Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# FSM compared to Cook Islands & French Polynesia Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Micronesia, Federated States of
mortyman 06:42 UTC 15 Feb 2009 | Hi I was in the Cook islands and French Polynesia back in 2006. I am wondering how different FSM ( Pohnpei, Yap, Kosrae & Chuuk ) is compared to Cook Islands ( Rarotonga, Aitutaki ) and French Polynesia ( Tahiti & Moorea ) ? Is it less touristy ? More difficult to stay in ? More basic ? More expensive ? Is it possible to combine the FSM and the Cook islands, Samoa or French Polynesia in an easy way, or will that be to complex and expensive. The island groups of F. Polynesia, Cook is. and Western Samoa seems to be very seperate from FSM. Does'nt seem to be any flights between F. Polynesia, Cook is. and Western Samoa and FSM. I appreciate any information. |
silvanocat 16:00 UTC 15 Feb 2009 | I've been to the Cooks, French Polynesia (3 times) as well as Yap in the FSM plus Palau (which you should consider in a trip to Micronesia). Yap is certainly less touristy though most people who visit have a very touristy experience (met at the airport; taken to their hotel; all their site-seeing and activities done through the hotel). Palau gets a lot of tourists (charter flights from Korea and Taiwan, a lot of visitors from Japan). As in French Polynesia, with, I believe, the most visitor arrivals of all, it's possible to go off on your own or to visit places that see very few tourists. Both Yap and Palau are very easy to stay in. The budget accommodations are less basic than those found in the Cooks and FP. In Yap, the least expensive place to stay was the Hiltop (sic), which is basically an American style motel with AC, en suite, TV (no broadcast but you can play rented DVDs), fridge and maid service for $35 per night. You can camp for $5 (own tent), an hour out of town. (There are no toilets at the campsite. As there are houses and people around it was very awkward.) As these are former U.S. territories they are on the surface quite Americanized. On the high end, you won’t find any resort that compares to the luxury of the French Polynesia resorts. What I found really to be missing in both places was accommodation right on the beach. (There are a few exceptions but basically in terms of location of accommodations the Cooks and FP win, no contest.) It would be very difficult and expensive to combine Polynesia and Micronesia in one trip. Gateways to Micronesia are Hawaii (one flight per week from Honolulu to FP if you want to consider a combo trip), Japan to Guam and points onward (Air Tahiti Nui flies to Tokyo). From the Cooks and Samoa you would have to fly to Auckland and then options include Manila (which has flights to Palau, Yap, Guam and onward) or Cairns, Australia (to Guam), Japan, Hong Kong, Bali to Guam. There is also the option of Samoa to American Samoa to Hawaii. Obviously, don't do any of this but rather spend all your time in Micornesia. Yap is certainly not as beautiful as Polynesia. The Rock Islands of Palau are stunning and Kayangel atoll (Palau) is beautiful. You will have to spend $ to get out of Koror, which is not where one wants to spend a vacation. Take a look at my Palau kayaking web site for more information. | 1
mortyman 17:49 UTC 15 Feb 2009 | Thanx for that " silvanocat " Wow, alot of god information here. I appreciate your information. | 2
rimajolbritt 23:43 UTC 16 Mar 2009 | Hi Mortyman, I have not been to the South Pacific yet (I hope to go next summer), but I just got back from a whirlwind trip (6 islands in 2 weeks) to Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap, Palau, and Guam. I live in the Marshall Islands and wanted to check out the neighborhood, and I was really glad I did! I really loved Kosrae and Yap in particular. They are off the beaten track for tourists (especially Kosrae), which makes them very appealing in my opinion. They were absolutely exquisite and almost untouched by the outside world and the local people were warm and wonderful! I would definately recommend! Palau was also extraordinarily beautiful. I spent 6 hours by myself kayaking in the peace of the Rock Islands without seeing a single other person (and it only cost $50 for the day!). However I did not get the chance to meet too many local people in Koror. If I had more time, I would have gone north to Babeldaob (where life is a bit less commercial and touristy than Koror). I've written and posted pictures about each of the islands in Micronesia and Palau on my blog at http://flobiegirl.blogspot.com It's really hard to get between the South Pacific and Micronesia. It's a real shame because I only live a couple hours flight from Fiji but I have to fly all the way to Australia or Hawaii first. Continental (the only airline in Micronesia) has "Visit Micronesia" air passes which represent a significant discount if you're coming from outside Micronesia. Another alternative is if you have airmiles with Continental or one of it's partners. A ticket from Cairns Australia or Manila to any destination in Micronesia is only 12,500 miles each way. It's 20,000 miles each way from Honolulu. Hope that's helpful! Cheers, Britt | 3
mortyman 19:19 UTC 01 May 2009 | Thanx Britt. Alot of information there from you :-) I will deffinetly give Micronesia some serious tought in my travel plans. | 4