Which Pacific Island to go to?

I am travelling to the Pacific as part of a Round The World trip and am having a hard time deciding between Cook Islands, Tonga, Tahiti and Fiji.

I have been to Western Samoa previously and enjoyed this and am looking for something very relaxed, friendly and ideally where diving and/or beginners surfing is possible.

I am travelling on my own so the opportunity to meet other backpackers would be ideal. I will land in mid January which I appreciate is the wet season, and will then also be back in the Pacific in mid to late May on my way home and will make another stop? Any suggestions??

Tonga was my original choice, but Cooks, Tahiti and Fiji all look attractive!

Help!

Cheers in advance,

Timo

I've spent a lot of time in the Cooks, one trip each to Fiji and Tahiti. I've not been to Tonga.

I prefer the Cooks over all the other tropical places I've been because they are the least "touristy." I don't like contrived settings that exist just for tourists and I find the Cook Islands, especially the outer islands a genuinely friendly place to visit.

For a diving experience in the Cooks you'll have to stick with Rarotonga and Aitutaki. I'd say if that was important to you then Fiji would be preferable over the Cook Islands. I've never seen anyone surf in the Cooks but I've seen a few surfable breaks in Raro and the other Islands. Nothing for beginners though.

Snorkeling is good in the Cooks but not quite as good a Fiji and spots in Tahiti.

Thanks so much for your replies so far!!

To be honest I am still deciding, but Tahitit, Cooks and Fiji sounds the best!

Any other help greatly appreciated.

Cheers

This is not really a reply to your question but an extension of your question to glean some views that might help me.

But first some feedback. My wife and I have travelled extensively all over the world, we are 55-60 but young at heart. We've been to Fiji and it was most enjoyable, good value and the people are extremely 'laid back' and friendly. I'm sure you would enjoy it. If you do manage to go to Fiji, may I recommend a trip on the 'Whale's Tail' a day tripping schooner from Nadi, I think - it was a highlight.

We usually invest the $30 or so necessary to buy a lonely planet guide for the area we're thinking about and I recommend you do that - it will be small cheese in the scheme of things. Apart from the commonsense approach and objective views, it will also give some comparative information and we have never regretted it - we now have a large bookshelf of them.

Adult Family holiday? Now for some questions of the other Thorn tree watchers. My family are planning a tropical holiday in the Pacific Islands and I'm interested to hear your suggestions, please. There are a wide range of tastes to satisfy as our kids are now 25-27 and have spouse/partners of their own but no kids (yet). Somewhere warm, scenic and relaxing appeals to us but the twenty somethings may want access to sporty stuff and perhaps 'rage' a bit at night, whereas my wife and I would be content with bushwalking & cultural visits with a moonlit dinner by the sea most nights. So a destination which had wide scope would be good.

Comments about the Cook Islands sound good and Tahiti is appealing, though I understand it is expensive and (apart from Bora Bora) has not been as well maintained as it could have been. The comment about that which cost $1 in Fiji may cost $2 in Hawaii but $3 in Tahiti was very helpful.

Any suggestions for us?

Roaverworld.... My wife and I have a similar profile to you & your's. We find ourselves satisfied with the slower pace of bush/beach walks, snorkeling, diving, cave tours, cultural immersion, etc.

Your offspring will probably find Raro & Aitutaki acceptable, even entertaining, for a few days. Even on those two islands there is a lack of organized high-adventure kinds of activities. However there are lots of clubs and some very nice island nights. Guided island tours and scuba are available at both islands.

Except for an occasional barbque with the locals, or a tourist get-together at Atiu Villas, Atiu has zero night life and no organized stuff the twenty-somethings would get excited about. There are some guides available for island, fishing and cave tours. It's easy to find a secluded spot on the many little beaches on Atiu or spend time putt-putting around the roads on a scooter. The fishing is usually great and the people very friendly.

The rest of the islands are even more placid and relaxed, a good thing from my point of view.

We have a 5-week trip to the Cooks planned this year and we'll spend around $9,000US for five weeks on five islands. The biggest single expense will be the inter-island airfare at $2,300US.

Useful links:
General Cook Islands info...http://www.ck/</a>
Cook Island news

Thanks, H2ooh! That's good feedback - so I conclude a bit of time at Rarotonga would appeal. However, the US$2,300 inter-island airfare cools me off a bit for Atui because they have mortgage sensitivity (even with some parental travel subsidy). Presumably you mean US$9,000 for two?

So maybe we should come closer to home (Oz) and consider New Caledonia (maybe Ile des Pins) or Vanuatu. Have you (or anyone watching) been there/ Comments welcome.

Not sure where that US$2300 for domestic travel in the Cooks comes from, unless its for a couple and they are visiting all five other S. Group islands.

It's about US$300 RT from Rarotonga to Aitutaki, depending on exchange rate, some discounted flights, etc. You'll do fine if you spend time on Rarotonga and Aitutaki for this first trip.

As indicated, check out www.ck for lots of info.

Thanks, Raro. Inter-island travel did seem rather steep at US$2,300. So I'll study deeper on the Cooks.

Air Rarotonga has a website, you can find it via www.ck I think it's www.airraro.com

If you are in Australia, check out Pacific Blue, as well as Air NZ

Inter-island airfare in the Cooks.... the Raro to Aitutaki to Atiu to Raro tickets total $585 PP NZD on our trip. I know you can get them cheaper but we like the fully-flex tickets so we can make last-minute changes if we want to.

Sorry I didn't make it clear in my first post. The US$2,300, (NZ$2,946) is for return tickets to Mitiaro, Mauke, Aitutaki and Atiu for two people. All are fully-flex tickets. All the islands except for Atiu require returning to Raro to connect to the next flight.

The fact that the US/NZ$ exchange was unfavorable to the USD at the time of purchase, combined with the bump in Air Raro's tickets made the inter-island transportation a few dollars more expensive than the LAX-RAR airfare.

The $9,000 budget includes all expenses, (meals, transport, scooters, gas, entertainment, tours, fishing, etc.) we incur on our trip. I think $9,000 ($11,000 including RT from LAX) for a five-week, five-island holiday is a great deal. Especially to the outer islands in the Cooks.

As far as expenses in the Cooks, the single biggest difference in low-budget vs. middle vs. high will be in the cost of accommodation. There is a great range of places available, from backpacker to budget to moderate to upper-moderate to deluxe to ridiculously-overpriced.

Next biggest cost that varies by choice is food. Eating in/cooking is not much more expensive than most people will find compared to their own home country costs. Yes, a bit more, but it's still a cheaper way to travel. Next level is the smaller cafes, etc. Top level are the dozen or so very good restaurants. Even locals eat at them, so we are not talking super deluxe prices.

One could enjoy the Cooks on even NZ$50/day as a backpacker, or spend NZ$500/day pp (or more) at the upper level.

The only pretty well fixed costs are those outer island airfares. There are no inter-island ferries, and freighters are erratic. There are some discounts available, maybe 10% off on certain flights, but you'll still need about US$300 RT for the basic and most popular route, which is to Aitutaki and back.

But if one has the time, definitely try to include Atiu, as indicated it's the only other one on the triangle fare with Air Raro.

Thanks, H2ooh! and Raro. Very comprehensive of you. Now I shall have to consult with the kinder.

Thanks for all the tips so far-

My booking deadline is fast approaching so if anyone else has any other views on backpacking to Fiji, Cooks or Tahiti please let me know, I would be very grateful.

I am looking for a friendly setting where I can go diving, meet other budget travellers/backpackers and generally be amazed to be far away from grey rainy London town!

Thanks, Timo