Itinerary help

Hi,
We are planning a trip to the Pacific Islands next year (April-May)and have decided upon doing two weeks in Fiji, two weeks in the Solomon Islands and about ten days each in Tonga, Samoa and Vanuatu. But we are getting a little concerned that may be too much in too little time. We like to get a little bit off the beaten track, meet local people and do some day hikes as well as hang at the beach but not sure that we can accomplish this withtin these time frames. We want to mix it up and get different cultures and islands but the more I read and research the more I want to add when I probably should possibly take one island off. We are adding in extra days from flying to and from the different islands thinking we would base ourselves in Fiji and use an air-pass to get around to the other places. Any feed-back would be very helpful - if we were to skip one place, which one would you suggest or would you allot the time differently? Thanks a lot!

The practical question for me is: what do you gain by visiting 5 different island groups? Or .. five different islands in one island group vs. five different islands in five different island groups?

That's money and time spent on travel. How you answer that question will go a long way in helping you make a decision/choice.

Me? I think about the activities-list -- what I want to do. If I can more or less accomplish what I want to do by keeping travel to a minimum, that's what I choose. A beach is a beach, a reef is a reef, a jungle walk is ... etc, differences are in the natural qualities. Beyond that, I don't care where.

And to anticipate one line of thinking: different island nations have different cultures. Yes, but if I'm truly interested in getting some sense of a culture then I go to one place for a longer period of time,maybe for two months, maybe spend 5-7 days in just one small village somewhere, not 10 days in the entire country. So .. it depends on what you want to accomplish.

would you allot the time differently?

Yes, if I had that amount of time I'd most likely limit myself to one large island group. Or, at most, 2 island groups depending on the specific activities. For example, Fiji and Vanuatu - the latter primarily for visiting a volcano or two, and for getting further off the package-holiday trail. It's easy enough to do this on Fiji, and there are Indo-Fijian vs native Fijian differences to observe on different islands. Fiji's cheaper and so the other basics such as beach time, snorkelling, hiking, are easier and cheaper to 'do'.

Vanuatu: I'd be the sort to skip Tanna, spend as little time as possible on Efate (Port Villa), and focus on some combination of Ambryn, Ambae (volcanoes) and Santo, Malekula for hiking and village stays.

So, a month for each of two countries, 2-3 islands per country. This is the oppposite of your own strategy. Treat it as a thought experiment. Maybe there is a good middle ground in there for you. Since you've already allotted relatively more time to Fiji and Solomons, consider (a) more time for each of these and/or (b) one more group picked to maximize diversity of experience.

I would reduce time in Fiji, which is less interesting than the other Melanesian countries, and would possibly skip Samoa altogether as I personally found it the least welcoming country in the region by far.
Would add any time gained to Vanuatu, both the friendliest and the most culturally interesting of the lot.

That's super helpful. I guess maybe we'll cut a few days off of Fiji then and maybe also Samoa.

Thanks a bunch!