Pacific Island Hopping

10 July 2016

Island hopping across the 11 small countries in the Pacific.
Explore the vast Pacific? Where on earth to start? So many choices for a single spot of sand, surf, snorkeling.

BUT, if you want to truly "island hop" ― explore more and sample varied cultures ― how best to plan your island hopping?

Across the vast Pacific, small inhabited islands are divided into over two dozen jurisdictions, including
  • 11 sovereign countries, all members of the UN with flags on my map above. Curiously, every one was linked to the Anglosphere as former protectorate or dependency: three to the US, and eight to the UK, Australia, or New Zealand.
  • Two semi-independent states in "free association" with New Zealand (Cook Islands and Niue).
  • Plus 11 territories and dependencies with varying degrees of autonomy (three under the US; three under France; two under Chile; and one each under Australia, New Zealand, the UK).
  • And the US state of Hawaii.

This list omits big island countries on the Pacific rim from Japan to the Philippines, Indonesia, Papua New Guinea, and New Zealand.

So many places, so little time (and money). So we might as well focus first on hopping around the independent countries — and raise our country count too if you confess to being a counter.


How can we sort these specks on the map?

Sorting into Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia is based mostly on ethnicity. That is worthless to a traveler who does not care about gradients of skin color.

Instead, I sorted countries from a traveler's perspective (not from pigmentation). My results follow.

Pacific island nations grouped by travel factors into:
"Micro Trio," "Secluded Center," and "Fab Five"

(These maps are heavily amended from one at freeworldmaps.net)

Micro Trio

These three countries just north of the equator comprise the Pacific's
easiest route thanks to United's convenient "island hopper" schedule.
East to West: HNL-MAJ-KWA-KSA-PNI-TKK-GUM-YAP.
(Map revised from this site.)
  • On this linear route, perhaps better to fly east-to-west, starting with small, less developed Marshall Islands and ending in popular Palau.
  • You'll see a variety of sights and levels of development.
  • As you hop across FSM (Federated States of Micronesia, not to be confused with the broader region of Micronesia), you can pick one or more island stopovers...
    • Kosrae, most pristine and least developed
    • Pohnpei, mysterious Nan Madol ruins
    • Chuuk, dive among 70 sunken Japanese ships
    • Yap, known for manta rays and preserved culture.
  • The US dollar is the currency in all three countries.
  • Along the way, be sure to stop over in Guam, the large, prosperous American territory out in the far western Pacific.
  • This route allows a simple DIY itinerary over a few weeks.



Secluded Center

Moving south we find a more central equatorial trio ― Nauru, Tuvalu, and Kiribati ― that also shares features relevant to travelers. Key things to remember about the Secluded Center:
  • All three are among the least visited countries on earth.
    • Nauru often has fewer than 200 visitors annually
    • Tuvalu does get much more than 1,000
    • Kiribati has only had about 6,000 per year
  • Getting there can be a challenge. Nauru's visa process is a mystery. Long flights from Fiji operate only once or twice a week. Nauru Airlines offers alternatives but is not listed on Kayak, etc.
    • All three countries have even less tourism infrastructure than in FSM and Marshall Islands. Choices of lodging are few and poor. No credit cards accepted in Tuvalu, cash only. And don't expect cheap, fast internet.
    • Super small: Nauru (pop 10,000) and Tuvalu (pop 11,000) are two of the smallest and least populated countries on earth. Kiribati is larger but still has only 30,000 on its largest island Tarawa.
    • The few visitors I met were either business people, NGO workers, missionaries, or, in three cases, country counters. Didn't see any backpackers or pensioner tours.
    • Certain travelers like me will find the obscurity, oddities, and obstacles to be appealing. But most apparently do not.
    • Rather than putting all three into the same journey, as I did, you may want to tackle just one of these unusual destinations in combination with island hopping in some more mainstream places like the Fab Five below.
    • Nauru may be more of a triumph to visit, but of these three, my favorite was the friendly, easygoing atoll of Funafuti, Tuvalu.
    • After my DIY trip in 2015, Adventures Abroad introduced a remarkable tour called "Untouched Pacific" that usually includes all three of these rarely visited countries, plus the two least visited in the Micro Trio.

    Fab Five

    What I'm calling the "Fab Five" are the southernmost Pacific nations, besides New Zealand. All are a nonstop flight from the Fiji hub, and share several key characteristics:
    • Each gets more tourists (many from Australia) than any of the six other Pacific countries except Palau.
    • Of the eleven island countries, each of these Fab Five (plus Kiribati) top the list as...
    • Fiji Airlines operates daily nonstop flights to Tonga, Samoa, and Vanuatu from its Nadi, Fiji hub, and a couple of times a week nonstop to the Solomon Islands. Also investigate Solomon Airlines. Vanuatu Air is mostly domestic.
    My 2016 flights to the Fab Five using the Fiji hub

    • So much to see and do in the Fab Five that it is worth carefully researching your personal optimal combination of volcanoes, blowholes, snorkeling, culture, and so forth.
    • You also have far more and far better lodging options here than in other Pacific countries (Micro and Secluded above).
    • Next time I return to the Pacific islands, these will be priority destinations.


    Three Summers of Island Hopping

    My island hopping to these eleven countries went this way:

    ▶ 2014: Micro ~ North of the equator...
    Took United's brilliant route and saw all the Micro Trio, plus Guam.

    ▶ 2015: Seculded ~ Equatorial...
    Explored all three countries tucked away in the Secluded Center.

    ▶ 2016: Fab Fave ~ South Pacific:
    Visited all the Fab Five but the easy way on a small-group tour.

    By chance googling, I came across a unique island hopping tour from Adventures Abroad that included all the Fab Five, plus more. Rather than DIY, I signed up and I'm glad I did.

    The itinerary managed to cover a lot, mixing a variety of culture, history, nature, and other sightseeing. To run it smoothly, we had the cleverest, funniest, most indefatigable guide ever (Chris Tripodi) ― and a good group of fellow travelers.

    June 2016: Adventures Abroad Pacific Explorer Tour
    with Chris and crew, shown here sweating in Palau.