ferry - Tonga to Eua

From a website I think this leaves Nuku'alofa for Eua at 12:30pm every: Tuesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday. And returns from Eua at 05:30am on: Monday, Wed, Friday, Saturday.

question please: do you just turn up to the wharf an hour or so early and book a ticket? Or do you need to book in advance? again, this is late Sept/early Oct.

(also, if you can let me know if the Ferry's days are wrong or out of date, should anyone know). Thanks for any responses.

I know the Op was fom a while ago, but I figure that I'll inform future travellers anyway.

Like a lot of things in the Kingdom things don't necessarily happen according to strict calender/watch guidelines which can make internal travel difficult. The ferries are the epitomy of this. I lived in Nuku'alofa for a year and could never rely on the ferry to be running according to a schedule. Sometimes people would get to the ferry and it wasn't running that day (despite having a ticket). There is an office for the shipping company that runs the ferries in town, although I have a feeling that it would have moved in the last year or so as part of the Nov 06 reconstruction.

A more reliable option for getting to Eua if you have the means is flying. It is actually the shortest commercial flight in the world and takes 6-7 minutes compared to the 3-4 hours on the ferry. Flights can be booked from the travel agents in the main street. Flights cost about 70 pa'anga each way and normally run at least once each day. The flights do run on island time as well, so make sure that you plan on returning to Tongatapu at least a day before any outgoing international flights.