Tonga Sundays

Hello, It's been great reading all of the suggestions about Tonga.
My wife and I are heading there in June and we are curious about this 'everything closed on Sunday' deal.
We will arrive in Nuku alofa Saturday night and we are wondering if we should bring food(?)
We will be able to find something to eat? Is there anything open at all? Outside of aimless wondering and church visits, what else can be done on a Sunday?

Any recommendations on places to stay for the Saturday and Sunday night? We will be heading to Vavu'a on Monday.

Thanks in advance,
Ben

hospitality venues will be open, restaurants etc, and you can play a lazy round of golf.

Maloelelei & glad to hear that you will be visiting our amazing Kingdom. In Tonga we relish our Sundays, as it is a great time to rest & spend time with the family. However, that doesnt mean you cant have an amazing & exciting time on Tongatapu on a Sunday. A favorite Sunday pastime for many of us locals is to take the ferry over to one of the outer islands; Pangaimotu (favorite local hangout), Fafa (more intimate & quiet, but still breathtaking), or Royal Sunset on Atata Island. You can snorkel, have a nice lunch, beach comb, throw back a few cold ones, and being a small island community we usually run into friends & colleagues & have a blast hanging out. If you are a surfer, you can enjoy the breaks at Ha`atafu. The beautiful thing is that you will probably have the waves all to yourself. The water here in Tonga is great therapy. Fatai Kayak Adventures is technically closed on Sunday, but if you call in advance, they can make exceptions and you can enjoy a nice romantic paddle on the lagoon. They are set in the heart of Holonga Village, so you will get to experience what day to day life is like in a Tongan village community.

In terms of food, Cafe Reef is open on Sundays and the owners are fantastic and provide great bites. Cafe Reef is located at the wharf, where you catch your ferries to the outer islands. The Chinese restaurants are also open on Sunday. Angela`s and Green Island have some awesome Chinese food. If you are on the Western side, Vakaloa is open for lunch & dinner, and provides a great view of the ocean. On the Eastern side, Keleti has great burgers and another great view of the waves crashing on the reef. I think Oholei might even provide Sunday dinning, but since I am not 100% about that, you might want to call & check in advance. I believe some of the hotels & lodges also provide dinning. If you visit www.thekingdomoftonga.com, you will be able to find a listing of restaurants & contact info.

Anyways, best of luck to you and have a fantastic time!

Cheers!

Note that 'amazing & exciting' are mutually exclusive terms when speaking of Nuku'alofa.

The island is flat as a board, hot, dusty, often smokey from stinking garbage fires and boring as watching paint dry.

The Best thing you could do would be to plan an early departure Monday AM.

And Yes I've spent Sunday on the Island-having arrived Sat afternoon-I took an Island tour Sunday then laid down and waited for Monday to come.

There's plent of places to eat, and plenty of things to do if you want to, but remember Nuku'alofa is a traditional Polynesian town with traditional Polynesian values and Sunday are beautifully simple, you'll find a lot of people just relaxing and taking it easy.

The best idea would be to jump out to Pangaimotu Island on the sunday, it's where Tongans and holiday makers alike mingle if they want to swim, snorkel or have a few beers. Your hotel will be able to get you to the wharf where the boat leaves from.

If you're feeling adventurous, try Fatai Kayak Adventures for an Island tour.

as above.

Cafe Reef isn't allowed to sell coffee before noon on Sundays. (Gave me a free one ;-) )

Fafa Island (see my avatar) is rather expensive. A lunch and a day trip for two came to TOP$180 in 2006.

Haven't been to Pangaimotu, but colleagues and fellow expats did and said they had a ball.

In terms of the negative comments about Tongatapu, everyone is entitled to their own opinion, so I completely respect that. Of course our experiences will always be different, and unfortunately not everyone has a great & amazing time. This is true of travel throughout the world. For example, one could say that Nairobi, Kenya is a dangerous city with litter & pollution. You could say that the government in unstable and not a safe place to travel. These comments might be true, but Kenya is one of the most amazing destinations in the world. If you simply focus on the negative, you would miss the amazing game parks, the beautiful people, the exciting nightlife, and the stunning beaches, to name just a few of its attractions. I have lived there and expereinced both sides of the coin, but it still holds a special place in my heart. The same is true for Tongatapu. If you look for negative aspects, you will find them, just as you do in any place. And I understand that sometimes bad expereinces happen to good people, and it is just a factor of life. But it is my hope that I can at least share with fellow Lonely Planet readers why those of us who live on Tongatapu (and Tonga in general) LOVE it so much. Tongatapu has a lot to offer, you just need to step out of your hotel room and have an open mind and an adventurous spirit. The places that we suggest hold a special place in our day to day lives. So again, I respect others opinions, but I stand strong behind my statement that Tongatapu is an exciting and amazing place. `Ofa atu!

(www.thekingdomoftonga.com is a great resource for general & specific information about Tonga)

Thank you all for your comments, they have helped a great deal in our planning. We are very much looking forward to our trip Tonga, and our future trip to Kenya.

Well said Viladay (#6). I had a great time in Nairobi, the 'dangers' of the city being one reason why I was taken in by a local family and then got to see and do so much more with them than I would have done while on my own. I love Nuku'alofa as well, just because it is Nuku'alofa I guess, along with the so-called hell-hole that everyone thinks Belize City to be. It isn't.

I was in Nuka'alofa on a Sunday and sure was glad that I had the address of a Chinese restaurant. The town really was closed.

well said, indeed, viladay.

I lived and worked on Tongatapu and when I had to leave, I left a huge chunk of my heart behind.

"I lived and worked on Tongatapu and when I had to leave, I left a huge chunk of my heart behind. "

Your heart or your liver?

Silvanocat -I hope it wasn't that dive across the street from the Chinese Embassy-no one should have to suffer like I did.

No, my liver survived quite well.

It was Angela's on Wellington by Lavinia road. I was just so happy that something was open.

Angela's is great.

As is that one a couple doors up from the Dateline.

My husband and I are seeing if we can pull off a cheap-ish Easter break. Flights to Tonga from Sydney are doable, however we'd be landing late Thursday night and flying back on Monday. Is it worth going over for 3 full days? We're just after a quick adventure, but from what I have read, visitors are best getting off the main island straight away. Do you think ferries/flights would be running on Good Friday? And if so, do you recommend travelling by boat or plane? Don't really care where we go, but somewhere with a nice beach would be perfect.
Thanks in advance!

Sorry, meant to post the above as a new topic. Have done now so apologies for the double up!

"Do you think ferries/flights would be running on Good Friday? "

No and I don't recommend the place for the amount of time you have.

Tonga is lousy with religion and not designed to accommodate the needs of international visitors.

Charming in it's own way but frustrating for one such as yourself.