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South Pacific
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 South Pacific Holidays Specialist cook islands resort & holidays fiji resorts & holidays samoa resort & holidays tonga resort & holidays tahiti resort & holidays vanuatu resort & holidays new caledonia resort & holidays Talk to a Beautiful Pacific Travel Consultant Now: Fiji: 672 2600 Brisbane, Australia: 07 3040 2466 Sydney, Australia 02 8005 1232 NZ: 09 889 2349 London: 0208 123 8622 Cook Islands The Cook Islands consists of 15 islands, half of which are tiny atolls in the remote Northern Group and are rarely visited by tourists. Rarotonga is the largest island with high volcanic peaks and lush tropical vegetation. Tourism is the main industry in the Cook Islands with Rarotonga having the international airport and 80% of tourist accommodation. Tourism here remains relatively low key with the largest hotel having only 200 rooms over three levels. Some tourists visit the stunning lagoon island of Aitutaki, a 45-minute flight north of Rarotonga with its sublime beaches and lagoon islets. A trickle of eco-tourists visit the unusual limestone islands of Atiu, Mangaia Mauke and Mitiaro. Fiji Islands The Fiji Islands is a collection of over 300 islands and features stunning tropical beaches with excellent snorkelling lagoons throughout. Some of the outer islands have small luxury resorts or budget retreats to fully experience this tropical paradise. Fiji is the most visited of the South Pacific islands with almost 500,000 tourists annually. Many arrive on package holidays from New Zealand and Australia and stay in large beach resorts, whilst others seek romantic breaks on tiny coral islands. Apart from beaches, Fiji is an excellent soft adventure destination with high mountains, trekking, white water rafting, remote waterfalls, endemic birdlife and there are some of the worlds top dive sites and reef surfing breaks. Life in rural Fiji remains very traditional with thatch houses and subsistence farming and fishing. The islands offer an excellent village stay experience organized by Green Turtle Fiji for those seeking cultural integration Samoa Islands Samoa is made up of two countries sharing a common history and culture: Western Samoa is the more traditional and has greatest tourist appeal; American Samoa is quite westernized but with little commercial tourism. Both Samoas have breathtaking coastal scenery. Western Samoa has many unspoiled beaches backed by rainforest whilst American Samoa has some outstanding National Parks with high cliffs and endemic birds. Accommodation throughout Samoa is basic with only a handful of small beach resorts. However, there are lots of traditional beach fales around the islands (simple thatch bungalows) operated by locals and managed by Green Turtle Samoa. French Polynesia French Polynesia, better known by the name of its main island Tahiti, is a French Colony fighting for its Independence. The islands are extremely expensive but offer some of the most exquisite resorts many with overwater bungalows. French Polynesia boasts some of the most beautiful lagoon islands in the world including famous Bora Bora. These lagoon islands offer great snorkelling and lots of tiny uninhabited islands with commercial resorts. Apart from its exquisite lagoons, beaches and overwater bungalows, Tahiti and Marquesas offer some breathtaking tropical scenery with high mountains and coastal cliffs and interesting archaeological sites Tonga Islands The Tongan Islands are the least commercial and cheapest of the main South Pacific Islands and offer just a handful of beach resorts but many beautiful uninhabited islands with gorgeous beaches and world class snorkelling. Tonga is an exceptional destination to explore off the beaten tourist track and offers a very traditional way of life with rich culture. The islands are renowned as the best place for humpback whale watching and sailing in the South Pacific. Other Islands The nine tiny islands of Tuvalu are typically low-lying atolls slowly being engulfed by the sea. The largest atoll, Funafati, supports half the population of 10,000 and is over crowded and blighted by sanitation and litter problems. Tokelau is a collection of three tiny atolls, each with about 500 people. The islands lie almost 500km north of Samoa, its closest neighbour. There is no airstrip so the 100 or so tourists that arrive each year do so by boat from Samoa. The volatile Solomon Islands has virtually no commercial tourism and many areas are still regarded dangerous for travellers. The islands offer great adventure with very traditional culture and some of the best dive sites in the world. The thousands of tiny islands that make up Micronesia offer a mix of large resorts catering to mostly Japanese and American tourists and remote islands like Yap where traditions remain very strong Hawaii Islands The Hawaii Islands, the 50th State of the USA, has six large islands with tourist appeal, two smaller islands where tourism is not permitted and 13 tiny coral atolls, the furthest being Midway Island, that extend in a line over 2000 km to the north west, which are now part of the National Wildlife Refuge and are strictly off limits. The main island of Oahu has Honolulu City and Waikiki Beach. Tourism in Hawaii is very commercial with most resorts being in high rise buildings and some Mega Resorts offering more than 1000 rooms. All islands have lots of golf courses and day tours to keep you busy. Aside from its crass commercial side, Hawaii offers some of the worlds most breathtaking scenery with National Parks, excellent hiking trails, informative historical sites and lots of B&B accommodation for independent travellers. Apart from the main island of Oahu which receives 4 million tourists a year, glamorous Maui is the second most visited island followed by the Big Island, the land of diverse landscape with active volcanoes and snow capped mountains. |
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South Pacific Pictures HomePage South Pacific Pictures Map ; South Pacific Photos Cook Islands Picture Map ; Fiji Picture Map ; Tonga Picture Map ; Samoa Picture Map ; Vanuatu Picture Map ; French Polynesia Picture Map ; Hawaii Islands Picture Map fiji islands ; cook islands ; samoa islands ; tonga islands ; vanuatu islands ; new caledonia islands ; australia accommodation ; hawaii accommodation Thank you for visiting our website and we hope you have found it inspiring and useful. Here are some of our other picture sources that might interest you: This Accommodation Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Pictures, the photographic division of Pacific Travel Guides. This leading independent travel publisher is based in Fiji and aims to provide unbiased travel information to help potential holiday-makers plan their trip to the South Pacific. We do not sell individual hotels, tours or packages - we simply provide an overview to help you make the decision and provide links for you to make further enquiries and bookings. All the pictures in this website have been taken by us and try to show a true representation of our destinations. No picture has been staged - all were taken as presented. Our energetic team of researchers and photographers travel around the south pacific on a regular basis to update our guides and to ensure their accuracy. Please feel free to contribute your own travel experiences to pass on to fellow travellers. South Pacific Travel Guides: Fiji Travel ; Cook Islands Travel ; Samoa Travel ; Tonga Travel ; Tahiti Travel ; Hawaii Travel ; Oahu Travel ; Kauai Travel ; Maui Travel ; Big Island Hawaii Travel Alternatively, if you're simply after accommodation, search South Pacific Resorts the largest directory of hotels in the South Pacific with thousands of unique photographs, location maps and unbiased write ups: Cook Islands Resorts ; Fiji Resorts ; Samoa Resorts ; Tonga Resorts ; Tahiti Resorts ; Vanuatu Resorts ; New Caledonia Resorts ; Hawaii Resorts. Beautiful Holidays - specialist travel agent based in Australia offering personalized booking assistance Other Travel Resources Last Updated by  Pacific Travel Guides PO Box 10146, Nadi Airport, Fiji Contact Us |