The more I read the more confused I become, can you help me??

I recently wrote a post about Hawai vs South Pacific. After reading the replies, we decided we had to go to the South Pacific, with may be a stop in Hawai (we start in Montreal).
Now, I have spent a week reading and researching about Fiji, the Cook Islands, Samoa and I don't know anymore what to do.
We are a family of 4 with 2 teenaged boys. We enjoy outdoors activities (snorkeling, hiking, kayaking) and we don't enjoy crowds, partying, organized group activities and the like.
I started with Fiji.
We usually like renting a car and independent midrandge accomodation (average of $150 per night) doing food shopping and cooking our own meals. We don't like a very fast rhythm and enjoy changing places every 3-6 days. It seems that this is not the easiest way to go on Fiji. The roads don't seem to be that great, and it seems that staying in a resort is necessary at least in the Yasawa and Kadavu islands. And when I read, I get the feeling that these islands are highly touristic and that most resorts cater to either backpackers or rich people.
The Cook Islands seem great but I am not sure that there is enough to keep us occupied for 6 weeks, there is no in between flights (except Vancouver, BC and I haven't ruled this out yet). The snorkeling doesn't seem the best in the South Pacific. Papa Mike, you said you wrote a guide book about these islands. Which one, I would love to read what you wrote...
Samoa has flights from either LA or Honolulu. We could travel between independent and American Samoa But, I read the place was hit quite hard by the recent tsunami and there are lots of aggressive stray dogs.
New Caledonia seems wonderful but the cost of flying and living there makes it prohibitive for a family of 4. And of course, Tahiti and Bora Bora are out of the question because of prices and the fact that they also seem very touristic (however, it would have been fun as we speak French...)
So, I don't know what to do any more. Does anyone have suggestions?
Thanks a lot!!
Johanne

Regarding Samoa it is true that those who were hit by the Tsunami were hit hard. However 99.5% of the islands' area was not hit at all and left completely untouched by the Tsunami. Some beach resorts are closed and being rebuilt now but they will be back in business soon and there are still many others to go to anyway, especially on Savaii. The whole Apia town area was unaffected too.

There are some stray dogs left but they hardly are a problem anymore. Just avoid them, especially do not stretch out your hand to them and do not feed them. I just read here that 117,000 Quebecers reported having been bitten by a dog in 1997. Possibly you might be more at risk where you live ...

Having said at all I am still unsure if Samoa would be the right choice for you, even when you include the hiking opportunities in American Samoa. Six weeks are a long time for these small destinations when you want to have a great variety of activities instead of laying back and relax a bit more (the island way). Samoa is certainly not very touristic, allows self-catering and exploring on your own. You might want to go to the Manu'a Islands as well. Overall I suggest that you have a closer look ...

What you usually do is perhaps not feasible in the places you mention.
If you want to rent a car and buy and prepare your own food you are limited to the main islands of Fiji,Samoa and the Cook's.
There is not much point in moving accommodation frequently on some of these islands as they are small and if you have a car you could just drive to a different location to hike or snorkel etc.
In a lot of cases the best snorkeling is at offshore islands where you would have to stay at a resort.
Traveling between small islands can take a lot of time and be expensive.
The Fiji resorts cater to different class's of travelers, there are high end, middle and low end resorts and at some resorts different class's of accommodation as well.
The snorkeling can be great and it can be lousy in the South Pacific you just have to pick the right places and right time.
Have never had a problem with the dogs in Samoa.
I think you need to modify your holiday pattern to suit where you are going to stay or you will spend a lot of time sorting out accommodation etc rather than just enjoying the holiday.
The islands are very different than just pulling off the freeway and sorting out somewhere different to stay every night or every few days.

smandkjc is spot on with regard to travel in the SP. The only place we were able to rent a house and car was on Rarotonga but we found after a week we had exhausted our list of things to do. Which is why I suggested Hawaii given what you were looking for from your first post. If you decide to change your trip dynamics you could look into flying into Fiji for 2 weeks, doing a tour around the main island by car and heading out to an island or two. From there head to Vanuatu (check out Air Vanautu) for a couple of weeks, visiting Tanna and/or Santo Espirtu(sp?)if your budget allows. You could then head to New Caledonia( check out Air Calin) for the last two weeks, with a side trip to Ile de Pins. Then take Air Calin back to Fiji for your return trip. This would give you a varied look at the area. Combining FP with Hawaii would also not be out of the question. FP can be expensive but you can find budget options. We stayed on Huahine( a fabulous place for snorkeling and exploring) at Rande's Shack - He has a two bedroom house that would be ideal for your family and well within your budget, complete with complimentary bicycles. PM me if you would like more information and good luck with your plans!

Given that you speak French, I was also going to suggest Vanuatu as an alternative to Tahiti that is also French-speakng. it is also geographically much bigger than Cook Islands, giving many more options.
Solomon Islands is also larger, and offers great snorkelling, though not many places to drive except on Guadalcanal.

Thank you, thank you so much! you don't even start to imagine how much you are helping me! I am going back to the drawing board, with books and internet but with a better feeling for these faraway places. I will look into all your suggestions. It has been so useful. Merci, merci beaucoup!!

What about a combination of Vanuatu and New Caledonia?

New Caledonia is indeed ridiculously expensive, but in Noumea we stayed at Casa del Sole - 2 bedroom serviced apartment for around US$200 a night - which worked well with teenage kids and seemed a reasonable enough price for family accommodation. I haven't actually been to Vanuatu but I'm sure Ozziegiraffe's recommendation is a good one.

There are flights between Cook Islands (Rarotonga) and Tahiti..that could be an option if you don't think there would be enough to do in the Cooks? Although I've been here for 4 years and haven't been bored once ;)

For 6 weeks in one country, I would suggest Fiji. Lots of islands, large and small.

Six weeks in the Cooks can be fun (I lived there for 12 years and didn't get bored), but it takes a mindset of slowing down to the local pace. If you do go, spend a week on Aitutaki, and either Atiu or Mauke as well.