How to travel from country to country

When traveling through this region is it easier to book flights from home or should we wait until we get there? We are thinking about traveling between Tonga, Somoa, Fiji and some other islands before going to Indonesia.

Flights between the countries are fairly limited, so if you know what dates you want to travel, I'd book them in advance.

Flights between islands often only occur once or twice a week. If you found the flight you wanted to take was booked at the last minute, you might have to wait several days or even a week for the next one. Therefore, booking ahead makes the most sense if you need to stay on a schedule.

Also, from experience, booking in the islands often involves going to a travel agent. And, as is the norm in that part of the world, customer service can be slow and computers can be slow. You might need to spend 2 hours in a travel agency to get a ticket. I can think of lots of better things to do in Tonga, Samoa and Fiji than to spend 2 hours twiddling my thumbs in a travel agency.

As far as airlines, you are pretty much looking at Air Pacific (Fiji's airline), which can fly from Fiji to Samoa (codeshared with Samoa's Polynesian Airlines) or Fiji to Tonga. At this time, I don't think there is a Tonga to Samoa flight (Polynesian Air used to do one, but not anymore).

That being said, I have done the Fiji to Samoa flight and it never seems to be very crowded. So, unless you are flying during a holiday season, you might not really have a problem doing it last minute, and booking it in Fiji. But, to be safe, maybe call ahead to see how full (or not full) it is.

This is a disadvantage with the South Pacific, travelling is not as spontanous as you may wish. First, flights are limited and second, it's expensive. You can purchase discounted airpasses from home (it's not possible to do it once you have entered the region, see airpasses . But again, it requires a lot of unwanted planning. But luckily you can often change the dates, often without any fee.