Going to Wallis

I will be going to Wallis in mid-Jan. on a side trip from New Caledonia. I will be there for 3 days on Wallis only. I chose to stay at the Hotel Albatros from a link a few threads below. I am not in need of any particular travel info but I thought I'd launch a thread for any general discussion of travel to Wallis as threads here are rare enough. If someone wants a postcard from there I can oblige, for a similar postcard in return.

It certainly is a very obscure destination. It is one of the draws for me.

Please report back.
Wallis and Futuna were on my bucket list until I discovered Niue. I loved Niue.

I am back from Wallis so I will make a report.

There are three Aircalin flights a week from Noumea, ranging in prices from over XPF 110,000 to below 70,000. When buying these tickets online you need to set your location to New Caledonia. Once a week, the Sat. flights, go via Nadi. This is the cheapest method of getting to Wallis but the downside is you have to stay a week.

There are three hotels on Wallis, categorized as B&Bs on Tripadvisor. I stayed at the Albatros. In hindsight perhaps I should have paid more attention to the location. Albatros is right next to the airport while the Lomipeau is in town in Mata Utu. Albatros is cheaper, with rooms for XPF 10,000 and bungalows for 12,000, continental breakfast included. Rooms at Lomipeau are 13,000. Wifi is free at the former while not at the latter. Connection speeds were not bad for the Pacific.

I couldn't rent a car as cars with automatic transmission are not available on Wallis. There are no taxis or buses. But as online resources say, hitching is easy. I never had to wait more than 5 minutes for a ride, often on backs of pickups.

Both the Albatros and Lomipeau offer some of the better restaurants on Wallis. Local French say that the best on the island is the Albatros but during my stay the chef was on vacation. Still the food cooked by the manager at Albatros was excellent. Food wasn't expensive compared to New Caledonia. Mains were in the 2000-2500 range. The atmosphere at Lomipeau is nicer with great views of the coast. I ate at two more eateries: One at the base of the wharf and the other a seaside cafe down the road southward from the post office.

The main point to note is that due to the low population the number of businesses are limited. There are two supermarkets, the more convenient one is SEM south of the main roundabout in Mata Utu. Many businesses close early by our standards: SEM closes at 2 PM.

There is a bank, BWF, in the shopping mall to the west of the roundabout. You can exchange euros here for a XPF 1000 flat commission. The lone ATM in Wallis and Futuna is also here.

The post office is to the east of the roundabout. On most weekdays they close at 2:30. Closed weekends. Postcard postage to Europe is XPF 85, Asia and Americas 95. They sell local postcards here for 200. There is a philatelic office two doors down for better stamp selection. The other place to get them is the shop below the Aircalin office south of the roundabout. I never got to check them out as they were closed my entire stay.

Wallis basically has no tourism. A French guy working for the government told me that there were less than 50 tourists last year. But since a majority of those were boaters, people like me just flying in were less than half that number. So basically, expect zero businesses geared toward tourists. If you do a search you'll find a dearth of travel blogs about visits to Wallis.

Most of the French people I spoke to on Wallis told me that Futuna was the end of the world and I must go visit; a traditional society where the only modern influences are cars, electricity and French subsidies.

Feel free to ask me more about Wallis.

Excellent. Far flung is obviously an attractant, but does the lack of tourist facilities make it that much less attractive?

Whether Wallis is worth going is totally a subjective question. You gather information and you need to decide for yourself.

I didn't go there expecting I'd like it. I like islands but the tropics aren't my favorite and I am not a beach person. Why did I go you may ask. I have to go to Melanesia on business around twice a year. This was a logical side trip from New Caledonia. NC is growing on me too.

I just wanted to see what such a society was like. In that I was very satisfied. You can argue that Wallis and Futuna is one of the least visited countries/territories in the world. Tristan Da Cunha is often mentioned, along with Pitcairn Island, as a remote society. But as a percentage of its population, Tristan actually gets a lot of tourists, about 700 per 240 population per year. WF is 50 per 12,000. Antarctica, which many people assume is pristine and remote, actually gets around 40,000 tourists a year.

I am also a philatelic collector so any place with its own postal authority is a big draw for me. Places that get few visitors tend to have friendly expats. I chatted with a lot of French people there.

Thank you Alexander.
Did you out Futuna on your bucket list? :-)

Im quite fascinated with the cultural issues that have formed on Pitcairn, but I'm not sure visiting would fulfil any true understanding on my part.

I was in NC last week for the first time in 10 years, its always lovely to return and have old memories pop up. The pub opposite the park is now a clothing shop, what a shame, I wanted to go have a couple of No 1s in there for old times sake.