BootsnAll Travel Community

Hello all,

Looking for some ideas of what to do and see and where to stay in Tonga. My friend and I will be traveling there for 10 days in March (10th-20th).

First, what to do and see? We would like to bike or kayak or do some sort of activity at least a couple of the days we are there. Although, we wouldn't mind making this entire trip to Tonga a kayaking trip. Snorkeling would also be fun. Any suggestions on best locations for these activities or any contact information would be great! Also... what are your favorite things to see there?

Where to stay? We have a tent and a camp stove, so ideally we would like to camp. Is this possible? I have been looking for some information about camping in Tonga but haven't found anything yet. If camping is out of the question, what about budget accommodation?

Thanks for any help you can offer!!

-Katie

I was in Tonga for 5 days this summer.

Most people go to the Vavau group of island to the north. This is the area which is sort of promoted as the tourist area. If you are there during the right time of year, you can go whale watching.

There isn't a whole lot to do on Tongatapu, the main island. I do recommend a day trip around the island and try to at least see the blowholes.

I stayed at Heilala Holiday Lodge when I was on Tongatapu. http://heidas.typepad.com/


I have not seen or heard of any camping in Tonga. I can't say I've heard of it being available in most of the Pacific outside of a few places in French Polynesia.

I was there back in May with my girlfriend. A couple of our friend were there at the same time and visited Va'vau. They really enjoyed it, and said the diving was great. It's quite touristy though.

My girlfriend and I took off to the Ha'apai group instead, and visited three islands there. The first two, where most people lived, were pretty good and the diving there was excellent as well. Our favorite was Uoleva, which is totally uninhabited and has two places to stay at. Both are only a little ways from the beach. It was pretty primative, but beautiful and we absolutely loved it.

Definitely get off the main island of Tongatapu and find a little bit of beach paradise somewhere.

Thanks for the info!

I'm posting the following in case anyone does a search for info on Tonga.

I just returned and had an amazing time. We were able to book tickets to the Ha'apai Islands. If anyone is interested in getting into the local community, this is the place to do it. We spent three nights at Mele Tonga guesthouse (listed in LP) and weren't able to visit Uoleva because we kept being invited to local activities. I think the track and field event was probably one of the highlights of the trip for me! All these high school kids running barefoot on a grass track and their classmates cheering them on in the intense heat! Mele Tonga was extremely cheap (T$40/night for 3 of us) compared to Motofonua Resort on Foa which cost us each US$40/night. The roundtrip flights from Tongatapu to the Ha'apai Islands cost T$288.

On Tongatapu, we stayed at Toni's Guesthouse (also listed in LP) for T$15/night/person. Have them pick you up at the airport for T$10 one-way. Or get a cab. They will probably charge you about the same thing. Toni's also has transfers to and from town for T$1 per person. Look up their webpage and email for a booking.

Pangaimotu is a little island near Tongatapu. The resort there operates a boat that runs at least twice a day for T$20 return. We took two day trips there. There were two other islands that you could take day trips to, but lunch was mandatory and the prices were T$55 or more.

We rented a car for a day on Tongatapu. Booked it through Friends Cafe downtown. It was T$50 for the day, and we only spent T$20 in petrol for the entire day. The blowholes were a highlight of that trip!!

FYI: I did hear that the Good Samaritan Inn on the west coast of Tongatapu did not provide mosquito nets for two of my good friends that stayed there.

I would highly recommend visiting Tonga. Just try to get off the main island.

Hope this helps future travelers to Tonga! Feel free to PM me with more questions.

Katie - thanks for posting your thoughts. Planning a trip there myself, and collecting ideas. Many thanks!