Ultimate Pacific Island trip?
Discussion
Where would you go, what would you do?
It looks like i'll have some time off, and some money, come the beginning of May, and as im over that way anyway, it would be good to explore paradise. Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, etc. What is there to do beside laying on a beach? I can dive, and would want to do some of that, and are pretty into sailing, windsurfing etc. There are some volcanoes out that way which could be interesting?
Has anyone been somewhere which took your breath away, or seen anything to avoid because its not worth the money? Share your pictures, stories and thoughts please!
Ideally somewhere with a few other travelers would be good, im going by myself so while a few days on my own is fine, weeks on end on a remote island isnt necessarily my idea of fun.
It looks like i'll have some time off, and some money, come the beginning of May, and as im over that way anyway, it would be good to explore paradise. Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Vanuatu, Cook Islands, etc. What is there to do beside laying on a beach? I can dive, and would want to do some of that, and are pretty into sailing, windsurfing etc. There are some volcanoes out that way which could be interesting?
Has anyone been somewhere which took your breath away, or seen anything to avoid because its not worth the money? Share your pictures, stories and thoughts please!
Ideally somewhere with a few other travelers would be good, im going by myself so while a few days on my own is fine, weeks on end on a remote island isnt necessarily my idea of fun.
A bit late, but only just seen the thread.
I used to send lots of people to Fiji when I worked as a travel agent. Great place for paradise mixed with a bit more drinking/partying if that is what you'd be interested in. Some really well organised private island type resorts as well that are aimed at backpacker budgets.
A friend's sister did a gap year project in Vanuatu and loved it there. It sounds like absolute paradise though I don't know much about the specifics of getting there from NZ.
I used to send lots of people to Fiji when I worked as a travel agent. Great place for paradise mixed with a bit more drinking/partying if that is what you'd be interested in. Some really well organised private island type resorts as well that are aimed at backpacker budgets.
A friend's sister did a gap year project in Vanuatu and loved it there. It sounds like absolute paradise though I don't know much about the specifics of getting there from NZ.
I did Easter Island, followed by French Polynesia.
Easter Island is amazing. You can dive there, explore, chill out etc etc.
French Polynesia - plenty of Islands to choose from - flew into Tahiti which is the main island and houses the only international airport.
Then I took a ferry to Moorea which is a lovely island with a mixture of high end resorts and cheaper sports for back pakers / travellers. The other islands are accesible via various means - ferry / boat transfer / sea plane etc.
Again diving and water sports are all widely available.
Not cheap though - majority of food and suppliers are flown in so are expensive.
I got both destinations as "free" stop overs on a flight from Chile to New Zealand. - Speak to a specialist travel agency and they'll be able to help - I used trailfinders and would reccomend them.
Easter Island is amazing. You can dive there, explore, chill out etc etc.
French Polynesia - plenty of Islands to choose from - flew into Tahiti which is the main island and houses the only international airport.
Then I took a ferry to Moorea which is a lovely island with a mixture of high end resorts and cheaper sports for back pakers / travellers. The other islands are accesible via various means - ferry / boat transfer / sea plane etc.
Again diving and water sports are all widely available.
Not cheap though - majority of food and suppliers are flown in so are expensive.
I got both destinations as "free" stop overs on a flight from Chile to New Zealand. - Speak to a specialist travel agency and they'll be able to help - I used trailfinders and would reccomend them.
A slightly more useful update from me too... Hopefully it won't get sucked into the iPad blur of 3G instability this time!
We did a week on Rarotonga as part of our honeymoon in 2005, day tripped over to Aitutaki and did a catamaran trip round the lagoon, lunch on one of the inner islands, snorkelling in the bath temperature water, great stuff.
Stayed the week at some cheap accommodation on Rarotonga itself:
http://www.aremango.co.ck/
Decent friendly place, run by a very chilled lady, basic fan on the ceiling type rooms, complete with gecko, communal showers etc, but then you can toddle up the beach to the somewhat more expensive Pacific Resort and feast at their restaurant on the beach, or head off to any of the restaurants around the island.
Hire a car, or moped, you need to get a local driving licence but all very jovial, even when I turned up on the moped to get my licence, ahem
Snorkelling in the lagoons is stunning, not a diver myself, but there were plenty of lagoon expeditions about and over the reef and out into deep water ones too.
You need to book accommodation before flights I seem to recall, we went from NZ as we're on a round the world ticket, but you can get there from Austrailia as well I think, also the other way from LA via Tahiti. Watching a 747 take off from the Rarotonga runway is pretty epic too, especially from the road at the end of the runway.
May well be a bit more commercialised now, but certainly has lots of different people there as it's a round the world traveller type route option, match that with cheaper accommodation and you get backpackers, but not too many smelly pissed ones...!
Idyllic Pacifc Islands, yep; warm lagoons full of tropical fish, yep; friendly locals, yep; sunset over the lagoon with the waves crashing in the distance as you sup a cool drink, yep
We did a week on Rarotonga as part of our honeymoon in 2005, day tripped over to Aitutaki and did a catamaran trip round the lagoon, lunch on one of the inner islands, snorkelling in the bath temperature water, great stuff.
Stayed the week at some cheap accommodation on Rarotonga itself:
http://www.aremango.co.ck/
Decent friendly place, run by a very chilled lady, basic fan on the ceiling type rooms, complete with gecko, communal showers etc, but then you can toddle up the beach to the somewhat more expensive Pacific Resort and feast at their restaurant on the beach, or head off to any of the restaurants around the island.
Hire a car, or moped, you need to get a local driving licence but all very jovial, even when I turned up on the moped to get my licence, ahem
Snorkelling in the lagoons is stunning, not a diver myself, but there were plenty of lagoon expeditions about and over the reef and out into deep water ones too.
You need to book accommodation before flights I seem to recall, we went from NZ as we're on a round the world ticket, but you can get there from Austrailia as well I think, also the other way from LA via Tahiti. Watching a 747 take off from the Rarotonga runway is pretty epic too, especially from the road at the end of the runway.
May well be a bit more commercialised now, but certainly has lots of different people there as it's a round the world traveller type route option, match that with cheaper accommodation and you get backpackers, but not too many smelly pissed ones...!
Idyllic Pacifc Islands, yep; warm lagoons full of tropical fish, yep; friendly locals, yep; sunset over the lagoon with the waves crashing in the distance as you sup a cool drink, yep
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