places to stay and eat in Nuku'alofa (and car rental)

Hi all,

Been reading through the forum posts. I'm going to Nuku for a few days en route to Ha'apai. Been trying to pin down where to stay for my 2-3 nights and was thinking either the Villa, the Waterfront Lodge, or the Seaview Guest House. I know these places might be pricey for Tonga but compared to what I'm used to paying in the US - no problem.

I'd like a place that's quiet, with good food, and not too far of a walk into town - with a/c and internet hopefully. Any suggestions? I'm also open to suggestions on good places to eat.

One additional question - I want to really explore Tongatapu so was thinking of renting a car. I'm terrible at driving stick though - are there automatics around? And how hard is it and what do I need to get a temporary license?

Thanks in advance to all respondents.

Edited by: solomon65

I stayed at the Villa last year and highly recommend it. The owners Kim and Judy are great people. It's really comfortable, clean and well run. It's often first choice for business travellers - so you need to book well in advance - I was there for nearly 3 weeks and they were booked solid the whole time. I think the Villa is better located than the Seaview or Waterfront - they are both a further walk from town - particularly the Seaview. I'd say the Villa is about half way between the Waterfront and town - about a 10 minute walk either way.

In terms of quiet, all 3 are on the Vuna Rd - which can be noisy - both the Waterfront and the Villa sometimes will get noise from nearby clubs - but I wasn't bothered by it. You can never be guaranteed total peace and quiet in Nuku'alofa.

Food - great breakfast at the Villa and on Fri nights they open up to the public for dinner - but otherswise they don't provide meals. A good choice of restaurants and cafes in close walking distance. I didn;t eat at the waterfront, but heard good reports - it's more upmarket and pricey than some. I recommend Reef Cafe down on the wharf opposite the Waterfront - nice fresh reasonable priced food. A bit further down opposite the water, La Terrazzo has good pizza.

There's a good seafood restaurant not far around the corner on Salote Rd Maufanga - forgotten the name Fiesta or something - but others will know and be able to tell you. In town I really liked Friends Cafe for coffee, lucnh or dinner. A new place across from Friends was just opening when I was there - I didn't eat there but it looked good and generated a lot of interest - run by two Italian sisters who just opened up on a whim. I'm sure there's more - but these are the first that come to mind.

Car Rental - I recommend Fab rentals on Salote Rd, Mau'fanga - I'm sure you can get an automatic. You'll need to go to the police station to get a temporary drivers license. There's usually a long queue but if you're not concerned about getting a receipt - you can pay cash to the person who issues your license - rather than queue for the cashier. It costs about TOP17.00. Good luck...

I second the comments above about FAB Rentals. They were great. I think it was Roger? who picked me up. I'm pretty sure I got an automatic, but make sure you ask for one.

Friends is a great little cafe, good food.

Down Vuna Rd. I stayed---for a couple of hours---at, I think, the Waterfront Hotel. It's the one run by an Italian lady, with 8 rooms, 4 facing the water and four facing the rear. The rooms were OK, I arrived about 8pm from Vavau. But the parking lot had a big fence and locked gate for guests cars, so petty theft is in that area. Then at about 10pm the disco next door (across the side road) started its BOOM BBBBOOM ---BOOM BOOM BBBBOOM!. The service guy said it would last until 4am!! and this was on a Wednesday evening! I packed up my things and told them I was checking out, and they gave me a full refund. At that hour I could only check into the Dateline, where I had spent a night before going to Vavau, and had vowed not to stay ibn again. It's not that bad, actually, and good A/C, which was needed in December, but not really that nice a place for what one pays.

I was told the next day there was a good place on the coast, still near town, but opposite side from the Vuna Road places, e.g., left when you get to the water (Vuna Rd. is down to the right). It was called something like the Black Pearl or similar. looked OK, and it was in a quieter area. But as I was leaving at midnight I just stayed at the Dateline.

Typical Tonga fun: We actually all went to the airport at midnight, but a bird strike hit the plane on the way in, and we spent four hours on the plane waiting for refueling, as they had burned up too much fuel testing the engine at 2am after cleaning out the birds! the fuel guys had gone home at 2am, thinking the plane would just take off. So we waited on the plane. Finally, at 6am the pilots announced they were over on their flight hours allowance, so the flight was re-scheduled for 7pm! One lady woke up from her 4 hour nap, looked out the window, and said "Wow, I didn't know Auckland had so many coconut trees!" All true. We got on a bus and I ended back in town, and they had arranged for us all to stay---at the Dateline! Luckily I asked for and got the same room I had the night before. The crew and all of we passengers ended up in unmade rooms, but at least my unmade room had my own sheets, towels, etc. from several hours earlier!

Oh, on the driver's license---as I was only going to be back for a day and a half, I didn't get a Tongan drivers license, and FAB didn't mind. But be warned. They have numerous speed traps on the island, it seems that is a big source of revenue.

Hi - yes I agree with Raro's comments re driver's license - Fab rentals won't mind - but I was warned that the police may target tourists to check licences etc - I was there for a month and wasn't going to risk it. I like your story Raro - brings back memories. The Black Pearl suites are supposed to be quite nice but quite a bit out of town - further than the Seaview or the Waterfront. Cheers...

Yes, for a month or even a week it's worth getting a driver's license. Actually, i got stopped in a speed trap on the way to the flying foxes trees on the west (not so great an attraction after all). I was going whatever the country limit is (50kph?), then slowed down to 30 kph when a sign said "Welcome to (village)!" . After passing maybe a dozen houses, there was a sign that read "Goodbye from (village)!" so I sped back up to 50kph. After 100 m there was a speed trap on the left hand side of the road, and they waved me over. I explained that I read the "Goodbye from (village)" sign, so I sped back up, assuming I was no longer in the village. But the officer then explained that the sign itself was not at the end of the village----their speed trap was at the legal end of village! Then I pulled out my Cook Islands driver's license, and they said, OK, not a problem!! They said to just slow down. I said I would.

When the FAB guy had picked me up at the airport he made a point of taking the farthest southern road to town, not the main road. He explained that they never had any speed traps on that road, and we could go maybe 60kph, instead of crawling along at 30 kph, and risking a ticket if we even went 31 kph!

As to domestic airline stories in Tonga, don't even get me started!

Thanks everybody for the resonses. On the hotels, The Villa is full already unfortunately and I haven't heard back from Seaview. I'm a bit scared to stay at the Watefront after hearing the disco story!

On the car rental, since I'm only in town for 2 nights maybe I should just use taxis, might be less hassle? Will they take me all over the island?

Thanks!

I'm sure they will take you around, but not sure of the cost. I used a taxi on my first segment in Nukualofa to take me down Vuna Rd., I don't think it was that expensive. But I'm not sure how much they would charge to drive you around the whole day. If you had the car, it would be easier to get around to where you wanted to go, and when you wanted to go, buy groceries etc. It would make it a lot easier to find a decent place that wasn't right in town. FAB might even be able to pick you up from the airport.

Shame about the Villa - there's a guesthouse on Salote Rd Mau'fanga - called Pleasant Guesthouse (used to be Tom's guesthouse) I think it's pretty good - good standard of rooms and bathrooms, pretty quiet and good security. I stayed there for about 2 months in 2005. Also, for only two nights I would maybe consider the Dateline - as long as your expectations for hotel management are a bit below fawlty towers - in a friendly islander kind of way. It is very well located for walking to town and along the waterfront. If you're not going to hire a car then maybe do an island tour rather than use a taxi. BTW I was driving around for a month and didn't get pulled over once - so never did need to produce my license....but it was worth the piece of mind.

....ooops I meant peace of mind....

Thanks all. I'm now thinking Heilala Lodge and rent the car, that way even though I'm not right in town I have a car so its no problem..... can always take a taxi if I plan on an evening of heavy drinking!