![]() Photo: Shutterstockĭon't expect nightlife – while several resorts have lively restaurants and bars, most of Samoa goes to bed at dark. Samoa is the most authentic of all Pacific societies – just being here gives you the opportunity to observe what life has always been like in Polynesia.Ĭanoe around Papua New Guinea. Some of the Pacific's most romantic resorts can also be found here. Locals live by fa'a Samoa – "the Samoan Way" – in traditional villages with laws governed by paramount chiefs. This could be the Pacific's best-kept secret. Life looks good on Rarotonga, Cook Islands. Air New Zealand has direct flights from Sydney, which take just 5½ hours. Sleep in a villa metres from the lagoon at Little Polynesian. Jetstar, Virgin Australia and Air New Zealand fly to Rarotonga. School holidays get busy so consider autumn or late spring. Photo: ShutterstockĪvoid summer when cyclones can strike and the humidity gets uncomfortable. Fly to Aitutaki and take a boat tour on its lagoon, stopping on tiny islands to snorkel. Sail, kayak or stand-up-paddleboard on Muri Lagoon – or swim to its four uninhabited motus (islets). Take a cross-island hiking tour through rainforest and between Rarotonga's highest peaks. Like a mini-Tahiti, Rarotonga is surrounded entirely by lagoon and its hinterland is mountainous and uninhabited. Most travellers don't go beyond Rarotonga and because it's small, its hot-spots can get crowded at school holiday time. Photo: Shutterstockīelow are the best islands of the South Pacific to visit beyond Fiji - not that there's anything wrong with Fiji and we've covered it, too. While there are islands closer to home – such as Norfolk Island and Lord Howe Island – we've kept this list to tropical destinations only. To Sua ocean trench, a famous swimming hole in Samoa, South Pacific. Or perhaps you'd rather do nothing at all. You can surf, dive, fish, hike, kayak, or snorkel – for these destinations are the best places on Earth to do so. These South Pacific islands, however, have something to suit every kind of traveller – you can stay in a $10,000-a-night private island retreat or at a $20-a-night homestay in a traditional village and anything in between. And islands about which we know only the basics, such as the Cook Islands, New Caledonia and French Polynesia. ![]() There are islands just a few hours away about which we know nothing, such as Samoa, Tonga and Niue. While 370,000 of us travel to Fiji every year, few go beyond.
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