Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# More questions about going to Tonga - Vava'u... Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
tessha_m 04:35 UTC 16 Feb 2007 | Hi! I'm still planning my trip to Tonga. I know everyone says to fly, but i want to go by ferry from Nuku'alofa to Vava'u. I am scared of flying and like to avoid it if possible... and i've been to Tonga. The thought of domestic Tongan planes scare me alot! Yes i have seen Tongan boats too.. but i can swim! I can't fly... LOL! anyway... The ferries depart Nuku'alofa on Tuesday and arrive on Wednesday in Vava'u. They depart Vava'u on wednesday and arrive in Nuku'alofa on Thurdays. I plan to arrive in Nuku'alofa from NZ on Saturday and depart Nukualofa for NZ on the saturday 2 weeks later. I will be there in August. So my questions: 1) Am i right in thinking there are only 2 choices of boats to go on? Thats all i can seem to find. If there are more please tell me! 2) When it says the scheduals are "irregular" what does that mean? Will allowing for a few extra days either side of the schedualed departure mean i should be able to get there and back OK? 3) How do i book the ferry? Do i need to book it? 4) if i was considering flying, how do i book that? Or even find out about it? 5) How is the best way to book accomodation? I am thinking of staying at Vava'u Guest House. Thankyou! |
linafromtonga 15:13 UTC 10 Mar 2007 | Hi, I strongly recommend NOT to use the ferries-you'll regret it! One is called OLOVAHA -or, as everybody says: the ORANGE VOMIT!- and the other one is the PULUPAKI, not much better than the first. You can not get any food on the ferries, they are incredibly dirty, the toilets are permanently out of order and filled up with something really disgusting and quite smelly. FLY! ! The view is better, the air is cool and it's fast. And you'll get a cool drink. Hope to see you soon Katharina | 1