Travelling South Pacific
 

Hello,

Thinking about travelling South Pacific.
Would love to see as many island as possible, but not sure where to start, where to fly/sail to,...

Anyone ever did a trip in, to, around the islands?
Is a cruise the best option? Or better to fly?

Any tips, stories and info more than welkcome.

Thanks!
Eef and Dries

island hopping...
 

looks like no one answered, so i will try to be helpful :)

best way thru the islands is by crewing on yachts. once you get started its not too difficult to carry on or find a new yacht. the best start is often Northland in NZ in Opua marina, Town Basin marina in Whangarei, or possibly Westhaven marina in Auckland. Put up a notice as crew and look for vessels seeking crew. Helps if you can cook and have some endearing qualities like being friendly, humble and sociable.

The roughest passage is from NZ to any island. Usually expect at least 1storm and around 40-50knots wind and big swell. The rest is great sailing. The most common destinations from NZ are Tonga, Fiji, Samoa. Often times from there a loop is done from NZ 2 Tonga 2 Fiji 2 Vanuatu 2 New Caledonia 2 NZ. But u can hop off anywhere and join another yacht with your new skills and crew for them.

Avoid solo drunks and remember the NZ passage is the longest and takes anywhere from a week to 2weeks depending on weather and vessel. Good luck, its an amazing experience in every island (i've sailed many as crew and captain)