Hello,
Thinking about travelling South Pacific.
Would love to see as many island as possible, but not sure where to start, where to fly/sail to,...
Anyone ever did a trip in, to, around the islands?
Is a cruise the best option? Or better to fly?
We're at the moment in Australia.
Any tips, stories and info more than welkcome.
Thanks!
Eef and Dries
Cruises are not my thing: expensive, and you only stop at a few islands which become a ridiculously overcrowded circus when the cruise ships are there.
You see very little of the countries visited that way.
That leaves flights.
There are no really good value airpasses in the region any more, so you basically have to buy oneway tickets to put your itinerary together.
Virgin Pacific flies from AU or NZ to several Pacific islands, while within the region Fiji Airways probably has the best network and decent oneway fares. Note that while countries in the SW Pacific are well connected to each other directly or via Fiji, the SE (Cooks, French Polynesia and Easter Island) is not connected to them and you must fly there via AU or NZ.
Of course seeing "as many islands as possible" won't be cheap. To get a good overview, do try to include both Melanesian and Polynesian countries in your itinerary.
Sailing is undoubtedly the way to go. Domestic flights in the south pacific are generally really expensive.
We just finished touring Vanuatu aboard Infinity Expedition and had a great time. We did Tonga and the Solomon islands on our own and think Inifinity offered a great value and adventure.
http://cookesabroad.com/2015/10/22/vanuatu-ripablik-blong-vanuatu-infinity-expedition-part-i/
Hi Eef and Dries,
seeing your names I assume you are Dutch, like me, so i switch to Nederlands.
Ik ben drie keer in de SP geweest. Paaseiland, Frans Polynesie ( twee keer - society eilanden, tuamotu eilanden, marquesas eilanden gambier eilanden ), Fiji , Vanuatu, Cook Eilanden, Lord Howe Island. Dit alles heb ik alleen gedaan omdat niemand zin/tijd/geld had om mee te gaan.
Indien het mogelijk is zou ik in alle gevallen zorgen dat je naar Frans polynesie komt, omdat ik dat het allermooiste vond dat ik ooit gezien heb ( en ik heb nog veel meer gezien )Vanuatu is zeker ook een aanrader, fiji en de cooks vond ik persoonlijk minder, maar Taveuni ( Fiji ) was een uitzondering.
Groetjes vanuit Amsterdam
Reza
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