Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Island Hopping in the Pacific Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
jameswidows 00:50 UTC 18 Mar 2011 | Im planning to go island hopping in the Pacific between August and October this year in Fiji, Kiribati, Tahiti and various islands that make up the surruonding area. I've formulated a plan but if anyone can advise me of anything I should check out on my route below then please let me know. Here's the plan, help me fill in the gaps :-) _Fiji:_ _Arrive: Nadi (Fiji)_ -Transfer to Beachcomber for 4 nights across the weekend. Thurs-Mon -Travel clockwise around the island towards Nananu –i-Ra – snorkelling. -Sigatoka River trek (2 days) hike. Down from central north, travelling southeast toward Suva. -Boat from Suva to Savusavu on Vanua Levu island, then onto Taveuni by boat. -Back to Nabouwalu on Vanua Levu overland. -Boat back to Natovi on Viti Levu plus side trip to Ovalau. -Back to Suva, possible side trip to Ono island for snorkelling. -Boat back to Suva and travel along the south road back to Nadi. -Boat out to Yasawa Islands for beachy goodness and snorkelling. As I will have to leave from Fiji to head back to LA and London, Yasawas and Ono can be left for the returning leg of Fiji. Leave Nadi (Fiji) after around 10-14 days for Tarawa (Gilberts): Air Pacific or Nareau Airline (approx £386 return on Air Pacific) Kiribati: Gilberts (North): Tarawa: -Arrive in Tarawa at Bonriki Airport -Head to Betio n look around (1day) -Stay overnight along southern fringe between Betio and Bonriki. -Work north west towards Buariki at the north end across the course of a week, camping/homestaying as I go. Use occasional private/bedded accommodation if needed. Abiang: -Boat to Abiang atoll. Try to reach the fringe at Tebontibike and work anticlockwise over a couple days to Abiang Island. Try to last 3-4 days on here. Marakei: -Boat to Marakei from Abiang, again 3-4 days. -Boat back to Tarawa Gilberts (South): -Only really want to hit Abemama if poss. Direct boatride is available or island hop from Tarawa, through the Miana, Kuria, and Aranuka islands to get to Abemama island/atoll. If I can get to Abemama it would be nice to spend 2 nights there and then head back to Tarawa. -Fly back to Fiji from Tarawa -On from Fiji to Tahiti in French Polynesia (probably via AUK) French Polynesia: -Arrive at Papeete airport -Bum around Papeete for a day then head into the island n go south travelling clockwise. -Boat out to Moorea, Huahine and Bora Bora, (2-3 days each) -Boat back or fly, depending which is cheapest. -Kick it in Papeete for another few days Tahiti: Moorea: Bora Bora Finally, if any of you are going to be in any of these places then you're more than welcome to join me. It's always good to meet new people on yer travels. |
Laszlo 09:31 UTC 18 Mar 2011 | Your itinerary seems extremely tight. Even in Fiji, you should allow extra days for transport connections or simply to sit out bad weather. In Kiribati, it seems utterly unrealistic. Boats to the outer islands (except for Abiang) are irregular, and you'd have to be very lucky to catch a boat from Abiang to Marakei (they are mostly served by different boats direct from Tarawa). You could possibly tick off all atolls on your list by flying, but I doubt you will get to all of them the way you plan by boat. I might also add that this mix of 3 countries seems a bit strange to me, especially French Polynesia being added with reference to keeping it cheap... someplace closer to Fiji would seem a more logical choice. | 1
jameswidows 16:06 UTC 18 Mar 2011 | Cheers for the advice Laszio. At the moment I'm just looking at the places I'd like to go and trying to work out some kind of order before whittling it down to something more realistic. The more I read into it, the more I keep coming across the phrase Fiji Time, especially with regard to the islands. Going to Kiribati is actually the main reason for my trip as my folks used to live there before I was born and I want to see where they spent part of their life after hearing so many stories of the place when I was a kid. As it's pretty much impossible to get a flight to Kiribati without transferring through Fiji I thought I'd spend some time in Fiji to flesh out my trip as well. I'm working from the Moon Handbooks South Pacific and Lonely Planet Micronesia books and the maps in the Moon handbook show the routes between islands. I'm assuming these are boat routes but I may be wrong. I just figured it would be nicer to travel by boat than plane. Perhaps the Tahiti/Bora Bora side of things can wait til I'm there with someone special. It would still be a blast to check it out but is Polynesia more of a couples destination? | 2
Laszlo 01:18 UTC 19 Mar 2011 | Any info in the Moon SP guides is VERY old now. As for "Fiji time" - Fiji is actually pretty much the easiest and most efficient island nation to get around by boat (still, it's only weekly to Kadavu, for example), so anywhere else, especially in Kiribati, things will only be less predictable. I guess any destination can be visited alone, not just by couples. It's just that unless money is no objection, Tonga or Samoa would be much cheaper and easier Polynesian countries to fit into your trip than FP, though the latter may well be more scenic. | 3
silvanocat 04:37 UTC 19 Mar 2011 | Don't give up your dreams James. If you want to visit French Polynesia go for it. Moorea and Bora Bora are stunning. No reason why you need to be a couple. Be aware that you might have to fly to Huahine and Bora Bora and back. Airfares are less if purchased there. There is no ferry running between Tahiti and any island except Moorea. There are new regulations barring tourists (for safety reasons they claim) from traveling on many cargo boats. I think the Hawaiki Nui might allow tourists. Two - three days is a very short period of time. You want to spend your time savoring the islands and exploring. If your plan is to rush around and tick off the sights I would suggest an other area entirely - someplace more urban. (I'm speaking of all Pacific islands in general.) Moon has a new Tahiti guidebook - published last fall. | 4
Taimarilyn 23:21 UTC 19 Mar 2011 | I can only comment on Fiji. If you really want to start at Beachcomber (why?) 4 nights seems very long. Then the obvious thing would be to carry on to the Yasawas from there - it's the same boat and you would be picked up from there. Nananu-i-ra for snorkelling - you would have seen better in the Yasawas. Sigatoka River - probably accessed from the southern side, not the northern - so you would have to go through Suva first. Boats Vanua Levu/Taveuni/Ovalau - connections not straightforward. Not sure why you have "to Taveuni by boat" followed by "overland to Nabouwalu" - there's an extra boat trip back to Savusavu in there - and I'm not sure how often that connection runs. Used to be once/twice a week. As Laszlo has said - travel connections take more time than you would expect in Fiji. Pick 2 or 3 places and stick with those. Go slow and enjoy more! | 5
hardnosethehighway 02:33 UTC 20 Mar 2011 | This is what my Mother used to call 'running around like a chicken with it's head cut off' That applies not only to individual countries but island to island. | 6