Planning a trip to Tonga

When to Go

The Climate

Tongatapu is far enough south of the equator to have cool, dry, and quite pleasant weather during the austral winter months (July-Sept), when temperatures range between 60°F and 70°F (16°C-21°C). However, the ends of occasional cold fronts from the Antarctic and periods of stiff southeast trade winds can make it seem even cooler during this period. During the summer (Dec-Mar), the high temperatures can reach above 90°F (32°C), with evenings in the comfortable 70s (20s Celcius). A sweater, jacket, or wrap will come in handy for evening wear at any time of the year.

The islands get about 180 centimeters (71 in.) of rainfall a year, the majority of it falling during the summer months. Vava'u to the north tends to be somewhat warmer and slightly wetter than Tongatapu.

Tonga is in the southwestern Pacific cyclone belt, and hurricanes are possible from November to April. There will be ample warning if one bears down on the islands while you're there.

Holidays & Events

The largest annual festival is Heilala, the week of July 4, when Nuku'alofa goes all out for a week of dance and beauty competitions, parades, sporting matches, concerts, marching contests, regattas, parties, and the lovely Night of Torches on the waterfront. Tongans living overseas like to come home for Heilala, so hotel reservations should be made well in advance. Vava'u stages its own version of Heilala early in May.

The Tonga Visitors Bureau keeps track of festival dates.

Public holidays are New Year's Day, Good Friday and Easter Monday, Anzac (Memorial) Day (Apr 25), Independence Day (June 4), the King's Birthday (Aug 1), Constitution Day (Nov 4), King Tupou I Day (Dec 4), Christmas Day, and Boxing Day (Dec 26).

Getting Around

By Plane

Domestic air service has been in a state of flux since the government-owned Royal Tongan Airlines folded in 2004. As I write, Airlines Tonga (tel. 24-506) was flying from Tongatapu to Ha'apai and Vava'u. It's a joint venture between Air Fiji and Nuku'alofa-based Teta Tours. Frankly, no one at the airline would answer the phone when I was in Tonga recently. Consequently, I get a local in-bound tour operator, such as Pacific Travel Marketing (tel. 28-304; sales@pacifictravelmarketing.afe.to), to make my arrangements.

The one-way fare from Tongatapu to Vava'u is about T$450 (US$225/£113), and to Ha'apai, about T$300 (US$150/£75).

A more reliable option is Chathams Pacific -- The Friendly Islands Airline (tel. 28-000; www.chathamspacific.com), a New Zealand-based airline that began operating in Tonga in April 2008, using comfortable, 50-seat Convair aircraft. Its unrestricted one-way fares from Tongatapu were T$278 (US$139/£70) to Vava'u and T$173 (US$87/£43) to Ha'apai.

Note: Domestic flights arrive and depart from the old terminal, not the newer international terminal.

Don't Miss Your Flight Home -- Try not to fly back from Vava'u or Ha'apai to Nuku'alofa on the same day your international flight is scheduled to take you home. Give yourself at least a day's cushion, just in case the local airline has an unexpected cancellation. And remember to always reconfirm your return flight as soon as possible.

By Rental Car

Avis (tel. 800/331-1212 or 21-179; www.avis.com) has an office on Taufa'ahau Road. Rates are T$82 (US$41/£21) per day, including unlimited kilometers. A subsidiary of E. M. Jones Travel, KL2 Rental Car (tel. 30-221; kl2rental@kalianet.to), Taufa'ahau Road Extended, rents cars starting at T$50 (US$25/£13) per day, including unlimited mileage. Both have a limited supply of cars, so reserve as soon as you can.

You must obtain a local driver's license before you can officially drive in Tonga. The rental firms will do it for you, or you can go through the rather cumbersome application process at the central police station (tel. 21-222), on Wellington Road just off Taufa'ahau Road in Nuku'alofa. Enter on the Railway Road side of the building. You will need your home driver's license and T$18 (US$9/£4.50) in pa'anga.

Driving Rules -- Driving in Tonga is on the left-hand side of the road. Speed limits are 65kmph (40 mph) on the open road and 40kmph (25 mph) in towns and villages. You must wear your seat belt at all times, and driving under the influence of alcohol is a serious offense.

By Taxi

Taxis are plentiful in Nuku'alofa, although most are in poor condition (sometimes I think Tonga is where old cars go to die). They usually gather near Maketi Talamahu at the corner of Salote and Railway roads in Nuku'alofa, but you can flag them down anywhere. They aren't all identified as taxis except for their license plates, which begin with the letter T. Among the many firms are Fiemalie Taxis (tel. 24-270), Wellington Taxis (tel. 24-844), or Holiday Taxis (tel. 25-655 or 25-169).

Fares are T$3 (US$1.50/75p) in town. The taxis have no meters, so make sure you and the driver agree on just how much the fare will be. The fares are doubled on Sundays, when taxis are officially permitted only to take passengers to church and back (some of them will carry tourists from their hotels or guesthouses to the wharf in order for them to get to the offshore islands).

By Bus

Local buses operate Monday to Saturday during regular business hours (that is, they stop at 5pm). They use the Vuna Road waterfront as their terminal. Town buses stop in front of the Tonga Visitors Bureau; long-distance ones stop in front of the government buildings. They fan out from there to all parts of Tongatapu, but there are no reliable schedules. Simply ask the bus drivers at the market where they are going. About T$2 (US$1/50p) will take you to the end of the island in either direction.

By Bicycle

Tongatapu is virtually flat, making it an ideal island for bicycling. "Pushbikes" can be rented from Bicycle Hire (no phone) on the Vuna waterfront near the International Dateline Hotel. One-speed models cost T$1 (US50¢/25p) per hour, T$10 (US$5/£2.50) for a full day. Open Monday to Saturday 8am to 6pm.

By Ferry

It's not for everyone, but the Shipping Corporation of Polynesia (tel. 23-853; www.olovaha.com) operates weekly ferry service from Nuku'alofa to Ha'apai and Vava'u. It leaves Nuku'alofa on Tuesday and takes about 16 hours to make the 262km (163-mile) trip to Vava'u, stopping at Lifuka in the Ha'apai group on the way. The ship then turns around and arrives back in Nuku'alofa on Thursday. The one-way fare between Nuku'alofa and Vava'u is about T$70 (US$35/£18) for deck passage.

Money

The Tongan unit of currency is the pa'anga, which is divided into 100 seniti. The banks use "TOP" for the pa'anga but I have abbreviated if as T$ in this book. Most Tongans refer to "dollars" and "cents" when doing business with visitors, meaning pa'angas and senitis.

Tongan coins bear the likeness of the late King Taufa'ahau Tupou on one side and such items as bananas, chickens, and pigs on the other.

How to Get to Local Currency

ANZ Bank, on Taufau'ahau Road, is open Monday to Friday 9am to 4pm and Saturday from 8:30 to 11:30am. Westpac Bank of Tonga, at the waterfront end of Taufa'ahau Road, Nuku'alofa's main street, is open Monday to Friday 9am to 3:30pm and Saturday 8:30 to 11:30am. Both banks have ATMs. ANZ also has an ATM at the airport. You may get a better rate for cash and traveler's checks at GlobalEX/Western Union, on Taufa'ahau Road. It's open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4:30pm and Saturday 8:30am to 12:30pm.

The Tongan Pa'anga, the U.S. & Canadian Dollars & the British Pound

At this writing, US$1/$C1 = approximately T$2.00 (or, the other way around, T$1 = US50¢), which is the exchange rate I used to calculate the dollar values given in this book. For British readers: At this writing, £1 = approximately T$4 (or, T$1 = 25p). Note: International exchange rates fluctuate depending on economic and political factors. Find the current rates at www.xe.com.

Credit Cards

The major hotels, car-rental firms, travel agencies, and Royal Tongan Airlines accept American Express, Diners Club, MasterCard, and Visa credit cards. Many restaurants and other businesses accept MasterCard or Visa, but most add 4% or 5% to your bill for doing so. Always ask first if you want to charge your purchases. Leave your Discover card at home.

Getting There

Air New Zealand flies between Auckland and Tonga, with one flight a week going to Los Angeles and back, with a brief stop in Samoa each way. Air Pacific connects Tonga to its flights to Fiji from Los Angeles, Australia, and New Zealand. Polynesian Blue flies to Tonga from Auckland and Sydney. Airlines Tonga flies a turbo-prop plane between Nadi and Vava'u.

No flights go into, or out of, Tonga on Sunday, when local airports are closed.

Arriving

Except for the few international flights destined for Vava'u, most land at Fua'amotu Airport (TBU) on Tongatapu, 24km (15 miles) or a 30-minute drive from Nuku'alofa. The terminal has currency exchange counters, an ATM, a duty-free shop, a snack bar, and a handicraft outlet. International passengers can purchase duty-free liquor and cigarettes after clearing Immigration but before going through Customs.

Getting To Your Hotel

Transportation from the airport into Nuku'alofa is by hotel minibuses or taxi. The bus ride to town costs T$10 (US$5/£2.50). The one-way taxi fare into Nuku'alofa is about T$30 (US$15/£7.50); the drivers will be happy to take U.S., New Zealand, or Australian currency.

Departing

A departure tax of T$25 (US$13/£6.25) is charged of all passengers leaving on international flights. You pay it in Tongan currency at Fua'amotu Airport, at a separate booth outside Immigration. There is no departure tax for domestic flights. There is no currency exchange facility in the departure lounge, so swap your money before clearing Immigration.

Fast Facts

American Express -- American Express has no representative in Tonga.

Bookstores -- Friendly Islands Bookshop, on Taufa'ahau Road (tel. 23-787), carries greeting cards made from tapa cloth, paperback books, postcards, international news magazines, week-old Australian newspapers, books about Tonga and the rest of the South Pacific, and maps of Tonga.

Business Hours -- In general, Tonga's shops are open Monday to Friday from 8am to 1pm and 2 to 5pm and Saturday from 8am to noon. Government offices are open Monday to Friday from 8:30am to 12:30pm and 1:30 to 4:30pm.

Camera & Film -- Foto Fix, on Taufa'ahau Road north of Wellington Road (tel. 23-466), sells Kodak and Fuji film, provides 1-hour color film processing, and has machines which will print photos from digital camera memory cards.

Customs --Visitors are allowed to bring in 500 cigarettes and 2.25 liters of spirits or 4.5 liters of wine, as well as personal belongings in use at the time of arrival. Pets, dangerous drugs, indecent materials, firearms, and ammunition are prohibited, and foodstuffs must be declared and inspected. Arriving visitors can buy duty-free merchandise at Fua'amotu Airport after clearing Immigration but before going through Customs.

Drug Laws -- A drug-sniffing dog roams the baggage claim area at the airport, so don't even think about bringing illegal drugs into Tonga.

Drugstores -- Village Mission Pharmacy, on 'Unga Road between Wellington and Laifone roads (tel. 27-522), is the most modern drug store here. Open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 12:30pm. Fasi Pharmacy & Clinic, on Salote Road between Lavina and Tupoulahi roads (tel. 22-955), is open Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm and Saturday 9am to 4pm. Both have doctors on call.

Electricity -- Electricity in Tonga is 240 volts, 50 cycles, and the plugs are the heavy, angled type used in Australia and New Zealand. You will need a converter and adapter plug to operate American appliances.

Embassies & Consulates -- The nearest U.S. embassy is in Suva, Fiji. Consular offices in Tonga are the Australian High Commission (tel. 21-244), the New Zealand High Commission (tel. 21-122), and the People's Republic of China Embassy (tel. 24-554).

Emergencies & Police -- The emergency telephone number for the police, fire department, and hospital is tel. 911. The main police station (tel. 21-222) is on Salote Road at Railway Road.

Etiquette & Customs -- It's against the law for men as well as women to appear shirtless in public. While Western men -- but definitely not women -- can swim and sunbathe shirtless at the hotel pools and beaches frequented by visitors, you will see most Tongans swimming in a full set of clothes. Accordingly, visitors should not wear bathing suits or skimpy attire away from the hotel pools or beaches frequented by foreigners (and that includes showing off your pierced naval and your lower back tattoo). Summer clothing is in order during most of the year, but a sweater, jacket, or wrap should be taken for evening wear throughout the year.

Eyeglasses -- Vaiola Hospital (tel. 21-200) is the only place to get glasses fixed or replaced.

Firearms -- Guns are illegal in Tonga.

Gambling -- There is no casino or other form of organized gambling in Tonga.

Healthcare -- Vaiola Hospital (tel. 21-200) provides medical, dental, and optical service, but it's considerably below the standards you're used to. The outpatient clinics are open from 8:30am to 4:30pm daily. The two drugstores have private physicians on call.

Hitchhiking -- It's not against the law, but Tongans are not particularly accustomed to picking up strangers.

Insects -- There are no dangerous insects in Tonga, and the mosquitoes do not carry malaria. Vava'u, warmer and more humid than Tongatapu, tends to have more mosquitoes and has tropical centipedes that can inflict painful stings if touched; watch your step if walking around with bare feet.

Internet Access -- Friends Tourist Center (tel. 26-323), on Taufa'ahau Road between Salote and Wellington roads, has Internet access Monday to Friday 8am to 10pm and Saturday 8:30am to 7:30pm. Dataline Internet Cafe (tel. 27-688), on Wellington Road east of Taufa'ahau Road, is open Monday through Saturday 8am to 11pm. On Faua Jetty, Café Reef (tel. 26-777) has two computers with access. All charge T$3 (US$1.50/75p) per hour.

Road warriors can get temporary Internet access accounts for their laptops at Tonga Communications Corp. (tel. 23-499), on Salote Road at Takaunove Road. There's a T$41 (US$21/£10) setup fee plus T$23 (US$12/£5.75) for 2 hours of access over 1 month, or T$46 (US$23/£12) for a month's unlimited access. Go into the telephone office, which is open Monday to Saturday 8:30am to 10:30pm and Sunday 10am to 10:30pm.

Laundry & Dry Cleaning -- Savoy Dry Cleaners, on Fatefehi Road (tel. 878-3314), has 1-day laundry and dry-cleaning service. Open Monday to Friday 8am to 5pm and Saturday 8am to 2pm.

Liquor Laws -- The legal drinking age is 18. Licensed hotels can sell alcoholic beverages to their guests 7 days a week; otherwise, sale is prohibited from midnight Saturday to midnight Sunday. Ikale beer is the local brew.

Newspapers & Magazines -- All the local newspapers are published in Tongan. Matangi Tonga (www.matangitonga.to) is a fine English-language monthly magazine edited by the noted Tongan writer and publisher Pesi Fonua. It has features about the kingdom and its people. Friendly Islands Bookstore carries international newspapers and magazines.

Mail -- The Nuku'alofa Post Office is at the corner of Taufa'ahau and Salote roads. It's open Monday to Friday 8:30am to 4pm. Many Tongan stamps in the shape of bananas and pineapples are collectors' items.

Radio & TV -- The government-owned radio station, A3Z (Radio Tonga), broadcasts in both AM and FM. Most programming on the AM station is in Tongan, although the music played is mostly U.S., Australian, or British popular tunes. The news in English is relayed from the BBC or Radio Australia several times a day. One privately owned FM station in Nuku'alofa plays popular music.

Tonga has two over-the-air television channels, one owned by the government, the other with mostly Christian programming (which is to say, fundamentalist American preachers raising money while haranguing the faithful). They can be received only on Tongatapu and 'Eua. Tonfon, a communications company, provides the BBC and a few other channels on its satellite TV service in Nuku'alofa; the TV set in your hotel probably will receive them.

Safety -- Robberies and break-ins are on the increase, although crimes against tourists have been rare. It's a good idea to be alert if you walk down dark streets at night. Remember that the communal property system still prevails in the kingdom. Items such as cameras and bags left unattended might disappear, so take precautions. Women should not wander alone on deserted beaches.

Taxes -- The government adds a 15% "consumption" tax to the price of everything purchased in Tonga, including hotel rooms. The tax is added to most bills in the American fashion and included in the price in others. All passengers on international flights pay a departure tax of T$25 (US$13/£6.25) in Tongan currency.

Telephone & Fax -- Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC), on Salote Road at the corner of Takaunove Road, handles all land-line phones here.

To call Tonga: Dial the international access code (011 from the U.S.; 00 from the U.K., Ireland, or New Zealand; or 0011 from Australia), Fiji's country code 676, and the local number (there are no area codes within Tonga).

To make international calls from within Tonga: First dial 00, then the country code (U.S. or Canada 1, U.K. 44, Ireland 353, Australia 61, New Zealand 64), then the area code and phone number. Direct-dial calls to anywhere in the world cost about T80¢ (US40¢/20p) a minute during the day, T68¢ (US34¢/17p) on weekends, making Tonga by far the least expensive place in the South Pacific from which to call home.

You can also make international calls at the Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC), on Salote Road at the corner of Takaunove Road, which has phones in private booths. TCC is open Monday to Saturday 8am to 10:30pm and Sunday 10am to 10:30pm.

To make domestic calls within Tonga: No prefix or area code is required for domestic long-distance calls, so dial the local number.

For directory assistance: Dial tel. 910 or tel. 919 for directory assistance.

For operator assistance: Dial tel. 913 for operator assistance in making an international call.

Toll-free numbers: Calling a 1-800 number in the U.S. or Canada from Tonga is not toll-free. In fact, it costs the same as an overseas call.

Pay phones: Calls can be placed from any public phone using a prepaid phonecard, which can be bought at many shops and at the Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC), on Salote Road at the corner of Takaunove Road.

Cellphones: The Tonga Communications Corporation (TCC) branch on Taufa'ahau Road (tel. 27-335 or 27-336) rents mobile phones and sells SIM cards for unlocked GSM cellphones, starting at T$28 (US$14/£7), including T$20 (US$10/£5) of airtime. A subsidiary of Digicel Pacific, Tonfon (tel. 876-1000; www.tonfon.to) also rents cellphones and sells SIM cards.

Time -- Local time in Tonga is 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time. It's in the same day as Australia, New Zealand, and Fiji, and a day ahead of the United States, the Samoas, the Cook Islands, and French Polynesia. Translated, Tonga is 3 hours behind the U.S. West Coast during standard time (4 hr. behind during daylight saving time) -- and 1 day ahead. If it's noon on Tuesday in Tonga, it's 3pm Pacific Standard Time on Monday in Los Angeles and 6pm Eastern Standard Time on Monday in New York.

Tipping -- Although it has gained a foothold, tipping is officially discouraged in Tonga because it's considered contrary to the Polynesian tradition of hospitality. One time gratuities are encouraged is during Tongan dance shows, when members of the audience rush up to the female dancers and stick notes to their well-oiled bodies.

Water -- Although the government proclaims the tap water in the main towns to be chlorinated and safe, I don't know anyone who drinks it. Because it comes from wells in the limestone bedrock, it's hard (laden with minerals) and doesn't easily rinse off soap and shampoo. Bottled water is available at most grocery stores in Nuku'alofa.

Weights & Measures -- Tonga uses the metric system.