women traveller in SPI?

Hi there

I would like to go to the SP Islands but now I have some questions:

Is it safe for a women to travel in the SP by herself? and how easy is it to catch up with other travellers? Or can it be lonely sometimes?

On the other hand I am open for ideas to travel to other countries, I have in autumm 4 weeks time and I would like to go somewhere warm, away from europe and meet people.

any suggestions?

Thanks in advance
Tinka

Well, I'm not a women, but I can tell you that there are a lot of single women traveling in the South Pacific all the time. We get a lot here in the Cooks, and there are a lot in Fiji as well. Here in the Cooks it's pretty safe, just avoid the drujnk guys in the bars on late Friday night.

PS--For meeting other travelers here, try one of the backpacker places such as Vara's, or for a modest place with your own BA, etc., try the Paradise Inn.

As above.
Drunken guys would be your only concern - like in much of the World.

Whether meeting other travellers is easy or not, obviously depends on where you go.
Touristy parts of say Fiji, French Polynesia or the Cooks should be easy in this regard, while in countries like PNG or rural Vanuatu you may not meet other travellers. The latter didn't mean lonelyness to me - far from it! - as there were always friendly locals around.

As a woman I found French Polynesia and the Cooks to be very safe. I have not been to the other countries.

The Cook Islands are the friendliest place that I have ever been and it affects the visitors too. I found that I was making friends everywhere, people would just start talking to me.

Many of the budget tourists that I encountered in French Polynesia were French expats who live on Tahiti island. I found that most of them spoke English.

A number of budget places in the Cooks and FP have communal kitchens and folks cook their own meals to save money and then sit around and have dinner together.

As a woman, I travel alone regularly to Solomon Islands, and feel much safer there than I would in Sydney or Melbourne. However, I avoid going anywhere alone at night, as I would anyhwere, and I repsect local dress customs. Pacific islanders are wonderful, friendly people, and are very respectful to visitors, but they take short skirts or shorts as an indicator of lack of repspect.
Depending on where you go, keep brief clothing and swimmers for international-type hotels and resorts - if you are in rural areas or villages, check with the locals (eg hotel or hostel staff) how to dress suitably.

Thank you so much for you answers! It makes me even more confident to think about a trip to the SP. But here's another question:

Where should I go? I will have approx. 3,5 weeks to travel aorund. Do you have any suggestions?

:-) Tinka

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Where should I go? Do you have any suggestions?<hr></blockquote>Most posters here will obviously suggest THEIR personal favourites, so to be be able to recommend the place that would suit YOU most, it would be useful if you added what you expect from your trip and how much costs would be an issue.

I mean some people want to play explorer by wanting to go where no one else does, others want to go where they can find a lively backpacker scene.

Some want to spend as little as possible while others want to find the most gorgeous overwater bungalow.

Some go for beaches, others for diving, others for hiking, etc...

It is also safe in Tonga. In Tongan culture, women are highly respected. But as everyone said in this topic, avoid drunken men.

I have travelled alone (female) to Fiji, Samoa and Cook Islands and it was very safe. No problems at all. And everywhere I met lots of people, locals and other backpackers. So actually I never felt "lonely".

Thank you very much as well for your last replys!!

Tinka

hiya, agree with Raro and the other posters on their comments re the Cooks. I've travelled there solo and it's v safe aprt from drunk men. Def hands down Cooks for friendly pple and safe travels

Another female here, and I always travel alone and find the SP to be possibly the safest part of the world to travel through on your own. No troubles as all in Fiji, Vanuatu, Solomon Islands, Tonga, Samoa, Cook Islands, PNG and West Papua. PNG is the one place where I didn't feel too safe, but I met other visitors and a few locals so was never really on my own there. Other than that it's just the drunks to be wary of everywhere else.

I too felt very safe travelling in the Cook Islands and Tahiti alone. I didn't walk around at night. I was never hassled as I have been in other parts of the world. I vowed to myself (after a Jamaica trip) to stick to the South Pacific. Meeting people is hit and miss. I prefer the Cook Islands over Tahiti, and hope to check out some other nations too. Aloha, Joan

ah the perils of alcohol!! where would men be without it! im really looking forward to the south pacific now..even thought about dropping new zealand completely to have more time in SP!