Best snorkeling with young children in Tonga?

Hi All,

My kids , 10 and 13 and I are planing a week vacation in Tonga.
Last year, we spent 5 nights on Aitutaki ( Aitutaki Lagoon Resort) and we loved it so much that we want to go back there
, but Tonga sounds wonderful so if we could find a nice place to stay, we would like to try it.
Any suggestions on which Island and where to stay?
We are not very fussy about food or accommodation, less touristy is better.

Thanks,

Ha'apai is your best bet if you are looking for less tourists, pristine reefs with excellent snorkeling and white sandy beaches on your doorstep. Accommodation can be found in any price category: from mid and high range on Foa Island to basic, but clean and family-like guesthouses on Lifuka and Uoleva, which offers genuine Robinson Crusoe atmosphere. If you want more information on the guesthouses on Lifuka and Uoleva, you can check out http://www.finsnflukes.com/generalinformation.htm. If you want to stay on Foa, I would recommend Matafonua Lodge, on Lifuka Langilangi Guesthouse and on Uoleva Captain Cook´s Hideaway.

You wont find much snorkelling on Tonagtapu or Vavau that is on your "doorstep" so to speak. You will most likely have to travel a bit to get there.

Matafonua Lodge in the Ha'apai came to mind but the snorkeling off the beach is no great shakes. There are fish though. I spent 4 days on Uoleva and I didn't see any fish at all. (He offered to go to the store in Lifuka to buy some fish for my dinner.) However, Uoleva might be a wonderful experience for your kids. It's an almost deserted island (very beautiful), you can build a bonfire on the beach at night. You might be the only guests. Be aware that Captain Cooks is very basic, with a outhouse and cold water showers not attached to your rooms, light is by hurricane lamps.

I would like to expand on the snorkeling opportunities actually available on Uoleva Island. There are pleasant reefs for snorkeling close to shore just South and also a little North of Captain Cooks Resorts beach. There is no real snorkeling directly off Captains Cooks as it is all sandy and more suited to approaching with a boat, which is one reason why he built the resort there I guess. Interestingly it is the also the actual site where Captain James Cook chose to anchor when he stopped at Uoleva back in the day. However, a ten minute walk from Captain Cooks, in either direction on the West coast, will have you up to your eyes in all the colourful reef fish you can imagine and I have spent many hours snorkeling the reefs there myself on numerous occassions. Actually they used to have a Community Clam Circle (A conservation initiative by the Dept of Fisheries) on one of the reefs with approx 12 big giant clams to see at a depth of five meters but sadly it was raided last year and now only three remain that I can see. You may also snorkel on the East side of the Island at high tide where a contrasting habitat (Reef flat lagoon), different species of fish and abundant invertebrate life may also be encountered there. So in summary, Uoleva has often ideally calm conditions, excellent habitat and a great deal of biodiversity for snorkeling for you and your family. I hope this helps, Brian.