Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Where to go? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
pj87 04:31 UTC 29 Dec 2007 | Hi, I'm currently on a working holiday in NZ and since I'm out in this part of the world I should make the most of it and do some travelling in the Pacific Islands. Ive sort of narrowed it down to the cooks, samoa, tonga and maybe vanuatu. I'd like to take in at least two countries maybe more depending on budget at the time! Just wondering if anyone has any recommendations of MUST see's? Im really into learning about the culture out here so im thinking about samoa and tonga but im really open to suggestions so any help is gratefully received! Thanks |
ozziegiraffe 09:37 UTC 29 Dec 2007 | Samoa and Tonga are both Polynesian islands as are the Cooks, with a relatively similar culture. If you are interested in culture, I would suggest visiting one Polynesian country, and one Melanesian, such as Vanuatu or Solomon Islands. You will find a significant difference and diversity between the two type of culture. | 1
raro 21:17 UTC 29 Dec 2007 | For the Cooks, it's only them from NZ, no connecting flights to Samoa or Tonga. You can do Samoa and Tonga on Air NZ. But to include Vanuatu etc., it's a separate flight. So, the air routes are the main problem you face if you want to visit two countries. | 2
pj87 00:24 UTC 31 Dec 2007 | So what islands are it possible to fly between without coming back to auckland? And if I was to go from Samoa to Tonga, without coming back to auckland, is my only option boat?! | 3
raro 20:23 UTC 31 Dec 2007 | You can fly from Samoa to Tonga. From Fiji you can also reach a lot of other islands. But the Cooks are now pretty isolated from others, except for Tahiti (and to NZ and LAX). | 4