Where to swim with Whales?

Hi Everyone,
Sorry for the potentially stupid question, but I'm waiting for my guidebook to arrive.

I am going to Tongatapu next month and want to swim with the whales. I thought I could do this from that island but it seems like you have to go Vava'u and then do a day trip from there? (that's all I'm wanting to do). Is that right?

If so, what's the easiest and cheapest way to get there? OR, another place to swim with whales?

And do you have other thoughts on a week long itinerary? I was planning on staying in a place on Ha'atafu Beach, but having investigated a bit more it seems a bit remote and away from it all? I'd like a bit of relaxation, but also to do some activities.

Thank you!

I bet Finsnflukes will answer your question properly when they see your post (and you can browse through the previous posts re: whale watching/swimming with the whales) but the best islands for swimming with whales are Ha'apai and Vava'u. You can catch a flight or take a ferry (loooooong ferry ride) to both islands. Both islands are also nicer than Tongatapu, there are no proper beaches on Tongatapu. The two islands are also smaller than Tongatapu which means that you can easily walk or bike around there. In Tongatapu the resorts tend to be a bit far away from the "city".

Hi mattima,
thanks for the reference, you have pretty much covered it all :-) The whales have been keeping us quite busy, so I only get the chance to write now, sorry, mandycc. You can indeed do whale watching tours from Tongatapu, and Vava'u is the most frequented of the island groups for that, but - trying not to be too preoccupied - I think Ha'apai is the nicest place to do it. It is not as touristy as Vava'u, so you have very few boats on the water, and has nice accessible beaches. A new reasonably priced beach accommodation just opened up on Ha'apai's main island Lifuka and you can also do other activities there, like biking around the islands of Lifuka and Foa, kayaking, snorkeling off the beach or boat or scuba diving.

While the ferry is the cheapest way to get around, it takes 10-12 hours from Tongatapu to Ha'apai and another 6 hours from Ha'apai to Vava'u and if your holiday is only a week long, you lose a good part of it just travelling from island to island. The plane takes you to your island in 25 to 60 minutes.

Hope this helps and have a great trip!