Calling all Tonga experts!!

Hi

First of all thank you for all of your answers in the past. I have looked into all the suggestions and have narrowed down a lot. i would just appreciate your help to get me over the line

My boyfriend and I are going to spend 4 days in tongatopu, 5 days in Ha'aipi and 5 days in Vavu'a. Does this sound like a good breakdown?

In Tongatopu we are tossing up between Nerima, Tonis and Blue Banana - which one is the best all rounder based on price, quality, service and location?

In Ha'aipi we are tossing up between Matafonua and Captain Cook - which is better? Are they hard to get to? Should we spend time in Pangai do you think?

Where should we stay in Vavu'a? We want a good all rounder and would prefer no to spent any more than $50USD.

Also we are going to book flights in the next few days. I have heard you all recommend Ruby and Rising Sun Travel. Who is better and will we have to pay a large service fee? is it cheaper going through the airlines.

Look forward to hearing from you all - you have been fantastic!

Sounds like a good breakdown. But I'd do two on TBU at the beginning, and two at the end, since domestic flights can get cancelled, etc., and you want to be sure to be back on TBU for your int'l flight.

On Vavau, check out Adventure Backpackers. It's in the middle of town, on the water. I didn't stay there, but it's a good location.

I am certainly not a Tonga expert (only been there twice), but the breakdown you have decided on sounds like good fun!

Like Raro, I would also suggest breaking up the 4 Tongatapu days. For us, it worked out quite well with just 1 extra night at the end though (gives you that extra peace of mind). Just make sure that you are a little flexible with the dates in general ! During our last visit, one of our flights got changed last minute "to the next day". That is quite common, from what I hear!

As for places to stay:
On Ha'apai I would suggest the Matafonua Lodge, specially if you are interested in more than just beach (diving/watersports etc). Captain Cooks is nice too, just more down to earth and you would need to rely on boat transfers.
On Vava'u we quite enjoyed Lucky's Beach Resort, smallish place but well priced and on the Water.
For Tongatapu, I do not know too much about the places mentioned, we stayed at the Heilala Holiday Lodge (3 km from the city) and found it to be a very good base during both our holidays!

Sounds like a great plan, and very similar to what we did. You might want to have less time in Tongatapu and more on one of the island groups. It is so much nicer out on the islands and there's not a huge amount to do in Tongatapu. Depends what you're after, that's just my opinion. We spent a night in Nuku'alofa at either end of the trip and had 6 nights in Matafonua on Ha'apai and 4 nights at Mala island in Vava'u. If you are going to be whale watching I highly recommend doing it with Glen in Ha'apai. It was a vastly different experience with him compared to the operator we went with in Vava'u.

From what I hear Matafonua and Captain Cooks are very different, so it would really depend what you are after. I stayed in Matafonua and had a great time - lovely individual fales, shared bathroom, all very clean and well kept, great restaurant with good food and drink, nearby dive shop to organise, diving/whale watching etc. From what I understand Captain Cooks is on a stunning beach, but is more basic, and less around it. Sounds great too and I would love to have gone if I had more time. It depends what kind of holiday you're after I think.

Just to add another one to your list - we stayed at Ali Baba's in Nuku'alofa and it was really good. Nice big rooms, very clean, breakfast included, nice spaces for sitting & relaxing. Nerimas is handy for town and does breakfast too, but I found Ali babas quite a bit nicer for a few reasons, and it's not much further to walk into town from.

I also agree with the others about having a day or two in Tongatapu at the end as flights are so unpredictable. Toni's island tour is a good way to sepnd the day there.

Have fun. It's a beautiful and friendly country

I would agree with most things guys are saying.

I agree with kiwitoo, Glen is a very nice Kiwi and you should be OK with him with dives etc and do go on his Katamaran for the day trip.

I do not agree about the beach at captain Cooks. The beach aand water at matafona Lodge was much, much better. Saying that captain cooks is good value and friendly, but it is a bit isolated. Matofona lodge is a bit pricey but the food is some of the best on Tonga and it is near Glens dive place.

I agree with regard to Ali Ba bah's it is probably one of the better budget places to stay and it is modern. When trying to dfind it bear in mind that it is hidden away at the end of the track.

Would agree also that it is better to spend more time in Hapai and Vavau than the main island.

One other thing is that if one had time I would go to Aua for two days and stay at the hideaway. The 4*4 trip is a must and good value. Weathe is a bit crap, but it has some nice rainforest and a rare parrot.

Avoid Linda's on Hapai, did not rate it at all. The ytry to make you at home, but it is too basic and the one night I stayed they were burning tyres outside!!!!!!!

Yes would agree adventure back packers is probably your best bet for Vavua as it is very central.

It is close to Alitair's Watersport dive centre too. Please make sure you book a day trip on his zigalo water boat thing's. It is one of the best things I have ever done, better than sex.

you can't go past the Nerima Lodge.

harry mud, if you don't like the American way, then why not move?

Nerima Lodge is also a good bet, heard it is a good bet. Reckon either Nerima Lodge or Ali Bah Bah's.

Pangai is only worth a day trip on the boat. Nice little Island but only a small stretch of beach that you can swim in near the bar jetty. I think you would get bored ther for more than a day.

Bare in mind that ther is no beaches at Vavua town, you have to get a boat or taxi to them. Only one ATM on the island too and it often runs out of money.

I bit of fun is to see the lady boy show at one of the bars near the YHA backpakcers.

Pago, I'm Australian, and please read the tag again. It's not anti American.

"Bare in mind that ther is no beaches at Vavua town, you have to get a boat or taxi to them. Only one ATM on the island too and it often runs out of money."

A person can easily rent a motor scooter to access local beaches-cheap/fast/fun.

There are in fact 2 ATMs in Neiafu-across the street from each other.

Sorry, there are no good beaches one can reach by motorscooter on Vavau. I went to every possible beach, ends of all roads, over all causeways. Spent three full days looking for a decent beach, with a good swimming or snorkeling area. Nada, nil, zilch.

The only spot I missed was at the Tonga Beach Resort, near Talihau (sp?), as it looked closed up when I got there. Later on someone told me they have a small, decent beach.

"The only spot I missed was at the Tonga Beach Resort.....Later on someone told me they have a small, decent beach."
That's right and it's an easy run from Neiafu-too bad you missed it.

Yes, it is fairly close. But it's a private resort, not sure they will just allow anyone to use it. But it's worth a try.

14 replies you guys are fantastic!!!!

In response to your threads. It sounds like Nerima is a good safe bet - so thanks for that. I will also make sure that I try and allow a couple of days either ide of my flight to stay on the mainland.

The more I hear about Vavu'a i wonder if I am better off just going to Ha'apai. Adventure backpackers sounds nice but I want to swim with the whales, snorkel and swim on beaut beaches every day and it sounds like I may be able to get that on Ha'apai. Why would one spend the extra couple of hundred to fly to Vavu'a? What do you all think?

we have emailed manfotua lodge and they have been very friendly so we think we will definately stay there. do you know if you can rent motor bikes/push bikes around there?

Again I ask the question about travel agents.. who should we go through when booking our flights? Are Rising Sun or Rubys or anyone else reliable? Do they charge a lot extra to provide the service of booking our flights? Does anyone know the flight schedules around the islands?

Hi, I've just sent you a private message.

You can hire push bikes at matafonua.

" I want to swim with the whales, snorkel and swim on beaut beaches every day and it sounds like I may be able to get that on Ha'apai. Why would one spend the extra couple of hundred to fly to Vavu'a? What do you all think? "

Swimming with Whales isn't free-and there's a big difference between seeing Whales from a boat and actually getting in the water with them-if that's important to you choose between Vava'u and Ha'apai carefully.

Anyway aren't you a little late for that?

Snorkeling on beaches gets a little old quite quickly-if it's world class snorkeling you want you need to go to Vava'u.

cardamon - what do you mean about choosing carefully between Ha'apai and Vava'u for whale swimming? You can do both in either location. I found Ha'apai much better for whale swimming as there is only one operator and he is very sensitive to the whales. In vava'u there are lots of boats in the same area and the one we were on didn't care about whether it was harrassing the whale so long as the customers could get in the water. I know which I'd prefer.

"There are in fact 2 ATMs in Neiafu-across the street from each other."

I must of missed it, silly me :-)

What's the name of that bar where they have the lady boy show???? That was a laugh, tee'hee :-)

Dont stay at the Good Samaritan on Tongatapu, its the most overpriced dump in the pacific.

We've just returned from about two weeks staying in Tongatapu, staying at Nerima, and in Vava'u, staying with relatives. We were in Tonga for a mixture of relaxation and to sort out some family business. I originally tried to book in to Sela's, because I remembered them from when we lived in Tonga for a year back in 1991, but they didn't return e-mails or phone calls.

In contrast, I contacted Nerima by e-mail and got a reply within 15 minutes. Naoko, the owner, proved to be a real treasure trove in terms of local knowledge and a prompt and reliable communicator. She steered us toward a helpful local travel agent, who did a good job of sorting out our domestic flights (neither domestic airline had replied to emails, and we now know why Peau Vava'u was so quiet!). Naoko picked up our domestic tickets to ensure that all was well, and was really helpful in suggesting companies and individuals to help us with the business side of our trip.

Nerima is about 5 minutes walk from town, is clean and safe. It was useful having free access to the Internet, and our son took full advantage of the Sky and Tonfon cable television. We enjoyed the bacon and eggs breakfasts and coffee, and a delicious Japanese style curry on our last night - Naoko is a good cook.

As for beaches, we've enjoyed snorkelling at Keitahi in Vava'u, though you need to be a bit careful of the strong cross current. Of the beaches that I've been to on Tongatapu itself, I think that Ha'atafu is best. In either case, if you can afford to get out on a boat away from the main islands you'll find the snorkelling much more dramatic.

Expect domestic flights to be rescheduled at short notice. It is essential that you reconfirm domestic flights with the airline and give them a contact number so they can tell you when the flight times are changed. (Nerima rents a cell phone which we found useful for this kind of thing). I'd also call the airline to check your flight time the day before you travel, and early on the day you travel, and turn up in good time at the airport. We neglected these simple precautions back in 1991 and spent an extra 24 hours on 'Eua after the one flight of the day left 90 minutes earlier than scheduled.

Hi there

The whalewatching season is now over in Ha'apai but I believe day sailing trips are still available and you may be lucky and sight a whale or 2.
I would also recommend spending a day or 3 at Uoleva - it is a really beaut island with good snorkelling and one of the best beaches in Tonga.
See you in Ha'apai!

I think you'll find November is too late to swim with the whales - we just got back from Tongatapu and saw lots of whales which I think were already heading back down from Vava'u. I agree with other recommendation re you're itinery and places to stay on Tongatapu. Good luck.

Hi ,

I just want to help in booking the seats , you are better off with
Teta Tours because they are the GSA for Airlines Tonga and the Majority Shareholder and if the flight is full they will put their clients on before PTM and Rising Sun .

Thanks.

teta toursb

I emailed Teta Tours to make a flight reservation and received no response. I know I was using the correct email address because I had emailed and received a response a few days earlier about flights to the Niuas. I recall someone else also posting that they did not receive a response regarding a flight reservation request.