how to get to Pohnpei and Kosrae islnds in Micronesia??

Hi There,
I;ve been wanting to go for a while to the ancient stone ruins of Lelu and Nan Madol on Kosrae and Pohnpei islands in Micronesia. I'm flying soon to Manila to try and find out about flights to there ,possibly through Guam and onwards to Hawai. Nobody here in kuala Lumpur seems to know about the islands or how to fly there with combination flight tickets/stopovers. The Continental website doesn't give stopover options between Manila and Honolulu..
Has anyone been there (Pohnpei/Kosrae) with an idea of possible flightcompanies/itineraries to get there and away??
If you have the slightest hint.suggestion.please let me know!
Thanks
thomas

Hi thkuitembrouwer!

Welcome to TT!

You have to fly with United Airlines. Take a look at their web to know what are your options. Look for the timetable of flights Manila-Pohnpei (you'll have to change planes in Guam and the flight from Guam to Pohnpei will -probably- make a stop in a third airport before arriving to Pohnpei); Pohnpei-Kosrae (non-stop) and Kosrae-Hawaii (direct but it'll make one or two stops before arriving to Honolulu). Make a different search for each one of the quoted legs. It seems you can't look for the schedule for all the week so if you don't find flights for one day of the week, try with another one. Once you know the schedule, go to reservations and use the multiple destinations option to book them. Be aware it won't be cheap.

He's right. United is the only game in town and they will screw you on the airfare. Going through Guam is required in most cases although there is a new non-stop flight from Tokyo that started last year after they completed the runway extension in Pohnpei.

If you need help getting set up in both Pohnpei and Kosrae, let me know. I lived there from 2009-2011 and have lots of contacts and tips. If you're interested in what the SCUBA diving is like, you can see my photos from Kosrae and Pohnpei at this link [http://www.flickr.com/photos/deveyn/collections/72157622871779852/]

You can get me at deveyn at gmail.

Thanks both of you!
Yes , I visited United today in manila and found out possibilities and costs , quite dear indeed.. Does anybody know about boattraffic between Guam and Pohnpei Kosrae? An old lonely planet mentioned one man/plane companies that fly irregularly between islands.. Do these still exist?

By air, United is the only option. I can't comment on sea transport, sorry.

Hi Deveyn,

I will try to contact you through g-mail.
For now ; Is there any low budget/camping accomodation on both islands? The airfare 's going to cost me an arm and a leg , so I'm curious if there's anything apart from resort and expensive hotels on the islands..

Hi Guys,
My main interest on Pohnpei and Kosrae is the ruins of Nan Madol and Lelu , though once I'm there I'd probably stay a week at each hiking /snorkeling and the like . On Pohnei there's a few couchsurfers I could stay , but can't find any on Kosrae.. Is it at all possible to camp there?
Has anyone ever heard of cargoboats in between Pohnpei/Kosrae and the Marshall islands? An old Lonely Planet mentiones this , but could be outdated.
Deveyn mentioned direct flights between Tokyo and Pohnpei.. Anyone has a link or suggestion where to find these flights? I was originally thinking of doing the United 'Islandhopper' flight , but United in Manila says they can't sell them to non-Philipinos (I'm from Holland)

Deveyn mentioned direct flights between Tokyo and Pohnpei.. Anyone has a link or suggestion where to find these flights?

I guess they are charter flights. Only a guess though.