Likuri Group Culture: Kava, Lovo, Meke
Hand you a coconut cup, ask you to clap once, and say “Bula”, and you’ve just been folded into Likuri Island’s real group activity: not a booze cruise, a kava circle.
The sevusevu welcome anchors everything. Groups sit cross-legged on woven pandanus mats around the carved wooden tanoa, the ceremonial kava bowl, while a village host prepares the yaqona brew. Each guest takes the coconut cup, the bilo, claps once with cupped hands while saying “Bula”, drinks the earthy liquid in one go, and hands the cup back with three claps and “Mada”. It sounds small on paper. In a group of a dozen strangers turned instant vuvale, extended family, it sets the tone for the rest of the stay.
The lovo unearthing is the group’s shared meal. The whole camp gathers as staff dig through palm fronds and wet burlap to lift out the sizzling baskets of slow-cooked pork, chicken, fish, and root vegetables that have been steaming underground for hours. It’s participatory in a low-key way: everyone crowds around, nobody’s assigned a task, and the smell alone does most of the bonding.
Evenings run on driftwood fires and group singing. After dinner, groups gather around a beach bonfire while the Likuri String Band plays acoustic guitar and ukulele, working through favorites and closing most nights with the Isa Lei farewell song. The meke dance performance often pulls guests onto the sand to join hands with the dancers, so come ready to be roped into a group dance rather than just watching one.
What this isn’t. There’s no bar crawl, no late-night club, and no organized team-building course with obstacle stations or trivia nights; a 25-acre island running on generators and solar power simply doesn’t have the infrastructure for that kind of group program, and pretending otherwise sets the wrong expectation before you even book.
For families traveling as part of a larger group, our family-friendly activities guide to Likuri Island covers which parts of the program work well for younger kids specifically.
Verdict: Likuri rewards groups who want a shared ritual experience over a packaged party itinerary. Book the sevusevu and lovo experience as your group’s centerpiece, not an add-on, since that’s genuinely what the island does best.
One planning tip: tell your host in advance how many are in your party. Group size shapes how the kava ceremony and lovo feast are run, and getting the headcount right avoids an awkward scramble for extra cups or plates on the night.