8 days in New Caledonia

Hi guys

My wife and I will be headed to New Caledonia in May for 8 days. We plan to rent a car. We would like to spend some time on the beach but also do a bit of hiking. scuba diving and of course go try out some of the restaurants. I can speak French.

I am currently planning the itinerary and would be really grateful for some advice. Which areas of the island should be focus on? From reading this forum it seems that some time on Ile des Pins is a must - how long should we spend there? Is it really the best island or should we consider other islands instead? I'm conscious that 8 days is not a lot and we are ok not to see everything. We can always come back!

You could make most of having a car on the main island of Grande Terre. And there, the Northeast is the most beautiful part.
It would be easy to fill 8 days on this island.

On the Isle of Pines, a daytrip from Noumea could be enough to pretty much see everything, though you could of course stay longer - but I'd definitely not recommend spending all 8 days there.

The Loyalty Islands also sound interesting and bigger. I haven't visited, but if I did, my priority would be Lifou, the biggest one.
Ouvea is noted for the longest, most spectacular beach though.

Thank you. Given we only have 8 days, I'm thinking we should focus on one area instead trying to see everything. Which area do you think we should focus on? We'll follow your suggestion and spend a couple of days on Ile des Pins.

Since you want to use a car, I would say combine say 5 days on Grande Terre (Noumea & the NE) with 3 days on the Isle of Pines.
That's if you actually want to see different things.
If all you want is to relax on the beach, you could spend all your time on the island. No need for a car then.

On the main island, the most scenic area is the East coast, especially near Hienghiene.
On the way, you can stop and hike in the interior in the Farino Sarramea area.

Did you climb Mt Panie, @willemspie ?
It was one of the best things I did on the island.

No, but i have hiked the GRNC1 long distance trail.

Must have been great, and I bet, uncrowded.
I focussed on watching birds, so only did the section in Blue River Park - it was the reason for climbing Mt Panie, too.
Never met another person on the trails in NC.

Do you guys think it's possible to explore the Noumea and the North East coast without having to book different accomodation? To keep it simple (if possible) I would like to book accommodation that we would use as "basecamp" and do day trips from there.

The NE is too far from Noumea for meaningful daytrips. You should stay in Hienghiene for a night or two.

And stop one night on the way in Farino or around.