Branching Out

The regulars here know that I adore Micronesia, and especially Palau. But it has come to me that I should consider other islands actually in the South Pacific. Help me figure out where else I should go- and why. I'd really like some suggestions.

French Polynesia.

Why? Go to Google, click on the Images link and type in French Polynesia.

I see, I see. Just lovely. The down side of FP- everyone seems to say it is very expensive. This is a problem.

French Polynesia would have been my choice as well.

How about Niue? Almost no tourists, friendly population, good for nature walks, diving, bike riding, cave exploring.

Is French Polynesia as expensive as some claim? It does look beautiful...

It all depends on how low your budget is , but we did FP for 2 weeks for about Cdn $5000(2006). That included the airpass that allowed us to visit 5 different islands and upgrades to A/C accommodation ( I have problems with the heat and humidity) - we also splurged on a higher end hotel on Bora Bora(40th anniversary -the reason for the trip). We also did a tour on each island and car rental for 7 days. We kept eating out to a minimum and self catered where possible. However, this did not include our airfare to FP as it was a stop on a multi stop Air Treks ticket. We felt we could have cut our budget quite a bit if we had opted for some of the lower priced accommodation(you don't have to stay in the fancy over-the-water places), just stuck with two islands and used public transportation or bikes. On that trip we did FP, the Cook Islands, Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia - of those our first choice to return to would be FP followed by Fiji. Don't rule FP out as an option - do some research(Jan Prince's book or Hidden Tahiti or the Moon guide) and you just might find it can be done for a lot less. I keep buying those damm lotto tickets so I can get back that way again. But I also want to go to Indonesia, Egypt, The Maldives, back to Palau ,etc... now you know why I have a thing for the lottery!!

Edited by: newfie43

I have the lottery ticket thing too- one ticket allowed since I figure if the gods are going to smile on me it will be with one ticket. And when I win a kagillion dollars I can go everyplace!

Eatng is important to me- I do enough cooking at home. I'll have to look into this- we have the ff miles to go anyplace. Just have to decide where and I do like the islands....a lot. I guess one advantage of Fiji would be that we used to know some folks there who I would hunt down and have them give us some introductions. Although I have to check the political situation- don't know if the princes of Fiji are still the princes of Fiji. Seems to me there have been some changes made. Too bad- missed my chance.

I really enjoyed Samoa, but many have commented here that the wild dog situation has gotten worse. The Samoa that I visited (in 2003) was full of friendly people willing to help a solo-traveler out. Not sure if it still exists.

Anyone recommend Kiribas? That's where I currently (irrationally) have my heart set.

If costs are an issue try the Philippines or Indonesia - both on the fringes of the Pacific.
The former has the advantage of being English-speaking, the latter having far more islands, far lower population density, and far more scope for getting off the beaten track.
Indonesia also has better food.

If sticking to the South Pacific proper, my favourite region will always remain Melanesia, for its cultural and geographical diversity as well as for hospitality.
I've found Melanesian islands invariably far more interesting and friendly than Polynesian ones I've been to (of which Polynesian Rennel in the otherwise Melanesian Solomons was the best so far).
Foodwise, it's gotta be the French territories, of which there are just 3, narrowing down choices considerably - only one of them being in Melanesia, and that one I thought was stunning.

Fiji is a good choice for diverse islands and low costs (by SP standards), but not for food.
Fiji even has a Micronesian-inhabited island, Rabi, with people from Kiribati.

The Solomons has several islands with whole villages from Kiribati, allowing you to get a taste of another Micronesian culture and Melanesia in just one country.

PNG has 2 very remote and hard to reach native Micronesian communities on 2 small islands off its north coast, and is of course by far and away the most diverse country both geographically and culturally in the SP proper.

Branching out a bit further, French-held Reunion in the Indian Ocean must be one of the most stunningly beautiful tropical islands anywhere!

I found FP to be VERY expensive.

All those stories are true.

Also, while I'm having a whinge, I wasn't overly impressed by the food either.

Samara

I can back-up some of Laszlo's comments - I've only visited Vanuatu in Melanesia, but it was really interesting with alot of diversity to see across the many islands - much more so than Polynesia (I know Tonga well and have been to Samoa and Cook Islands). In terms of beauty and interest then definitely head into Indonesia. The Banda Islands remains one of my favourite visited places.

Hm- lots of interesting ideas. Thanks all- will think on all of this for a bit. I am not cemented to S. Pacific as much as to islands. I need to look up Reunion- know nothing of it.

Api, I'm off to Banda (for the ???th time) tomorrow! :-)

turning seriously green Have a great time and send pictures. I' off to the local grocery store.

Found info/pix on Reunion?

Frankly, Indonesia has a lot more to offer, but for pure tropical beauty with a French flavour, Reunion is still a gem in its class (being a single, far-flung island).

Many Banda pix on my site, linked in my signo line.
No underwater ones though, and that's actually one of the islands' strongest points! It could be a great little cluster of islands for you to head for, with scenic beauty, colonial architecture, great marine life and good accommodation all coming with very low prices (US$ 10 for an AC room with TV right by the sea good enough?). Add the neighboring Kei Islands (again see my link) and you get some of the World's finest beaches thrown into the trip, too.

You go and have a wonderful tme- did see some lovely pictures. Trying to deciidie much visiting friends and relatives counts in all of this. I'm ready to go everyplace tonight- but nevermind.

Actually, there is much to be said in favor of simply returning to the islands you have long loved, have friends on, and have not been back to for some time, too! ;-)

You speak the truth.

Reunion - Banda Islands - trust Laszlo to give me more islands to add to my list!!! I'm just afraid I'll run out of time(not to mention money) before I get to all these wonderful places!

Laszlo - it has been a very long time since I was there - are the reefs still intact? Can you still sit up on the fort and watch the sunset? How often do the planes fly? I think I might finally get my kids to Indonesia next year and I would love to go there, but the youngest is still fairly young to be too remote.

How old ishe Api- mine spent 1 month in Bali when he was going on 2. Wonderful time!

2 as well, but it was the access specifically to / from Banda that concerned me. Plus, the malaria issue (not in Bali, but much of Indonesia) since I think I have only managed to get medication into him twice in his entire 2 years and would fail miserably in getting anti-malarials in to him regularly.

You can surely still sit on any of the forts in Banda, though I think the biggest one now charges a (tiny) entrance fee.

Many reefs have suffered some partial damage, and I find there is less big fish then 10 years ago.
But then, Banda used to be just superb.
Now it may have been reduced to less superb or mainly very good, but pretty much all new visitors to the islands still leave raving about it.

Planes theoritically fly weekly but should not be relied upon - see the Banda link in my signo line for more on this. The fortnightly Pelni ship remains the most dependable way to get there.
I'm actually happy with this state of affairs - keeps the fly-in-fly-out crowds away! ;-)

Certainly Banda is no Bali regarding malaria - I'd say it is pills or traking a real risk with a kid. Though by Maluku standards, Banda should be low risk.

Reunion Tourism - The Official Site

I may be a bit late, but i will put in a plug for Solomon Islands, for shear cultural variety. There is now a 5-star hotel in Honiara, as well as a 5-star resort (Tavanipupu) but there are all varieties of places to go and things to do that are quite inexpensive, if you aren't tied to a one-week return flight.
You can get there from Brisbane with Virgin frequent flyer points.

Edited by: Ozziegiraffe

I'm also late (been away) but will plug Solomon Islands; second choice would be Vanuatu.

I'm doing my homework- thanks for all the great ideas. The problem for me would be getting too Brisbane- rather a long first step from Colorado.