Best Travel Hub In the South Pacific

What is the best place to fly into andget around to different countries in the South Pacific and what are some examples of flight costs? My interests are Cook Islands, Venuatu, Tonga, Fiji, Caledonia and PNG. I've heard Fiji is the best as a hub...What is a good way to see most of these places in 2 months?

Thanks in advance,
BK Traveler

BK,

That is a long list for 2 months and linking all of these destinations is going to be difficult. You will probably rack up a big airfare bill trying to hit all of those countries in a short time. Your best bet may be Air New Zealand, which allows you to stop off in several South Pacific destinations on each leg of the return flight from LA to Auckland. Since you are already in the USA, fly Air New Zealand from Los Angeles to Auckland via Samoa and Tonga. Then from Auckland, arrange your return trip to Los Angeles to stop through Fiji. Now that you are in Fiji, you can use Air Pacific to visit Vanuatu, The Solomons or Tuvalu. To get to Papua New Guinea, you will probably have to get to Brisbane, Australia first via Air Pacific in Fiji. After using Fiji as a base for exploring the islands, resume your ANZ flight from Fiji back to LA.

An alternative option is to fly Air New Zealand to Auckland via Samoa and Tonga, then skip Fiji and go up to Brisbane instead. Your stop in Brisbane gives you access to Papua New Guinea and the Solomon Islands and probably Vanuatu/New Caledonia on a separate airline. You can then fly from Brisbane back to LA via Auckland with a stop in Tahiti or the Cook Islands. I'm doing a variation on this flight in October/November and total cost for Air New Zealand part was $1500 USD (LA-Samoa-Tonga-Auckland-Brisbane-side trip to PNG on Air Niuguni-Brisbane-Auckland-Tahiti-LA).

There are lots of permutations of this route. Go to the Air New Zealand website and experiment on the 'multistop' itineraries. The catch is that many island destinations have once or twice a week availability, so you have to get creative or be flexible with your schedule. Getting the 'free stops' in each direction of the LA-Auckland-LA flight cuts out a lot of expensive round trips from Fiji.

Hope this helps.

-Mike

Pacific Blue flies from Brisbane to Vanuatu, Solomon Islands and Fiji, but not between countries. Return fares are about $AU 500.
However, Air Pacific flies from Fiji to Vanuatu then Solomon Islands and Air New Guinea flies Solomon Islands ot Port Moresby. If you wish to visit island countries, then this is probably the better option. However, both the Fiji-Vanuatu-Solomons flights and the Solomons-PNG flights are once a week, probably on different days. If you are stopping in Solomon Islands, it is definitely worth staying long enough (at least a week) to get off the island of Guadalcanal, to the best parts of the country. (There is a lot to choose from, and the capital, Honiara, doesn't really do the rest of the country justice.)

Fiji is indeed the best hub for you, with flights to Vanuatu, NC and Tonga, but not to the Cooks (go via NZ) or PNG (though though last year that route was started - ceased? - then go via AU).
However trying to cram all those countries, especially PNG, into 2 months, will be quite a rush, I think.

I'd agree with Laszlo - Fiji is an easy Hub to travel around from. New Zealand is easy to fly around from too.
I've done a load of travel around the region, Isalnd hopping is easier than many people think. There are some good books out there to help - Lonely Planet probably covers the region best. Some useful information here too -
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/competitions/pacificislands/index.php

New Zealand is a long way from the Melanesian countries, with no direct flights - most Kiwis get to them through Brisbane.

I think there are direct flights from NZ to New Caledonia and Vanuatu.
When I was there, there were, anyway - check Aircalin and Air NZ for the latest.