Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# where to go in the pacific? wich islands or country? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
apatride 17:19 UTC 14 Oct 2007 | Hi! my daughter which me to organize a journey for 2008 in the pacific islands and discover some unknown countries. As I have never travel there, could you provide me some good advises where to go, not missed or forget (with explanations of the arguments, please) we are used to travel, time to be spend in the pacific is about 20 to 24 days no more, doesn't include new Caledonia or NZ or AUS. thanks for your help please for countries mentioned the town/capital for finding flights. good tips such as hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches are welcome ( note we aren't looking for 5 stars hotels but good local) |
mandja 19:03 UTC 14 Oct 2007 | Wow you ask many , very wide ranging questions. Give su some clues as to what you like/dont like, budget, interests etc FIRST re the FAQs in this branch though. Do some homework yourself. Your question is really too general - its like me saying to you " I want to know about some unknown countries in Europe. Tell me all abouit them - hotels, restaurants, bars and beaches ........." | 1
ozziegiraffe 19:33 UTC 14 Oct 2007 | If you are interested in developing countries and learning about culture, I recommend Solomon Islands. The capital is Honiara, but all visitors should go to at least one other island. Some time in 2008, the airfares may get cheaper, is Pacific Blue starts flights there. You can get there from Fiji, Vanuatu, Papua New Guinea or Brisbane in Australia. | 2
watsoff 00:03 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | FYI, there are no unknown countries left in the world, let alone in the South Pacific. However, I second Ozziegiraffe's suggestion, Solomon Islands. Or Vanuatu (more likely to have some nightlife), capital city Port Vila. | 3
raro 05:15 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | You might read the FAQ's, and then get a guidebook like David Stanley's South Pacific Handbook. As Watsoff said, there are no undiscovered countries, well, if there were, we wouldn;t know about them as they have not yet been discovered!! BUT---there are "lesser-visited" areas in each of the South Pacific countries. But to go over them would take a book. So, check out the FAQ's and South Pacific Handbook, and then ask more specific Q's. With 20 days or more, you will have time to get to some of these remote areas, depending on your budget for fights, etc. | 4
mandja 05:42 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | Methinks Raro has made a Freudian slip <blockquote>Quote <hr>budget for fights<hr></blockquote> | 5
raro 06:19 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | Perhaps, Mandja! But remember, there still may be cannibals in these lesser-visited areas, so the budget for fights may include body guards on arrival! | 6
pdunsford 12:44 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | Vanuatu - Tanna (visit the volcano) and Santo (diving, blue holes, milennium cave) are nice and more and more are catering towards tourists. If you really want to go off the beaten track head to the likes of Pentecost and Ambae. The people are incredible. Fiji is a bit more westernised and also is not such a male dominated society so could be seen as a safer destination for women to travel to. The Yasawa islands are stunning. | 7
apatride 19:15 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | Thanks for your comments Yes I do unsterdand my question was general as I have no idea about what I should do or vist with my daughter, the comparaison with europe is for me little irrelevant as in europe you have I believe more cultures languages differences and above all architectures or cooking. I don't want to be respectul, but Pacific culture in those thousands islands are probably unfortunetly unknwon. I would say we want to have nice beaches and friendly people either locals or tramping around..I wish to discover a large ideas of different cultures too. But how to choose between all those islands? | 8
ozziegiraffe 19:22 UTC 15 Oct 2007 | Melanesia has far more languages than Europe - about 80 in Solomon Islands alone. Polynesian languages, however, are all similar, from the same source. I would suggest that you read the general South Pacific section at the beginning of the message board, and then ask more specific questions. If you are interested in tramping and meeting locals, look at exploring Solomons - you might find somethng that interests you. | 9