Travel from Tonga to Samoa

Hi Everyone

I'm flying in to Tonga then out of Samoa this August. Apart from the weekly Air New Zealand flight between Nuku´alofa
and Apia i'm wondering what other options there are.

Ideally I'd like to head to Vava'u then onto Samoa without returning to Nuku´alofa but flights don't seem to exist. Any information about boats or even hitching rides with yachts would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks!

Unfortunately you are right: There is only that one weekly flight between Nuku'alofa and Apia. Nothing else.

And I might add that you'd better book that flight well in advance as it was very heavily booked in the cheaper classes when I was there.

try air pacific or air fiji but you'll have to call them

That is nonsense. Neither Air Pacific nor Air Fiji are flying between Tonga and Samoa (and never did). There is that one Air New Zealand flight per week and that's it. And I agree - advanced booking is recommendable.

Last year they started a flight from vava'u to somewhere... was it Fiji? anyone know what i'm on about? i can't seem to find anything more on google to help me explain myself.....

anyway, my point is that there is (or was) international flights from vava'u to somewhere in the pacific... and maybe you could fly to samoa via that place (where ever it was)
... but if you are going to do that you might as well fly via nuku'alofa.

BTW Tonga is not a good place to go and try and see it all in a short time. Its a slow paced place. Boats and flights and other stuff often only happen once a week. People who fly into nuku'alofa with only a week or 5 days to spend in Tonga often don't get far because they can't in that short a time. Try and be aware of boat and flight scheduals and other such things before you go and plan that into you trip. ALso factor in that nothing much happens anywhere in Tonga on sundays except church, though in vava'u more goes one on sunday than in the rest of the country.

Edited by: tessha_m

didn't know there were any direct flights or go via Fiji for about $300 same as Air NZ

The only direct flights are Air NZ and yes you need to book in advance. You can also choose to fly with air Pacific via Fiji as another option.
Airlines Tonga has ceased its twice weekly service to Vava'u from Suva. However, it is now rescheduling its direct flights from Vava'u to Suva and will commence at the end of the month.Date is yet to be confirmed.

I think Tonga is a good place to see even for a short time but you need to decide where to go before you are there. There is Eua for those who are on a tight budget, and the ferry is everyday offcourse except Sunday. 'Eua offers the best trekking in Tonga. There's the Eua National Park with stunning lookouts, there are caves and chasms to explore and waterfalls.

I think our Sunday law is well received by a lot of people because its our culture and the way we choose to live. There are offcourse other things you can do if you choose not to go to church and experience the beautiful choirs and basically our way of life. there are daily excursion trips to the closest Pangaimotu Island which are very popular for day trippers. There's also Fafa Island Resort and Atata Island Resort. You can hire a bike or rent a car on Saturday and drive at your own leisure for a tour and stop by on the many beaches for a swim.

For a short time a few years ago there was a flight from Vavau (Tonga) to Suva (Fiji) and back, once a week. It didn't last too long.

Raro

A few years ago there had even been a weekly Polynesian Airlines flight between Vavau and Apia. All gone now, as well as the Nukualofa to Apia flights by Polynesian Airlines. Simply not enough passengers.

Going via Suva is hardly an option as well - those two weekly flights between Fiji and Samoa leave from Nadi. So even if there would be that Vavau-Suva flight again, it would be Vavau to Suva to Nadi to Apia then. A bit long and quite costly I assume, compared with Vavau to Nukualofa to Apia.

Thank you all for your advice. I've just booked the Air NZ flight so I'll only have 8 days in Tonga. I'll be flying straight to Vava'u and plan to spend most of my time there relaxing and diving (hopefully with whales). If I get time I may stop off in Ha'apai on the way back to Nuku Alofa. Any further suggestions on where to stay or whale diving tours would be most welcome. :-)

Hi, Many years ago there was also the Air Samoa flight from Pago Pago to Vavau.
Does anybody remember when they cancelled this flights?

Mike

Samoa Air went bankrupt in 2003, so that might be a hint.