Tonga or Samoa in December

My husband and I are planning to spend 4-5 weeks in either Tonga or Samoa over Christmas and New Year - we would like to stay in relatively basic accommodation, beach huts etc but I haven't found it easy to find information on places to stay - does anyone have any recommendations?

I've also read a lot of conflicting information about the weather and I think Tonga would be the better of the two weather-wise in Dec?

If you've been to both which would be best for the length of time we're going?

Lastly is it sensible to book in advance say for at least the first week as some people are saying we should book now....we don't want to be too tied down though incase we don't like where we are but is it too risky not to book something for 4-5 weeks?

Any help from those that have been there would be very much appreciated.

thanks!

Squirrelette

Its always a pleasure to learn about a destination before you arrive. Both locations are Polynesian.

Enjoy your trip.

From American Samoa

JW

Edited by: frankie_flowers

The Lonely Planet guide for Tonga and the Samoas has plenty of recommendations for these islands - invest into it for such a long trip!

Indeed Tonga may have better weather in December - certainly it did when I visited!
It is also the country I myself enjoyed far more, partly because I've found its people much nicer, and partly because it has many, many more islands to choose from, so you get more diversity and find that tourists are spread out around the country much more thinly than in Samoa where they are mostly packed onto the 2 main islands.

I myself never booked in advance for any place in the Pacific, but was able to stay at my place of choice everywhere except on ultra-busy Lalomanu Beach in Samoa - and that also applied during the Dec-Jan holiday period.

Two recent "Tonga or Samoa?" threads to read:

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1910061

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2040661