A report back from Tonga

Hi there,
Really found this forum useful in planning my trip, so I thought I'd jot down our Tongan experience.

Tony's Tour
Did the island tour upon our arrival, which ended up being a little long after we'd been up at 3:30 and en route for 6 hours already. The tour itself was about 5 1/2 hours and really covered all of Tongatapu. The stop for lunch was pretty pricey for mediocre and super slow food at the Good Samaratan so if you have the chance, bring your own food. Would recommend the tour.
The stay at Tony's was fine. It's a little out of the way, but he is so willingly to drive you to wherever you'd like to go, that it works out. Just beware of the disorganization of the rides (be firm, but prepared to leave within a 1/2 range of whatever he told you).

Fiesta Restaurant
While it is a bit of a walk from town, the food was great (HUGE portions) and the service charming!

Pangaimotu
Brilliant island day trip. Great snorkelling, good food at the resort, and semi-reliable boat service.

Eua
Boat service currently every second day. For a land lubber like me, even the crossing on a reported "really good day" was a little much. I'd hate to see it on a bad day. Watch out for the perverted attendants who snap photos of white women through the windows.

Hideaway
Taki was very helpful in setting up our visit to the island (booking flights/ arranging tours). However, if you're a budget traveller, you'll find the food here a bit pricey and you're limited to their restaurant in that area. They will let you have space in the fridge though (although the kitchen isn't really for guest use). The fale was an EXPERIENCE. Tonnes of mosquitoes (and currently a mild outbreak of Dengue Fever), ants, your typical lizards and mice. They were good about providing mosquitoe coils, but it wasn't a very pleasant place to sleep.
Unfortunately our trip was centred on a pre-arrranged horse trek that didn't happen because of one horse being pregnant and the alternative presented to us being to take the remaining horse and one bicycle (?!). Beautiful location on the beach, but don't count on finding any swimming nearby.

Blue Banana (beach house)
If you're looking for a beach holiday on Tonga, this is it! Really lovely hosts in a beautiful setting. The beach was fantastic as was the simming (at high tide). Loads of fish to see. The fale was beautiful as well. It had all the comforts -a kitchen, good screens, clean sheets. There's a cute little "village" near-by and easy bus service into town (or hitch a ride with the owners when they head into their shop). The extra $ were truly worth it in this case.

Tonga in general:
First off, Tonga wasn't at all what we expected. Having travelled throughout North and Central America as well as Europe I had become accustomed to a capitalist mentality that is seemingly not present among Tongans (take this as you will). While I had been warned that the country was a few years behind other Pacific islands in terms of accommodating tourists, I actually found it to be leaps and bounds behind anything I had ever experienced before.
Don't expect ferries to run on schedule, or even run for that matter. The main island is pretty barren of activities, the swimming is only good at a very few beaches and even then only at high tide, and it's illegal to wear a bathing suit!!! (Though tourists get away with it as long as they're near a "resort"). There is very little in the way of reliable information and the locals don't seem quite what to make of tourists and, therefore, will give you a range of different answers to any given question (including where to stand to catch the bus!).
If you're looking for a hassle free holiday, Tonga is not the place. However, I can say that I'm glad I went. I enjoyed seeing something completely different from anywhere else I've ever been. The visit to the church on Sunday was intriguing and I've certainly learnt a great deal about another culture.

This should be a sticky.