Tonga Travels – Real Adventure!

An Article by Ann Göth
Ann is a conservation ecologist and science teacher with a strong passion to bring natural history and conservation issues closer to non-scientists and scientists alike. Her writing and career have taken her from Austria to islands in Tonga, the UN in Geneva, a museum in Germany, and universities, government agencies and schools in Australia.

The 176 islands of the Kingdom of Tonga in the South Pacific also call themselves the “Friendly Islands”. They are visited less often by tourists than nearby Fiji or Samoa, but have so much to offer. Especially those travelers who like to focus on nature, adventure and authentic Polynesian culture will not be disappointed if they manage to catch an international flight to Tongatapu, the main island with its capital Nuku’alofa.

From here, you can venture to one of the local resorts or offshore islands, where you are greeted by gleaming beaches, lofty coconut palms, caves to swim in and brilliantly coloured coral reefs. At the same time, you meet friendly locals who showcase their culture in everyday life or at various festivals. As a bonus, you can be among the first people in the world to greet each new day, as Tonga has the closest position of all countries to the international date line. 

Some tourists board another 1-hour flight to visit Vava’u in the North. This island group is especially known for fantastic whale-watching opportunities, diving and snorkelling, as well as its safe harbour for sailing crusaders. In Neiafu, the capital of Vava’u, you can find comfortable accommodations and several tour operators taking you to offshore islands. The Tonga tourism website reveals more about climate, destinations and best times to travel: https://tongatourism.travel/

For those travelers who prefer to leave the beaten tourist tracks, Tonga offers other choices. The outer Vava’u and Ha’apai groups contain many inhabited coral islands that are rarely visited by Westerners. You either catch local ferries or hitch a ride with fishermen living on these islands who visit Neiafu to sell their catch, and you need to be prepared to leave Western comforts behind and embrace a different culture with eyes wide open.

It is on these remote islands that you can best experience the Tongan way of life – Angafakatonga. This includes the importance Tongans place on families, church, oral traditions, storytelling and respect for elders. It encompasses the high value of positive social interactions and the concept of Tongan Time: don’t worry about the future and enjoy the now, and don’t care too much about punctuality and getting things done in time. 

The Vava’u group is also a good starting point if you want to organise a stay on an uninhabited island. People only live on 40 of the Tongan islands, so you may experience life on a deserted coral island if you can find a local fisherman who takes you there. Just make sure to bring enough supplies, in case your pickup gets delayed or simply works on Tongan Time! 

All these places mentioned so far are part of a chain of coral islands in Tonga’s east. Adventure travelers may also like to aim for the western chain of volcanic islands. These were formed because Tonga lies above the boundary of two tectonic plates, and they are higher, more fertile and made of black sand and lava instead of white sand.

Fertile and lush, these islands contain more diverse vegetation and wildlife, and the colours and landscapes make for great photo opportunities. One of them – Tofua – even contains a smoking mini-volcano within the main caldera of the island, whereas others are still volcanically active underground. Tour operators from Vava’u offer to take you to Tofua for an amazing climb up the rim – if the conditions are right. 

Two other volcanic islands are hidden much further in the North: Niuatoputapu and Niuafo’ou. To visit these, you need to have a lot of time up your sleeves, as one can easily get stuck there without transport for a while. Adventure travel to such places is particularly rewarding when it has a purpose, which was the case for my 17-month-long exploits in Tonga.

Together with my partner, we lived on isolated Niuafo’ou, also called Tin Can Island, 30 years ago. We aimed to study a unique bird, the Tongan megapode, dubbed the ‘volcano bird’, which was only found on this volcano. You may be lucky and a plane services Niuafo’ou, which happens from time to time, but don’t count on there being a reliable flight back.

You may, like us, be stuck for a while until a freight ship decides to take you on board. In the meantime, you can enjoy unique insights into Polynesian culture as the 400 or so inhabitants will embrace the opportunity to interact with you. It is also a rare opportunity to find out more about the unique megapode bird that uses the volcano as an incubator and completely abandons its chicks after hatching. 

In the meantime, while planning your trip, either in real or in your mind, you may want to read my book “Volcanic Adventures in Tonga – Species Conservation on Tin Can Island”, available as ebook or paperback on Amazon and from major book retailers. It takes you on a rollicking adventure to some of Tonga’s remote islands, including Niuafo’ou, Tofua, Late, Hunga, and some islands in the Vava’u and Ha’apai groups. 

Tonga sadly made news worldwide in January 2022, when the eruption of the Hunga Tonga- Hunga Ha’apai volcano caused widespread destruction and some loss of life. However, this is no reason to avoid the area. Other countries that lie above the boundaries of tectonic plates have the same risk of these plates behaving badly and causing earthquakes, tsunamis or volcanic eruptions, such as Japan or New Zealand. Tonga has so much to offer, and you may decide that this is definitely worth the risk.