Samoa and Tonga - Recommendations from recent travelers re: 6 week trip?

My husband and I are planning to take a six week trip to Tonga and Samoa in August and September as part of a larger year long trip. We are mostly looking at this part of our trip as time to relax on nice beaches; while also enjoying snorkeling, swimming, kayaking, and some cultural experiences.

We were originally planning to split our time equally between Tonga and Samoa, but now we are considering having more time in Tonga and only about two weeks in Samoa.

We would love some advice from travelers or residents who have been to Tonga and Samoa recently who can advise us on how much time is appropriate in each area.

I'm not an expert on Tonga but as you have discovered she has many islands, each with its own charms and activities.

Same with Samoa. Stretching from the Manua group to Savaii there are many places to visit. In fact each island has its own particular feel and sense of place.

I recommend the beach fales of Upolu, the reefs and rainforests of Tutuila and the lava fields of Savaii. Each is a unique experience.

Here's a link to the Samoan experience.

http://amsamoa-busycorner.blogspot.com/p/eco-adventures.html

Wish i had the same for Tonga.

JW

Tonga has several island groups and they all have different things to offer. While Tongatapu is the main island and has some "sightseeing" spots (blowholes, Ha'amonga Maui Trilithon, caves, Captain Cook's landing site), 'Eua has lush rainforest, good hiking and caving. Vava'u has some hiking too and lots of bars and restaurants and the center of tourism in Tonga . Ha'apai is quite laid back and has many deserted islands with white sandy beaches. The main things to do there are snorkeling, scuba diving and whale watching. It is not very touristy, so very relaxed.

Two weeks is plenty for seeing the two main islands of Upolu and Savaii in Samoa (ie. 1 week each). The nicest beach is around Lalomanu and Saleapaga, but the tsunami really damaged the coral around there so the snorkelling isn't so great. I never did find any impressive snorkelling spots in Samoa.

It'd really be worthwhile to head over to American Samoa for a week or two, as it is quite a bit nicer than independent Samoa in most ways. Tutuila has enough stuff to fill up a week, but the real attraction is to head to Ofu.

Sounds great :) I have been in Tonga more than once and have to say it is absolutely amazing, the time of year you are talking about is also the whale swimming season and a swim with the giants of the sea is not to be missed.

You should definitly stay longer in Tonga than Samoa, (two weeks in Samoa is enough) Tonga are much more 'real' and off the beaten track, you will see plenty of flash resorts and hotels on your travel anyhow.

I would spend as little time as possible on the main island and travel first to the Ha'apai group for a short time, even though it is special to be almost alone on small islands it gets sort of boring fast. Then go to Vava'u and try and spend a lot of time there, It will be a bit hard to find accommodation there that time of year but worth a try. I would recommend Mystic Sands as a place to stay. They are not very pricy and have the option to cook for yourself as well as ready made meals.

Have fun :)

Ha'api is the way to go stay at Matafonua Lodge on the northern tip of Foa island a small resort on the beach with great food and unbelievable views. Check out the web site www.matafonua.com great beaches great snorkeling bush walks kayaking or just relax in a hammock plus some of the best whale watching and swimming anywhere in the world .

Contrary to everything written here, we spent a month in Samoa and just a week in Tonga. To be fair we didn't explore the many islands Tonga had to offer. However, of the people we met in each place we found the Samoans to be much more friendly and welcoming, and we got a lot more insights into their day to day life than we did in Tonga. We found Samoa to be a really great place to be a longer-term traveller as not many people tend to do this, and also because we started to recognise people in Apia and regularly bumped into many of the people we'd met along the way. Having said that, unless you have this regular interaction with the locals, I could imagine a month being a long time for a trip to Samoa.

Thanks for all the wonderful tips people! My friend and I are just planning a trip now and are debating between Samoa or Tonga! We want to go to the more beautiful of the two...and want to travel around, immerse in the local culture, enjoy the beaches, hiking, kayaking and all that jazz! However, that being said we are on a backpacker budget too.. So just wondering as far as costs go.. How do the two rate? For accomodation and living, as well as for travelling around? Does it get expensive taking boats to different islands or is it not too expensive? Many thanks! :) Cheers!

In Tonga you can get a backpacker room for as little as T$15 (approx. US$7) per night. Travelling to different islands by ferry is not expensive (T$65 - 85 from Tongatapu to Ha'apai for example), but you need to bring a lot of time. There are two ferries that run once a week and the trip takes 8-12 hours. Sometimes the schedule changes at short notice and you might get stuck in one place for a few days. If you have a tight schedule timewise it is better to fly. Chathams Pacific is the domestic airline and they fly to all of the island groups several times a day.

The great thing about Tutuila is that all the activities are compacted on a single island; rainforest hiking, coral reef snorkeling, birding, cultural activities, nite life and accommodations. A room in town is $35 a night, 3 meals are $10 bucks a day and beer is $1.50.

There's a link on one of the other posts above.

From Pago Pago,

JW

Hey finsnflukes, great website!
I will be staying 10 days in the Samoan islands, 2 weeks in New Caledonia and 2 weeks in Vanuatu, so I don't think I'll be doing any more scuba diving. But after all that, I'll close my trip with 3 days in Tonga. Still wondering if I just stay in the capital or go to one of the neighbouring islands. Considering the high prices of the airlines in the region, it's quite unlikely that I go to far, so I was thinking of Eua. Could you please enlighten me about the island? Thanks! :-)