Pacific Islands

The Pacific Ocean is the largest single body of water on the planet. Named by Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan as the Peaceful Sea - Tepre Pacificum (Latin). It extends from the polar regions of the North 15,500kms to the South and Asia and Australia in the west 19,800kms to to the Americas in the east. In total it covers over 169.2 million square km's (46% of the Earths ocean surface) 30% of the Earths total surface. The deepest known point being 10,911m (you could bury Mount Everest and still have over 2km height spare). With over 25,000 islands the islands are grouped into Melanesia, Polynesia and Micronesia. Our site will concentrate on the islands situated south of the equator in the groups Melanesia and Polynesia.

The volcanic islands mostly Melanesian differ from the Polynesian coral reef formed islands and are the main classification geologically.

From the Solomon Islands in the East to Pitcairn and Easter Island we aim to offer you the traveler an informative resource to help you plan your journey to this most exotic paradise.

We hope to update this site often and would appreciate any detailed information you feel would benefit fellow travelers and the islands inhabitants themselves.

In the current awareness of global warming we feature islands that might well be non existent in the very near future, this might well be the last time visitors can experiences these islands. Yet the very nature of travel and tourism creates its own environmental issues, we urge you to consider all eco implications and consequences. Above all many islanders survive solely on tourism and foreign investment, this is what we wish to encourage.

Warm friendly peoples await your visit to experience their place in paradise.

Accommodation throughout the region is available to suit all budgets and tastes. World class resorts offer the traveler everything they might want during their vacation. Family run hotels and guest houses offer a more personal touch where you can find true hospitality. Venturing in to the more remote areas away from the beaten track you can find suitable lodgings within the villages and experience a break from the normal holiday. For those on a tighter budget many islands offer backpacker style places to stay.

Banking facilities vary greatly from island to island. Major credit cards are widely excepted and ATM's are found in the main towns. Hours are sometimes limited and should be checked for each destination. Taking a mix of small denomination travelers cheques, cash in a well known currency like New Zealand, Australian and US dollars or Euro's and your bank cards should enable you to finance your trip with ease and be hassle free.

Most of the islands have their own international airports and most of these offer the traveler a full range of facilities including money exchange, duty free shopping, restaurants, car hire, lounges and more. Travel to and from the more remote islands is often on smaller domestic aircraft, these can be booked in advance or in country where you can find better deals. Many airlines offer a pass that can be purchased that enable you to visit several islands without having to depart from a single origin. This is the best way to see more of the region and not lose time traveling back to the same island.

(back to top)

Each island listing now has daily online weather information for the capital or main island or atol.

(back to top)

Due to the sheer scale of the South Pacific and the remote small islands no map can show the detail and scale of the region for the use on a site like this. Each destination island has a scaled map showing the relevant area. For a general area map of the region please visit the maps section displayed in the Region menu.

(back to top)

By far the greatest way to explore the region is onboard the tall ship Soren Larsen. This vessel is based in New Zealand and each year sails throughout the South Pacific. A full list of dates and islands taken in en route is available through their web site. A real experience to travelers that enjoy a nostalgic form of travel.

Shipping companies do offer passage on their commercial vessels and this is sometimes the only way to get to certain islands like Pitcairn.

More and more passenger ships offer luxury cruises sailing to certain destinations from both New Zealand and Australia, this enables you to combine the luxury of modern cruise ships with visits to the more popular island destinations.

Generally medical facilities are good and modern. Only the larger towns and islands offer full medical facilities. These are often quite expensive and good insurance is essential. The smaller islands and more remote places only offer clinics and any major incident will require evacuation to the nearest major facility. In the most extreme cases patients are often transferred to either New Zealand or Australia depending on which island you are on. The main exception to this is Pitcairn where there is no airport and it is to remote for emergency helicopters. Be sensible and try to take aspirin, cold capsules, band-aids, sun screen, vitamins, anti-diarrhea pills, and good insect repellant.