air pass to visit south pacific islands

hi guys
do u know if there is an airpass that allows you to visit some south pacific island?

or which is the best, but not too expensive way, to visit, in one month islands/countries like kiribati, tuvualu, tonga, solomon, fiji and so on... of course 2-3 of these
thanks in advance for uor precious help

Refer to this recent thread for getting around: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2359472
Air Pacific was the only airline with a pass for the region, but I don't know if they still do since they rebranded to Fiji Airways.

Don't try to fit in too many places and waste money on airfares. For instance, Fiji can easily occupy a month on its own, and it's also one of the cheapest countries.

good to know
so for sure we'll go to fiji
where else would u suggest us?
we could spend 2 weeks in fiji and 1 in another island and 1 in another more
which onee would u suggest us

u know
visiting south pacific islands has always been a dream for me since i was child and now that i could have the chance i wish i could see as much as i can, of course what my tight budget allow me to see

What's your starting point?

You can easily visit 2-3 countries by flying for example Brisbane - Honiara - Port Vila - Noumea - Brisbane.

Or Sydney - Nadi - Port Vila - Sydney

If you're starting from Australia, then it would be cheapest (and make most sense) to visit the countries closest to Australia.

If you're flying into Fiji from USA or Hong Kong, it would be cheapest to use Fiji as a hub and fly there and back. For example Nadi - Port Vila - Nadi - Nuku'alofa - Nadi.

If you're flying into Samoa or French Polynesia, your options for visiting neighbouring countries are limited.

Airfare is expensive, flights are long and the region is not really that varied. If you only have 30 days I would recommend sticking to only 2 countries or maybe even just 1.

thanks mredman
what about if my starting point would be japan or papua new guinea
i understand uor point and i agree with u, i usually stick to 1-2 countries but these islands, for me italian, are really afr and exepnsive, i dont know if i ever have the chance to come there again thats why i d like to do someting like u suggested:

You can easily visit 2-3 countries by flying for example Brisbane - Honiara - Port Vila - Noumea - Brisbane.

Or Sydney - Nadi - Port Vila - Sydney

thanks

born2travel.it

If you're in Papua New Guinea you could fly Air Niugini to Honiara (Solomon Islands), then to maybe Port Vila (Vanuatu) with Air Vanuatu or Nadi (Fiji) with Fiji Airways, from there back to Australia.

If you're in Japan you can fly to Hong Kong and then take the direct to Nadi with Fiji Airways and then use Fiji as a hub, or fly to Australia and visit the region from there.

If you are flying on Fiji airways, for example, you might save money my booking your flights from you departure city along with your additional flights to areas other than Fiji. We booked a flight from LAX to Nadi, and one week later, Nadi to Port Vila, all on the same ticket. I was only about $200 more round trip per ticket. Most importantly, it saved us a lot of headache trying to coordinate the inter-pacific flights with our international departure.

hi travelmaven
this is also another good tip
i ll study it
i just wanna understand which is the best and cheapest route i have to focus on
thank u very much

If you're in Taiwan your best bet is the Hong Kong - Nadi flight.

You can also try AirAsia, connect in Kuala Lumpur for a flight to Australia, should be pretty cheap. From Australia take Air Vanuatu to Port Vila (use it also for local flights), then Fiji Airways to Fiji, then back to Hong Kong.

Actually from Tokyo, the Jetstar flight to Cairns is very useful as you can catch a connection to Port Moresby from there. This is how I get to the region living in Tokyo. From PoM you can get to the Solomons and beyond as mredman says above. The key to keeping airfares down is to fly the least amount of mileage and I think this is the most economical way of getting to the South Pacific, Melanesia anyway, from East Asia.

Fiji Airways has become a lot less useful for those in East Asia since they eliminated their Tokyo and Seoul flights.

Another suggestion is to visit New Caledonia. Arguably NC is the most different group from all the other Melanesian island groups and going to New Caledonia, along with an easy side visit to Vanuatu for example, would be seeing two very different places. New Caledonia gets very little mention in Anglophone circles but it is a beautiful destination. There is a convenient non stop flight from Tokyo on Aircalin. The drawback is the cost; they can be more than in Paris.

Feel free to contact me. My contact is in my profile.

FYI regarding flying Fiji Airways...

On a flight to Tonga in September 2013 they stranded my wife and me in Nadi for three days.

They put us up in a hotel (good). Fed us hotel meals (selection limited). Paid for one phone call to Tonga (insufficient to rearrange things). Paid for one hour WIFI time (it took me 8 hours to fix things). Supplied virtually zero information about what was going on and when we might be able to continue to Tonga (VERY frustrating and stressful). Told us to not leave the hotel because we might go at any time (VERY frustrating and boring). In conversations with folks that lived in Tonga (we had LOTS of time to visit) and use Fiji Air often said this was fairly routine with Fiji Air and they avoided them when they could.

My opinion of Fiji Airways is when things go right they are below low average as an air carrier. When things go wrong, find a cheap bar or some strong sedatives. You're gonna need them.

After that experience I have decided to avoid Fiji Airways at all costs. I think they rate a "Low Sucks" on the suck scale.

I've heard other complaints about Fiji Airlines. My experience with them last year was average. Flights were on-time in both directions, and from Nadi to Port Vila. No complaints there.

The only thing that I would ding them on is when they arbitrarily changed my seat from an aisle to a middle seat without my knowledge. As the agent was scanning my boarding pass right before boarding on my return flight to LAX, my name was flagged. He then informed me that my seat had been changed to a middle seat. My bf and I were flying together. He had a window seat, his choice, and my seat choice is an aisle seat. They changed the seat and gave it to another passenger. I was livid. I told them emphatically that I did not want a middle seat (10 hour flight), and that I have specifically asked for that aisle seat. They said that when two people are flying together on the same itinerary, it's their policy to sit them together. I WANTED AN AISLE SEAT. They worked to reseat the person they gave my seat to, and I got my original aisle seat. The gate agent apologized, and there was no on seated in the middle during our flight.

Interesting to hear reports on Fiji Airways, thanks for posting.

u guys are the best
i ll study all uor tips
i dont know how to thank u

born2travel.it

Hi We travelled round Cook Island, Tahiti, Easter Island, Tonga, Samoa, Fiji, Tuvalu, Vanuatu before heading for home UK. Most important (I think) is to have some slack built into timetable.
(we didnt- and when things went wrong the whole itinerary was at risk Funafuti-Suva return flight was delayed The pilot had started engines but Tuvalu customs were delaying departure talking to a passenger so pilot turned engines off - result the plane had to recharge batteries overnight before it could take off) Flights Samoa-Fiji were infrequent and had a reputation for being cancelled changed etc
ALSO give some attention to island interior we drove along mountain track into centre of Fiji and found this stockaded village (magic) where we were welcomed and invited to stay overnight. Also Tahiti = a mountain track crosses centre partly thro tunnel - there is a hotel atop mountain Relais de la Marotto. The interior of most islands have a lot to offer but are neglected by many tourists. Vanuatu has trips to other islands eg village where they still wear loin cloths, island where you can stand on the edge of an active volcano, snorkel around sunken ship President Coolidge etc So allow enough time for a reasonable exploration of each place having spent a lot of money to get there.
We are planning a follow up visit to South Pacific to visit a few of the remaining islands Kiribati/Kiritimati, Solomons?, New Caledonia on our way back to UK via Honolulu/California after a visit to S E Asia.. I note the interesting comment re New Caledonia. Solomons looks to be rather uninteresting after watching a youtube video.