Getting to Rarotonga from Apia or Nuku'alofa

Hi, does anyone know of an airline or ship which has regular trips to Rarotonga from Apia Samoa, or Nuku'alofa (Tonga)?

thanks,

There are no direct airlinks from either Samoa or Tonga to/from the Cook Islands. Air services fly to/from Auckland, linking all these nations with each other. But there are airlinks between Samoa and Tonga however.

The Pacific shipping service is constantly in a state of flux. At present I don't know whether the Pacific Forum Line still serves Rarotonga any longer. Try contacting the shipping line to enquire. There was some discussion that the Samoa Shipping Corporation would add some of the Northern Group of the Cook Islands to their shipping schedule. Haven't heard anymore news about this proposal lately.

The SV Soren Larsen may have a voyage planned for several of these islands, contact them directly. It's not a regular service though.

Hi all, thanks for the reply. Which carrier is flying from Samoa and Tonga?

Sorry, but again -- there are no flíghts between Samoa and Tonga anymore. Nor passenger boats.

There are flights from and to Auckland/NZ for Samoa, Tonga and Rarotonga, but nothing inter-connecting the island countries. You can get to Samoa and Tonga too from Fiji. All flights, no boats.

thanks for confirming - quite shocking they aren't connected, but what can you do :)

When it comes to breaking even in the air carrier business it's all about filling the seats in the airplane and keeping operating costs at a minimum. You do this by serving high demand routes and keeping the airplanes in the air.

The airlines can't create air traffic, they can only meet the demand for it. If you have a strong demand you can use large aircraft and the seats are cheaper. If you have a weak or inconsistent demand the seats are more expensive because the small airplanes you are forced to use are not as efficient as large ones at lifting payloads, (you and your baggage.)

Then... there are the politics and sovereign interests. Sometimes these lower the costs for the traveler and sometimes they increase the costs. I'm thankful for how that works out for my trips to the Cook Islands from the US. I believe the CI govt helps underwrite part of that expense for Air New Zealand. I don't believe the CI govt underwrites any of the inter-island travel in the Cooks.

Exactly the opposite occurs on Air Rarotonga's inter-island flights... no subsidy weak demand small, less efficient airplanes = high cost

But it's not all bad. If places like the Cook Islands had the kind of demand (and air service) that Hawaii, Fiji or Tahiti has, they wouldn't be what they are.