting-edge music policy with local and international DJs showing up to spin on the weekend. If you’re coming to bash with a bunch of your best dancers on a weekday, spot the Cloud 9 crew with a head’s up beforehand and they’ll have a DJ on board by the time your first dance shoe shakes.

Like any dreamboat afternoon of day-drinking, food wanders your brain like a lost guest at the best party. Cloud 9 knows the spin of the day and is more than ready to cure your sunken stomach of its glorious ails with a menu that springs to saucy life. Homemade Italian wood-fired pizzas take only a few minutes to cook up a tasty salvation for meat-eaters, vegetarians, and gluten-free guests.

Conquer the Water

While lazing and luxuriating on the unique venue’s oceanfront and ocean-top sun deck is a grand way to spend the day, just chatting cackling, and moving from hanging chair to day bed, you can stir your wild nerves a good deal by swimming, snorkeling, parasailing, or riding a jet ski. Keep in mind that although water sports are coming soon to Cloud 9, the crew is more than happy to pre-book your favorite ways to bounce, trounce, and glide across the blue wilderness through their partner companies.

Cloud 9 Floating Bar in Fiji

Built with precision and creativity, Cloud 9 cultivates an experience unlike any other. It’s a floating island with the perfect ambiance for any event, from fun intimate wedding to corporate function with a twist to one-of-a-kind private party. At the end of the day, cruise out to your home away from home with a 40-45-minute boat ride to Port Denarau or a 10-minute speedboat ride to Muskey Cove Resort, Lomani Resort, and Plantation Resort.

You can’t stay at Cloud 9 forever, but few people in this life get the chance to experience Heaven on Earth, let alone drink themselves into gleeful wonder with their toes in the cool water of the endless horizon. Maybe it’s time you really went for it.