6 days in Tonga - one or two on Eua?

Hi all,

I arrive at Tongatapu on December 10th, and leave again at the 16th. I have a bit of trouble of coming op with a rough itinerary, as I'm guessing that Sundays in Tonga are... well... empty. That rules out flying or sailing to or from one of the other islands on that day, so I was thinking of maybe spending Sunday on Eua. Take the ferry on Saturday, fly back on Monday. Would this be a good idea? Does any of you know if, for example, Hideway organises tours on Sunday? Could I paddle my rental bike across the island withour disturbing or offending people? And what would you say - is one full day on Eua enough, or would a second day be just as much fun?

I have been thinking about flying to Ha'apai or Vava'u, but it seems much more expensive, and just quickly go there for some tropical beaches would probably not be worth it for me.

Hello Haroldinho,

I have never been to 'Eua myself, but have some good friends living there and it would definitely be worth going there for more than one day, especially if you are not going on to Vava'u or 'Ha'apai. Tongatapu is okay, but most people have enough of it after two days, not very pretty there. On 'Eua, you can do lots of hiking, caving and general exploring, they have some of the most amazing cave systems there. You won´t find the classical white tropical beaches, but it sounds like it you are not that fussed about it anyway. For the Sunday, you should definitely get out of Tongatapu since it will be totally dead, like you said. You won´t have a problem riding your bike on a Sunday, wherever you are. After all, you are a tourist and the Tongans are relatively tolerant with that.
I do not know if Hideaway run tours on Sundays, just look them up on the internet and contact them, they´ll be happy to help.

I would spend one day on Eua, or, I mean, one overnight. It's not that grand.

All the hospitality and tour operations including transport work on a Sunday, so you will be able to get around.

It would pay you to try and get up to Va'vau for a day or two, really.

I have spent quite a bit of time on Eua, but a while ago, and also think it is worth more than 1 day. I like the rural feel to the place and there are different things to do than on Tongatapu. I am not all that fond of Tongatapu though so would find 6 days too long there. The better idea would be to have 1-2 days there and the rest in Vava'u / Ha'apai.

Thanks all. I decided to go for two days. I'll get my share of "real" tropical islands later on in my trip, so Vava'u and Ha'apai are really not an option. Hope I won't regret it.

I'll let you know if it was a good decision in about three weeks or so.