Tonga in August - NEED Help and have LOTS Of questions

TONGA!!

Heya,

I need a backup trip for August and Tonga has been on my bucket list… OMG OMG WHALE SWIMMING… just thinking about it is making my heart race.

So I have a ton of questions… unfortunately I can't seem to find a lot of info on Tonga.. I HOPE someone can help me out.

Us – we LOVE swimming, BEACH. We love beautiful water/beach. We enjoy water sports – swimming, snorkeling, SCUBA (for me alone ^___^). We also love hiking (tougher ones for my brother and I – like mountains or volcanoes), forests, mountains wildlife and culture/cultural shows. Basically we like to spend our vacation with activities and then R & R at a beach in front of our Hotel- either at the end of the vacation or in the afternoon daily.

Yeah reading all that I wonder… what did I leave out?

Anyway – Tonga has a lot of what we love… but how to plan it or have most of it I don't know.

I should mention – the people going are me (will turn 34…), brother 29 and mother 61.

Location: Live in Canada, Work in the States- airports in both countries are fair game

Dates in Question: Second week of August

Time: 10-12 (POSSIBLY up to 14) days – I want to MAXIMIZE ground time instead of in-transit/air time

I have a ton of questions – I'm sooo sorry about this. Essentially I'm panicking because August is close by and I have no plans. I also remember trying to book an August Vacation to Tonga a few years ago and no accommodations were available.

1- For whale swimming – do I have to be an extremely good swimmer? I'm good but… I'm not sure of the water conditions (swells, surf etc etc)… and even with fins we're no match for the whales! What if a whale accidently knocks into you – lights out? Will my mother be okay? She's a good swimmer too (loves to swim)… but seeing such massive and beautiful creatures in front of you may change things. I'm considering having my mother wear a life vest just in case.

2- How many days should I dedicate Whale swimming? I'm assuming you are NOT guaranteed to see them.

3- Can you Scuba with whales? If so – would you recommend that… is it a different experience… I'm just trying to imagine it all since it's quite different from smaller fish and corals. Is Scuba recommended in Tonga? I honestly would rather keep my heavy gear at home if it's just okay.

4- I know Whale swimming is an option available from June-September – so my Dates should work right?

5- How to get there… looks like it's through LAX – is this the case? Air Fiji and New Zealand are options… the New Zealand has better layover times (Fiji is about 7 hours). Now idea which one is the better airline…. What are your thoughts on this? Are some days better than others? Looks like if I leave on Wednesday late in the day, I'll arrive Friday early in the afternoon… OUCH.

6- Should I combine another country with Tonga? Ex: Somoa… I would have LOVED Fiji – but that would through my budget overboard and the flights from Fiji to Tonga are limited – better of flying back to New Zealand … and besides I would love to spend 2 weeks in Fiji by itself (a cruise + something else).

7- Looks like August is the coldest month of the year – makes sense whales don't like warm water…. It's weird because it's telling me that the air temperatures are 18-25 (aka thin jacket weather)… but the water temperatures at 25 also??? Is this the case…. Sounds like we'll need wetsuits.

8- Given our lack of days, I'm assuming it's best to spend it all in Tonga – if that's the case… spend it mostly in one island or split it over two? If I had to choose 2… which would you recommend based on our interests – Vava'u and something else?

9- I read somewhere there may be flights that have a layover in Fiji and go to Vava'u directly… but I tried using Kayak (with +/- 3 days arrival/departure) from LAX ->Vava'u… nothing… I'm guessing we have to take a local flight from Nuku'alofa (TBU) to Vava'u…. that's going to waste some time… I'm assuming the closer islands I can take a ferry… but I have to figure out where I'm going first

10- FINALLY – any decent travel agents that can help me plan this? My local agents are like… HUH what is Tonga? Any reliable ones? I did a quick google search and found a few… but none have any actual ratings… Not sure if that's the best way to go or the most budget friendly.

Honestly… I feel lost and I'm panicking on how close August is arriving…. I don't know where to start and there are very little guides/itineraries online. I know Tonga has a ton to offer… I hear they have amazing Kite Surfing (would probably cost an arm and a leg)…

Anyway… ANY thoughts/advice is appreciated no matter how negative it is.

PS. Feel free to privately message me

5) I like Fiji Airways. They are much friendlier than Air New Zealand.

6) Samoa is not connected to Tonga directly at all, plus is the last country in the region I'd recommend visiting anyway. Fiji is well connected to Tonga, and if you fly to Tonga on Fiji Airways, you could easily arrange a stopover in Fiji.

7) Canadians should never find Tonga cold!

8) Tongatapu and Hapaai

Heya!

Thanks for all the information! It's very appreciated.

I always read how amazing Vava'u is... I always thought I would split my vacation between Vava'u and Tongatapu but recently I'm seeing a lot of Ha'apai - I'm considering 5 days in each... and IF time alots perhaps 1 or 2 days in Tongatapu. Does that sound reasonable? Given, they are a bunch of tiny Islands... how do you choose where to stay? While I want whale watching/swimming to be my main activity... I also like to do other things... so how would you divide your trip between the two locations? The problem I'm having is, both groups boast of the same activities... so it's hard for me to tell which ones have better snorkeling or whale watching etc etc and it could also depend on the island you choose within the group.... Another issue is transportation, assuming tourism isn't big, there are probably set times/schedules for transportation (not widely available) and I am trying to maximize activity time over flight/in transit time. That being said, flights are SUPER expensive between Tongatapu and Vava'u - around $600/person oO....

I think it's possible to take a ferry between Tongatapu and Ha'apai... is anyone able to tell me what ferry routes/pricing exists? I found fisa.to searching here at TA - however, their dates/prices are all from 2016 oO

Also, is there a Tonga military tattoo for 2018 and when? Last info is from 2015 >_<

I wish there was a trip report or itinerary to read... or a local travel agent (or any for that fact) that could provide me with some assistance because every place I look it's gorgeous (ex: fafa island)

Have sent you a private message.

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