When Survivor fans think about the beloved reality TV show, they tend to think of Jeff Probst, the best players ever, and the best seasons. Fans who have been around long enough that they no longer worry about which seasons to watch first may also think about the show's medical evacuations.

However, there are many aspects about Survivor that are fascinating and deserve more attention from fans. For example, there are many fascinating details about how each season of Survivor gets produced. One of the most interesting behind the scenes Survivor facts is where Jeff Probst goes during each season's production when he isn't on camera.

Survivor's Jeff Probst Lives In A Resort While Filming The Show

For the first several years of Survivor's existence, seasons would be filmed in new locations. However, most of Survivor's most passionate fans know that the show has been filmed in the same place for a long time now, the Mamanuca Islands in Fiji.

Since the show has been filmed in Fiji ever since Survivor: Millennials vs. Gen X, the show's producers to set up a home base.

While episodes of Survivor depict what the show's cast is up to, they very rarely reveal anything about what it is like for the show's crew in that home base. Fortunately, Jeff once revealed a lot of secrets about the show's production, including where he stays when he isn't on camera.

In February 2023, Jeff Probst launched his podcast, On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast.

In February 2023, Jeff Probst announced his podcast, On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast.

During the first season of the podcast, Jeff revealed many fascinating facts about the production of Survivor.

On May 3, 2023, On Fire with Jeff Probst: The Official Survivor Podcast released an episode titled "Shooting Survivor".

During the podcast, the Survivor host answered a question from a fan named Eileen about where Jeff and the crew stay while filming Survivor.

As Jeff explained, the fact that the show is consistently filmed in Fiji has resulted in the crew staying in a resort.

"In Fiji, it's kind of the best we've ever had in that we take over this one island, which is a resort. And for several months, we are the only people here. So everybody has a room with air conditioning and a shower and a bathroom."

Of course, Jeff doesn't seem to be describing a 5-star hotel, but it seems clear he and the show's crew have a comfortable place to stay when they aren't filming.

In April 2011, the Los Angeles Times published an article about Jeff Probst buying a home. That article revealed that when Jeff isn't in Fiji filming Survivor, he lives with his wife Lisa Ann Russell in a Los Angeles home built in 1949 that once belonged to Gene Autry.

During the same podcast episode, Jeff explained the benefits of the crew staying in a resort together.

According to Jeff's remarks, the crew staying together has resulted in them developing strong bonds with each other.

"There's this sense because we're all together, there is a sense of community."

Jeff Probst And Survivor's Crew Used To Live In Much Worse Conditions

Over the years, Jeff Probst has repeatedly spoken about what it was like to film the early seasons of Survivor. During those conversations, Jeff has said things that made it clear that living in a resort was a huge upgrade for him and the show's crew.

During one interview with an unknown outlet that was partially uploaded on YouTube, Jeff spoke about the living conditions during Survivor: Africa. As Jeff explained during that conversation, he and the show's crew lived in tents and ran the risk of being greeted by wildlife when they came out of them.

"Every tent is the same size whether you're the newest person or Mark Burnett. And if you wanna, if you make any noises, if you fart in the middle of that, everyone hears everything. But every morning, what you would do is you would unzip your tent one click at a time. Because you're in the middle of a safari and you open it and there's zebra, or the next day there's giraffe. And it was, CBS would never let us do it today."

That story is pretty intense given the kind of wildlife that was present during the filming of Survivor: Africa.

During the aforementioned podcast episode where he spoke about his current accommodation, Jeff also reflected on how he lived during the early seasons. Jeff revealed that in addition to living in tents, the show's crew had to build a makeshift city of sorts.

"We also had to build our own portable showers. Our unit department would do that. We also had to have our own plumbing and bathrooms. You're basically building a city, and that was a big part of our setup when you would go to Australia or Africa or wherever is our unit crew would be out there for months to build this city."

Jeff also explained during the podcast conversation why living in such close proximity to each other was problematic for him and Survivor's crew.

"It's very tough. There are no bathrooms. There's no cool air. There's nowhere to just be. You could hear everything that anyone said. So if you were gonna talk smack about somebody, they're gonna hear it.

Based on Jeff's remarks about the living conditions over the years, it makes sense why he would be happy that Survivor is always filmed in Fiji now.