Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Where are the best places to have a long (18-24 hr) layover in the Pacific Islands? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
joshjacobson 04:13 UTC 21 Nov 2014 | Where are the best places to have a long (18-24 hr) layover in the Pacific Islands? Usually, places that are good for a long layover: - Are culturally interesting or have at least 1 very interesting site - Make it easy and quick traveling between the airport and the city/site - Have no/easy visa requirements/fees (I'm American) |
lagoon 16:49 UTC 21 Nov 2014 | Hi Josh, Depends on your destination, and which airline flies that route - but Rarotonga, the capital of the Cook Islands makes for a very good stop-over if flying Air New Zealand from LAX, Auckland or Sydney into Rarotonga. Flights continue onto Auckland in the main. Don't need a visa to arrive into the Cook Islands. Visitors are stamped with a visitor entry permit upon arrival into the Cook Islands, for stays not to exceed 31 days. Culturally, the Cook Islands enjoys a laid-back, friendly Polynesian culture which is closely aligned to Tahiti and Fr. Polynesia. The main township is 2 kms from the international airport. Wide range of good accommodation, with a back-packer lodge located about 1km inland from the airport. Network of public transport to get about. | 1
Laszlo 09:14 UTC 25 Nov 2014 | Hard to answer this without knowing your final destination, but in general, Fiji is likely to be best. It has onward connections to many destinations (unlike Rarotonga, which is only on the way to New Zealand) and the international airport is on a very large island, near the country's main resort town. You can choose between exploring that "mainland", or taking a daytrip to offshore islands. There are many hotels near the airport, which is also between the country's 2nd and 3rd largest towns, both being only half an hour or so away. You don't need a visa for Fiji either, but actually the same goes for most Pacific islands. | 2
watsoff 18:00 UTC 27 Nov 2014 | I agree with Laszlo, Fiji is probably the best place to stop and is, IMO anyway, more diverse than the Cook Islands. | 3