Where can I find more info on this place?

Hey,

So - what led me here was when someone asked me if you can swim with whales and I said NO WAY! Considering their size - in Alaska you can't get within 100 yards ~90 meters of them... also I know you're not supposed to swim with dolphins since you affect their health (sleeping patterns).

So this morning I was googling swimming with whales... then I came upon a site and talked about Tonga being one of the few places you can swim with in the world between July and October. The place looks fascinating BUT I can't find any information about it. The forum here only has 500 posts too....

I live in Canada, but I live in a border city so I can always leave from Detroit. I'm assuming flights leave from LAX (like they do for other south pacific islands).

But how do people travel there? I'm assuming not a lot of tourists/visitors come over? Or am I ignorant/wrong?

Do they spend XX time on several islands, on one island together... do they book by themselves, through a travel agent. I asked locally and no agent had a clue about Tonga. How about things to do other than Whale watching? How are the people who live there? ETC ETC

I have so many questions - so any advice on where to start looking? Any guide books etc?

Any advice/help/suggestions are appreciated!!!

PS. Feel free to PM me privately if you want.

Lonely Planet has a guidebook on Tonga combined with the Cook Islands and Samoa, and it would answer your Qs - get it! Or just get its downloadable Tonga chapter.

http://shop.lonelyplanet.com/rarotonga-and-the-cook-islands/rarotonga-samoa-tonga-travel-guide-8/

Anyway, Tonga is one of the more popular islands in the Pacific, and perhaps the very cheapest. Most commonly accessed via New Zealand or Fiji, and from the US, LA would indeed be the gateway. Tourism is not as commercialized as in Tahiti or Fiji, but an adequate infrastructure exists, including outfits offering swimming with humpback whales.
The people are perhaps the most traditional/conservative in Polynesia, but quite friendly and speak good English.
Most visitors spend a few days on the main island of Tongatapu then move on to one of the outer islands.

Tonga's official tourism website has much info:

http://www.tongaholiday.com

Swimming with whales normally happens in Vava'u. There are no flights from Tonga to USA. Normally you will have to fly Detroit - LAX - Fiji - Nuku'alofa - Vava'u, but if you are lucky with timing, it IS possible to fly direct from Fiji to Vava'u in season.

Distances and flights are a natural barrier, so not a lot of tourists go to the islands, but, since the islands themselves are so small and everyone goes to the same place to do the same things, there is plenty of tourist traffic and facilities. For the most part, travel is exactly the same as all other places in the world. You can book all flights and hotels online.

For example:
https://www.kayak.de/flights/LAX-VAV/2017-08-01-flexible/2017-08-15-flexible/2adults

As for other things to do, it is for the most part a snorkeling/diving destination.

The best place to swim with the whales is in 'Eua. It is the cheapest (200 pa'anga= aprox 100 USD) and the fishing boats don't have to take you far out at all for you to have access to the whales! The best time to visit for whale swimming is August-November but the best best time and when the most tourists come is September and October.

Send me a Private Message for more questions. I live in Tonga.

Vava'u is not the only place to swim with the whales. Vava'u is the most expensive and where most tourists go. Check into 'Eua. You can also swim with them on the main island for less money than Vava'u.

Hey,

Thank you for your kind responses. I'm thinking of September - sounds like it's not a bad time to go for whale swimming - I got the kindle version of Lonely Planet book - it's free from Amazon!!

I JUST started reading it - so I'm not sure how informative/good it is... I will probably have a ton of questions I feel. The problem with the book so far is it suggests a 3 week itinerary minimum - I'll probably have 11 days if I'm lucky (not sure if that includes flight). Ideally how long would you say one should spend there on land (minus flight time). Flights I'm assuming DTW -> LAX -> Then Tonga (with 1 stop I think) - so not super bad.

I understand Tonga is a group of 4 Islands - and I'd definitely would love to do more than whale swimming - but the way I see it is, I would love to do what's "special"/different for the location - so I'd definitely love to focus on whale swimming which seems so amazing!!!

I'm just wondering - is Island hopping (since Tonga has more than 1) a feasible thing to do? I hear flights are super expensive like $500+ - . Some Islands look like you may actually be able to take a ferry - I guess I'll know more about it once I finish reading the book. From Tongatapu, it looks like you can take a ferry ride to Eua. Vavau seems the furthest away but also where most activities are. The budget realistically speaking for mid-high accomidation what am I looking at?

Sounds like I should book things on my own instead of a package with a travel agency then. I want to go there and take my mother (60) there - I think that's something she'd love to do. My brother might be able to make it (if it's within his budget). Speaking of budget - it's interesting - I'm getting different feels everywhere - for example a whale watching/swimming tour for $100 doesn't sound so bad - but on another site I read it costs $200 if you want to go on a boat of 6-8 people and $150+ on a boat with 30.

OOOH - forgot to ask - Lonely Planet book was praising Samoa and American Samoa a lot - would you say it's worth/easy to visit that Island from Tonga in flight?

Anyway - I have a lot to think about. Thanks!

If you want to island hop, its best to book multi city flights direct with Fiji Airways.

For example, you can book LAX - Vava'u for the first leg, and then second leg Nuku'alofa - Fiji and third leg Fiji - LAX (buy the Vava'u - Nuku'alofa flight with a local airline).

Out of curiosity, I just input this into the Fiji Airlines website for September and it said $1415, which isn't bad at all given how many flights this is and how long they are.

With FIji airlines you fly through Fiji. So if you want to island hop, its best to check out Fiji, not Samoa.

I am not sure if there are any scheduled connections between Samoa and Tonga. Either way, you want to buy the international ticket there-and-back on a single ticket, otherwise you have to buy lots of one way tickets and they cost a lot of money. So flying LAX - Fiji - Tonga - Samoa - LAX is gonna cost a fortune.

You could possibly do LAX - Fiji - Tonga - Samoa - Fiji - LAX. Maybe. But not in 11 days.

It's feasible to island hop while in Tonga. It's hard to island hop in the Pacific, although possible. All flights have to be through Fiji or NZ. NZ is more reliable but Fiji Airways is a bit cheaper... (Flights are often delayed/canceled with Fiji Airways...)

In Tonga you can indeed take different ferries to 'Eua in 2.5 hours, $23 pa'anga/ $12 USD or a plane (7 mins!) for $99 pa'anga. Whale swimming prices do vary. 'Eua is the most "mountainous" of the Tongan archipelago and boasts amazing day hikes, wild horses, streams, and coral beaches and caves.

To get to Ha'apai you can either fly in under an hour or take an 11 (?) hour ferry. Not sure about prices. I think the ferry is around $45. Ha'apai is known for its beautiful sandy white beaches. It's very flat, great to bike around.

To get to Vava'u from Tongatapu you can take a 25 hour ferry or a 3 hour (?) flight. Vava'u is known for its water activities; yachting, snorkeling, diving are all great to do here. Whale tours are plenty but it's the most expensive.

Niuas are the furthest north and hardest to get to. I think a plane only comes once a week. But I am not positive.

I hope this helps!

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