Getting There

By Plane

A few cruise ships stop in the islands, but today all but a handful of visitors fly to the islands. Because populations are small, flights are not nearly as frequent to and among the islands as Westerners are used to at home. There may be only one flight weekly between some countries, and flights that are scheduled today may be eliminated tomorrow. The airlines have relatively few planes, so mechanical problems can cause delays.

Many of the outer-island airstrips are unlit, so there are few connecting flights after dark. It's wise to consult a travel agent or contact the airlines to find out what's happening at present.

Also, you are likely be limited to 10 kilograms (22 lb.) of baggage on small interisland planes, as opposed to 20 kilograms (44 lb.) or more on international flights.

The distances out here are enormous, so be prepared for long flights: 10 1/2 hours or more from Los Angeles to Fiji, 7 1/2 hours or more to Tahiti.

The Airports -- Most flights to the islands from North America depart from Los Angeles International Airport (LAX, in airline parlance). A few flights go from other West Coast cities and from Vancouver, B.C. Australians and New Zealanders can get there from Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch, Sydney, Melbourne, or Brisbane, depending on the carrier.

If you don't live in a city where flights to the South Pacific originate, then you will have to pay to get there in order to make a connection. Some carriers offer "feeder" or "add-on" fares to cover the connecting flights. Be sure to ask about them.

Each island country has just one main international airport: Nadi (NAN) and in a few cases Suva (SUV) in Fiji; Papeete (PPT) on Tahiti in French Polynesia; Rarotonga (RAR) in the Cook Islands; Apia (APW) in Samoa; Pago Pago (PPG) in American Samoa; and Tongatapu (TBU), the main island in Tonga. Only Nadi (pronounced Nahn-dee) has enough international traffic to be considered a regional hub.

The Airlines -- Here in alphabetical order are the airlines with service to the islands:

Air New Zealand (tel. 800/262-1234 or 310/615-1111; www.airnewzealand.com) has the most extensive network to and from the islands, including several flights a week linking Los Angeles and San Francisco to Fiji, Tahiti, the Cook Islands, Samoa, and Tonga. Within the islands, its weekly "Coral Route" service links Fiji to Rarotonga in the Cook Islands, from where you can connect to and from Tahiti, Los Angeles, and Auckland. Air New Zealand flies to several Australian cities, so Aussies can reach most of the South Pacific islands through Auckland. It links Japan, Hong Kong, Singapore, Seoul, Taipei, and Beijing to Auckland, with connections on to the islands. Air New Zealand is a member of the Star Alliance, which includes United Airlines and several other carriers. This means you can get to the islands from many cities in the United States, Canada, and Europe on an Air New Zealand even if your ticket is issued by one of these other airlines.

Air France (tel. 800/321-4538; www.airfrance.com) flies to Tahiti from Paris, Los Angeles, and Tokyo.

Air Pacific (tel. 800/227-4446; www.airpacific.com), Fiji's fine international airline, has several weekly nonstop flights between Los Angeles and Fiji, and one from Vancouver, B.C. via Honolulu. From the south, it links Fiji to Sydney, Brisbane, and Melbourne in Australia, and Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch in New Zealand (some of those flights go directly to Suva). It provides nonstop service between Fiji and Tokyo in Japan. Within the region, it offers two flights per week linking Nadi to Samoa and Tonga, and it goes west to Vanuatu and Solomon Islands. It code-shares with both American Airlines (which provides feeder service from many U.S. and Canadian cities to Los Angeles) and Qantas Airways. In fact, all American Airlines and Qantas passengers bound for Fiji actually travel on Air Pacific.

Air Tahiti Nui (tel. 877/824-4846; www.airtahitinui.com), French Polynesia's national airline, has more flights -- all on relatively new Airbus planes -- between Tahiti and Los Angeles than any other airline. Some of those depart early afternoon California time and arrive in Papeete before dark, thus enabling you to connect to Moorea that evening. Most of its return flights are overnight, but you arrive in Los Angeles early enough in the morning to make convenient connections. It also has non-stop flights between New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport and Papeete. As we went to press it was planning to expand that service from New York on to Paris. On the other end, the New York-Tahiti plane keeps going to Sydney in Australia. New York-Papeete is a 12-hour flight, but you don't have to change airlines in Los Angeles. Air Tahiti Nui also links Paris, Tokyo, and Auckland to Papeete, and it has a code-share arrangement with Virgin Atlantic permitting direct ticketing from London to Sydney (via Hong Kong) on Virgin Atlantic, thence to Papeete via Air Tahiti Nui.

Freedom Air (www.freedom.co.nz), the low-fare subsidiary of Air New Zealand, has service between several New Zealand cities and Fiji.

Hawaiian Airlines (tel. 800/367-5320 in the continental U.S., Alaska, and Canada, or 808/838-1555 in Honolulu; www.hawaiianair.com) flies from Los Angeles, San Francisco, Portland, and Seattle to Tahiti and to American Samoa. You must change planes in Honolulu, which can result in delays and even an unexpected Hawaiian layover.

Pacific Blue (www.flypacificblue.com), the international subsidiary of the Australian cut-rate domestic airline Virgin Blue (itself an offshoot of Sir Richard Branson's Virgin Atlantic), has low-fare service from Sydney via Auckland to and from Fiji, the Cook Islands, and Tonga. It also flies to Samoa disguised as Polynesian Blue .

Polynesian Airlines (tel. 800/264-0823; www.polynesianairlines.com), the national carrier of Samoa, connects its home base at Apia to American Samoa and Tonga.

Polynesian Blue (www.polynesianblue.com), a joint venture between Polynesian Airlines and Pacific Blue, has low-fare service to Samoa from Sydney and Auckland. Qantas Airways (tel. 800/227-4500; www.qantas.com), the Australian carrier, has flights between Los Angeles and Fiji and Los Angeles and Tahiti. Its Fiji-bound passengers fly on Air Pacific planes.

In addition, LanChile Airlines (tel. 800/735-5526; www.lanchile.com) flies at least weekly between Santiago, Chile, and Tahiti by way of Easter Island. Japan Airlines (www.jal.co.jp) flies between Tokyo and Tahiti. Korean Air (www.koreanair.com) has service between Seoul and Fiji.

Reserve Early & Always Reconfirm -- Planes do not always fly between all the island countries every day in this sparsely populated, far-flung region. When planning your trip, therefore, first find out the airlines' schedules, which will determine the dates you can travel.

By all means book your domestic inter-island flights well in advance. You may not get on a plane at all if you wait until you arrive in the islands to take care of this important chore.

Once here, always reconfirm your return flight as soon as you arrive on an outer island, primarily so that the local airline will know where to reach you in case of a schedule change. Avoid booking a return flight from an outer island on the same day your international flight is due to leave for home; give yourself plenty of leeway in case the weather or mechanical or scheduling problems prevent the plane from getting to and from the outer island on time.

Flying For Less: Tips For Getting The Best Airfare -- The Pacific Ocean hasn't shrunk since it took 10 days and more than 83 hours in the air for Australian aviator Charles Kingsford Smith to become the first person to fly across it in 1928. Even though you can now board a jetliner in Los Angeles in the evening and be strolling under the palm trees of Tahiti or Fiji by the crack of dawn, the distances still run into the thousands of miles. Consequently, transportation costs may be the largest single expense of your trip to the South Pacific.

Be sure to shop all the airlines mentioned above to see who has the best deals. Keep calling and checking the websites if no attractive fare is available at first because wholesalers and groups often reserve blocks of low-cost seats in advance but release some of them near the date of departure. Occasionally a carrier will hold a last-minute sale to get rid of unused seats, so always ask for the lowest fare.

Australians and New Zealanders can save with Air New Zealand's South Pacific Airpass, which provides between 2 and 10 flight coupons. Travel must begin in a South Pacific country, including Australia and New Zealand, and must conclude within 30 days.

Seasonal & Promotional Fares -- Depending on the carrier, the South Pacific has four airfare seasons: High, or peak season, is from December through February. One shoulder season includes March and April; a second runs from September through November. Least expensive, the basic season runs from May through August (when the weather is at its finest in the islands). Fares can vary by as much as 25%, depending on the season.

The major airlines serving the South Pacific usually have special fares, especially during the slower seasons. Check the airline websites or ask their reservations agents what special deals are offered when you want to fly.

Also check the travel section of your Sunday newspaper for discounts. Look especially for ads run by discounters and consolidators .

Note: The lowest-priced fares are often nonrefundable, require advance purchase of 1 to 3 weeks and a certain length of stay, and carry penalties for changing dates of travel.

By Cruise Ship

Although the days of great liners plying the Pacific are long gone, occasionally it may be possible to reach the islands on a cruise ship making an around-the-world voyage or being repositioned, say, from Alaska to Australia. In addition to Princess Cruises , other companies likely to have ships in the South Pacific include Cunard Line (tel. 800/528-6273; www.cunardline.com), whose vessels include the Queen Elizabeth II, and Orient Lines (tel. 800/333-7300; www.orientlines.com).

Most sell tickets through travel agents, although some offer them directly to the public on their websites.

The only company whose ships regularly visit more than one country covered in this book is Princess Cruises (tel. 800/774-6237; www.princesscruises.com). Some of its Tahitian Princess itineraries are extended from French Polynesia to the Cook Islands and Samoa.

Lindblad Expeditions (tel. 800/EXPEDITION; www.expeditions.com) occasionally has exploratory voyages from Easter Island to Tahiti, from there to Fiji, and from Fiji to Papua New Guinea.

You can also click on www.cruisecritic.com, where you can check out cruises throughout the world; www.cruise411.com, which has itineraries, deck plans, and other information; and www.cruisepage.com, with reviews of more than 300 ships.

Your best bet for steaming through the islands, however, is to fly to Fiji or Tahiti and take one of the ships based there.