Connecting the dots in the South Pacific

Hello all,

I'm drawing up an itinerary for a long trip that'll eventually take me from Southeast Asia, New Zealand, the South Pacific, South America, Central America and Canada. This wouldn't take place till probably 2015 but I guess it's good to get an idea and plan ahead.

Since I could not travel on land, I'm particularly curious about how to cross the Pacific from west to east. Initially, island-hopping in freight vessels or passenger ships seems like a great idea but couldn't get more information about that. Next, the more common way, flights seem to connect to only major hubs and sometimes not even between neighbouring countries.

I have roughly drafted an itinerary that looks a little like this:

Auckland > Fiji > Tonga > Samoa > Cook Islands > Tahiti > Easter Island > Santiago.

I read that there's a flight between Auckland to Santiago with LAN sometimes via Easter Island but I will miss out other islands in between. Has anyone crossed the Pacific in this way before? How much roughly will it cost me to do this trip. I don't really have a time limit to stay in the region so I don't mind waiting a week for a connecting flight on an island. Also, does anyone know of any Round the World tickets that covers a few of these destinations?

I know this isn't a well trodden path, but I feel it would be more fulfilling to take in the islands rather than to skim across the Pacific in half a day. Thanks in advance for your comments.

Cheers,
Ken

I provided some answers when you asked this in September:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2348809

Hard to know what air routes will be added/removed in 2 years time.

Hi tch7,

I've forgotten about my earlier post. Thanks for reminding.

Cheers,
Ken

Ken,
I am nterested that apart from Fiji, whch is a bit of a hybrid, you are only going to Polynesian countres, and missing the much larger and very cuturally diverse Melanesian countries.
It is possible to fly from Fiji to Vanuatu, and from there to both Solomon Islands and New Caledonia. From Solomon Islands you can fly to Papua New Guinea, and from there you can get to vaarious parts of Asia.

Auckland > Fiji > Tonga > Samoa > Cook Islands > Tahiti > Easter Island > Santiago.

AFAIK, at the moment, there aren't scheduled direct flights from Tonga to Samoa and there aren't scheduled direct flights from Samoa to the Cook Islands... So unless new routes are opened by the time you plan to make your trip (e.g.: if Samoa Air start flights to the Cook Islands), that route won't work (without making big and expensive detours).

I read that there's a flight between Auckland to Santiago with LAN sometimes via Easter Island

LAN's flight from Auckland to Santiago is always non-stop.
LAN has a weekly flight from Papeete to Santiago that makes a stop in Easter Island. But you would need to get previously from Auckland to Papeete with another airline (Air New Zealand or Air Tahiti Nui).

At the moment, a route that would work would be: Auckland-Port Vila-Noumea-Papeete-Easter Island-Santiago. You could make side trips along that route (e.g.: The Solomon Islands as a side trip from Vanuatu, Fiji as a side trip from New Caledonia and/or The Cook Islands as a side trip from Frech Polynesia).

I know LAN in theory has an Easter Island-Papeete flight, but I've never managed to actually book it. Can anyone verify that the flight still runs or report which day of the week?

Also, if you add Aukland, you could do Auckland--the Cooks (via Air NZ) then Cooks to Papeete (on Air Rarotonga).

Can anyone verify that the flight still runs or report which day of the week?

It runs on Tuesdays. And it's still running.

Thanks, anillos_de_saturno. One day the IAH-IPC-PPT-??? trip will happen.

One day the IAH-IPC-PPT-??? trip will happen.

If you want to go back to the USA from Papeete making an islands focused trip, the ??? could easily be Honolulu.

Cooks to Papeete (on Air Rarotonga).

I overlooked this one. Air Rarotonga codeshares the route from Rarotonga to Papeete with Air Tahiti but the flights are operated by Air Tahiti (don't confuse it with Air Tahiti Nui). Air Rarotonga can sell tickets on those Air Tahiti flights though.

Hi Wingken,

Any news on your trip?

Im planning to do a similar expedition this year starting from PNG - Solomon - Vanatu - New Caladonia - Fiji - (maybe Tuvalu) - Tonga - (maybe Kiribati) - Samoa - Cook - French Polynesia - (Maybe Marquesas) - Easter Island - Santiago

Not necesarily in that order, and I would be trying to take as many of the passes by boat if at all possible.

I still need to figure out which Islands are connected by flights, and what Itinerary could work. Anyone who are up to date on this, and what itinerary would work?

I'm also wondering if it would be cheaper to buy an aipass or just buy the ticket on location.

There aren't direct flights from Tonga to Samoa (you have to change in Fiji, maybe, depending on the schedules on your travel dates making an overnight stay in Nadi).

There aren't direct flights from Samoa to the Cook Islands as well as there aren't direct flights from Fiji to the Cook Islands, you would need to backtrack to NZ... Otherwise, your route is fine.

International flights to the Cook Islands (from within the South Pacific) are just out of Australia, NZ or Papeete and international flights to Papeete (from within the South Pacific) are just out of the Cook Islands, Noumea, Easter Island or Auckland. That's why it isn't possible to make an West-East (or East-West) route including all the places you quoted without big detours (and backtracking).

There isn't an airpass covering all your destinations. You may research if Air New Zealand is still offering the Explorer pass and if either Air NZ or Star Alliance are still offering the South Pacific pass and if they still were on sale, if they are a better option for you for the part of your route that they would cover (-almost?- all your flights would depart from Auckland; i.e. you would need to backtrack to Auckland -almost?- each time; another point to bear in mind).

Hi Anillos,

Thanks for you reply.

So the following itinerary would work (flight wise)

PNG - Solomon - Vanatu - New Caladonia - Fiji - Tonga - French Polynesia - Easter Island - Santiago

Could you help me place any of the following countries, that would fit in?

Kiribati
Marquesas
Tuvalu
Cook
Samoa (through Fiji ?)

Fiji Airways has flights to Kiribati. Make sure you read up first--you'll need enough time to get off the main island unless you just want to see garbage. Also you can fly from the Marshalls on Our Airline, but I'm not sure if that is in your current travel plans.

Tuvalu is sometimes called the world's most boring island. You can get there also by Fiji Airways, but leave time for your return flight so you don't end up like this hapless traveler: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/united-airlines-mileageplus/1555928-stuck-tuvalu-skipping-missing-segments-multi-partner-award-ticket.html.

Samoa--easy to get to from Fiji, also Fiji Airways.

Cooks--can get there either through Auckland (Air NZ), Tahiti (Air Rarotonga), or occasionally Los Angeles (Air NZ).

Thanks tilos,

So an Itiniery like this could work:

PNG - Solomon - Vanatu - New Caladonia - Fiji - Kiribati (or Samoa) - Fiji - Tonga - French Polynesia - Cooks - French Polynesia - Easter Island - Santiago

What do you reckon, is it possible just to go to the different airports directly, when I get there, and buy the tickets to the next island? I'd prefer this approach to buying an air pass and be forced.

My trip is open ended, so I can wait for flights to become available.

Yes, you can just backtrack to Fiji as many times as you like to see the different islands that their carrier serves. They don't have any plans to bring back the bula pass. One thing to watch out for when buying tickets at the last minute is that it isn't around major holidays, when flights fill up. I also don't know if the price will go up. For example, on Air Rarotonga (which is your French Polynesia-Cooks link), the cheap seats sell out very fast, at least for inter-island flights. We booked 6 months out and had to get mostly the pricier non-refundable tickets.

For Cooks, you may be interested in the ability to do a circuit from Rarotonga to Aitutaki to Aitu and back to Raro. There are also sometimes unscheduled flights between some of the other islands, according to people on this board.

So the following itinerary would work (flight wise)

PNG - Solomon - Vanatu - New Caladonia - Fiji - Tonga - French Polynesia - Easter Island - Santiago

No, it wouldn't. In order to go to French Polynesia from Tonga you would need to backtrack to Fiji and once in Fiji, backtrack to either Noumea or Auckland to fly to French Polynesia. If you would backtrack to Auckland, you could make Auckland-Rarotonga (Cook Islands)-Papeete (French Polynesia). As I said above, flights to French Polynesia from within the South Pacific are just of NZ, Noumea or the Cooks (excluding flights to/from Easter Island because that's your planned destination after French Polynesia).

If you want to visit all the places in your list, a route that may work would be: Honolulu (Hawaii, USA)-Kiritimati (aka Chirstmas Islands, Kiribati. If you are interested to go to Tarawa instead, your best bet would be to make it as a side trip from Fiji because neither Nauru nor Majuro are on your list)-Fiji-Samoa-Fiji-Tonga-Fiji-Tuvalu-Fiji-(New Caledonia)-Vanuatu-Solomon Islands-PNG-Australia-NZ-the Cooks-French Polynesia-Easter Island-Santiago de Chile.

If you prefer to start in PNG, something like PNG-Honiara-Port Vila-(Noumea)-Nadi-Apia-Nadi-Tongatapu-Nadi-Suva-Funafuti-Suva-Nadi-Tarawa (or Kiritimati)-Nadi-Auckland-Rarotonga-Papeete-Easter Island-Santiago de Chile may work. If you choose Kiritimati over Tarawa, an alternative would be to make Kiritimati-Honolulu-Papeete-Rarotonga-Papeete-Easter Island-Santiago de Chile. The leg from Nadi to Suva can be made overland.

Of course, there are tons of possible variations to those routes but they may serve as a base to start working.

Air Rarotonga (which is your French Polynesia-Cooks link)

Air Rarotonga codeshares that route but flights are operated by Air Tahiti (BTW, don't confuse Air Tahiti with Air Tahiti Nui).

Ok, thanks again.

I have studied your proposals a bit and found some info. It seems I should be able to do Fiji - Samoa - Tonga - Fiji. Also If I go directly to Papeete (from Fiji) I can fly to Cook and then back to Papeete and then finally Easter, not having to go all the way back to Auckland.

Port Moresby Papua new Guinea - Honiara Solomon Islands - Port Vila Vanatu - Noumea New Caledonia - Nadi Fiji - (Apia Samoa -Tongatapu Tonga - Nadi Fiji - Suva Fiji - Funafuti Tuvalu - Suva Fiji - Nadi Fiji - Tarawa Kiribati - Nadi Fiji) - Papeete Tahiti - Roratonga Cook - Papeete Tahiti - Easter Island

Or a shorter version
Port Moresby Papua new Guinea - Honiara Solomon Islands - Port Vila Vanatu - Noumea New Caledonia - Nadi Fiji - Apia Samoa -Tongatapu Tonga - Nadi Fiji - Papeete Tahiti - Roratonga Cook - Papeete Tahiti - Easter Island

Would it work and am I missing any place that would be crucial to see too?

Thanks for all the help, its a jungle of islands!