People often ask me where they should go in the South Pacific. Lacking the ability to read minds, I do not have an easy answer. In other words, it depends on what you want to see and do on your own vacation. What I can do is give you the benefit of my expertise so that you don't waste your valuable vacation time.
If you live in the United States, Canada, or Europe, the long flights here and back mean you will burn a day getting here and a day returning home. Consequently, you should spend more than 1 week out here. If you have only 1 week, spend it in one island country, or even on one island. (Also pick only one if your primary goal is to spend as much time as possible in the water.) I suggest itineraries in this section which will do some degree of justice to the Cook Islands, the Samoas, and Tonga, which are smaller than Fiji and French Polynesia. I recommend 2 weeks for either of the latter.
The vast distances and the infrequent -- or in some cases nonexistent -- air services between the islands make it impractical to see more than one South Pacific island country in less than 3 weeks. If you do island-hop between countries, you will devote several days to packing, getting to the airports, standing in line at security checkpoints, waiting for flights, flying (usually in the middle of the night), clearing Customs and Immigration, getting to your new hotel, and recovering from your nocturnal ordeal. That will leave you just enough time to see the sites -- and I don't mean dive sites.
That's not to say it is impossible to jump around from country to country. If you have 3 weeks or more, you can fly with Air New Zealand over its Coral Route from Fiji to Rarotonga to Tahiti, or vice versa. Air New Zealand pioneered this route in the days of flying boats, and one of its jets now flies from Auckland to Fiji and Rarotonga once a week. It turns around in Rarotonga and returns over the same route the next day.
However you construct your own itinerary, first find out the airlines' schedules and book all domestic inter-island flights well in advance. Do not wait until you arrive in the islands to take care of this important chore.
And remember the old travel agent's rule: Never stay at the most luxurious property first. In other words, anything after that will seem inferior, and you may come home disappointed.
