How to Travel to Tonga

There are many different options you can take to get to Tonga, depending on where you start your travels. Direct flights depart from Auckland (New Zealand), Sydney (Australia), Nadi and Suva (Fiji), with Air New Zealand, Virgin Australia and Fiji Airways. Flights leaving from America usually stop in Fiji, arriving to the island of Vava'u as the final destination. Alternatively, you can take direct flights to Tongatapu from Australia or New Zealand.

Options for moving around the Tongan islands are more limited. You can travel by ferry or plane with the only operable domestic airline Real Tonga.

First of all, it´s important to keep in mind that Sundays are sacred in Tonga and nobody works.

The ferry is not the most desirable option, considering it only leaves once a week and for example, it will take you around 24 hours to go from Tongatapu to Vava'u.

The plane seems more accessible, sometimes flying more than once a day depending on the destination. The prices are always the same and not very cheap, regardless of booking 4 days, 4 weeks or 4 months before your departure. At the moment, flying may seem to be the best option, but you should know the aircrafts are very small (you must register your body weight when buying the ticket) and when weather conditions worsen, flights are canceled. This was exactly what happened to us.

Our international flight to Sydney left from Tongatapu on a Tuesday. We flew to the island from Vava'u on a Saturday in case there were problems getting the last possible flight on Monday (never forget you can´t fly on Sundays). Said and done, our flight was cancelled due to bad weather. Finally, we managed to fly to the capital on Monday, although I will not get into details about the headaches this situation gave us.

Another important detail to take into account is that Real Tonga takes no responsibility for any economic loss you may suffer if your flight is cancelled due to weather conditions. Many people have lost all their international connections because of this.

That said, if your destination in Tonga is Vava'u, I definitely recommend flying from Fiji although it may seem more expensive.

See you in the blue