mogensglistrup

I would like to visit some Pacific islands... Is it possible to do on a budget? All flights are insanely expensive. Any pass? Any air miles trick?

Adam1222

what do you mean air miles "trick"? you can use miles on nearly every program to fly there. Which islands? Where are you flying from?

lorcancoyle

Continental used to do a pass I think. But the Pacific is a big place so no single alliance covers all parts

mike2200

Where from and to, what programs do you belong to when do you plan on going etc etc etc etc?
Lots more info needed to be able to help

DomesticGoddess

Depends where you're coming from. VA and NZ regularly have cheap fares to the South Pacific (US$100-120) from AKL and the East Coast of Australia.

mogensglistrup

Thanks guys. Destinations are not important. Just getting to lots of islands if the value is great. Miles tricks, I mean buy miles use to get cheaper ticket. Or free stopover tricks or similar?

Forrest Bump

Have a look at this TR: http://www.flyertalk.com/forum/trip-...countries.html

Jason had been hopping on many Pacific islands. Interesting ideas from his report.

My take is that Pacific on a budget is not possible, though is not necessarily insanely expensive.

UltraRant

I know that there are some good StarAlliance deals if you have the points. 'Pacific' is considered one region, so spend charts are generally quite good value for money. They also have a Pacific-fare, for one big ticket, but I find that one personally (depends on routing, carriers and airlines and such) not very cheap.

Furthermore, the region is a good one for a trick usually referred to as 'fuel dumping'. You should look it up.

2RETIREDTRAVELERS

have a look at: http://travelisfree.com/2013/12/17/4...acific-hopper/

ilcannone

Not strictly related to budget...but something like this could maybe be feasible?

http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=BNE-INU...YD-MNL-ROR-TPE

Catweazle

An old thread resurrected here, but nonetheless the financial monetary sum all up of these flights in Y wouldn't be cheap. A combination of award redemptions would be the better way to go but beware of the additional $$ surcharges or taxes charged in addition to the points with multiple pacific hops, particularly with the likes of QF (almost $300 for a direct round trip from BNE to NOU if my memory serves, last I checked, which is still at least half the price of a regular Y fare).

Regarding accommodation, Fiji and Vanuatu have some el cheapo backpackers outside of the capitals but you need to factor in the cost of boat transfers to these islands, as well as a food/drink allowance (which can be up to an obligatory $80 per day).

NOU isn't exactly 'cheap' either, unless you attempt to find a homestay in the north or in the outer islands like Lifou.

That said, as far as the real definition of 'travel' goes, the Pacific offers some great adventures in further far-flung reaches away from the major resorts in NAN or BOB. Get real, get out there and try something other than a standard resort, I say.

UA and ANA award redemptions look great. But – and here's my new question, folks – any suggestions for ultra-budgeted multiple hops as a QFF like me?

RustyC

This thread makes me glad I got out there when I did, i.e. circa 1996-2007. At the time there were positive developments that I thought might make the region MORE affordable (like LCCs), but it looks like the negative trends - especially the award add-on costs - outweigh the positive. The old excuse of high fuel costs is gone, so we're just left with greed on the part of airlines. Once they start a fee it's hard to get it stopped, even if the original rationale for the fee no longer applies.

Was lucky to hop around Micronesia with CO awards at 20/25K out of MNL as a bread-and-butter with a stopover AND a main destination, as well as the southern tier on NZ awards booked on UA miles and similar stopover maximization. All just before the age of blogs as well, alas.

We tend to prize delayed gratification, and I'm sure if monies spent had gone into Amazon or Apple stock instead, the fees wouldn't seem so annoying now. But I knew even then not to talk too much with locals on the islands about the deal I got, because from their perspective it was a very different story. I came to see that many of the places were lovely but that ability to LEAVE was seen as a real privilege. In Guam there was all kinds of outrage about off-island travel by government officials, for example. Or people would enlist in the U.S. armed forces just to be able to go other places. Palau got all the McDonald's marketing on TV but had no locations...nor did other parts of Micronesia besides Guam. But the Marshalls DID have lots of U.S. junk food in stores and it really didn't help the locals much. Western Samoa was very beautiful but socially like a bad U.S. southern town on steroids on a Friday night, with tension between fun-seeking locals and police. The country also had an outsized concept of property rights that created a bifurcated society and hindered economic progress, leading to losses in population.

As for the budget part, usually there was SOMETHING in the $30-ish range, though I remember a mouse or two running across a room I got in Yap. It was over the Yap Day period, so I couldn't be too picky.

wanderingstar

This is something I am dying to do. I've just come back from French Polynesia for two weeks, and it's not cheap at all, although I used my Hawaiian Airlines, which I have a card with, on a rebooked flight from Japan that was not going to work out.

I have accrued some miles but not yet enough. I'd kill to go to Fiji, Vanuatu, or Yap. Hawaiian doesn't serve these though, although it has spots in Asia (but after that much money spent this year, I need to try elsewhere that Hawaiian flies).

Any ideas?

They go to Manila. My husband claims it is politically unstable. I said that was one island, no? I have enough miles for two round-trip international tickets and will lose them if I don't act! Another place that Hawaiian goes is to Sydney, but that's nowhere near where I am interested in going, really. Also, Seoul, which gets closer.

Or maybe I'll fly to Seoul and go to China? That would be a dream trip for me (since I blew a LOT of money in FP and can no longer afford Japan next summer, boo-hoo! If anyone knows of a way to get miles to Japan, let me know!)

RustyC

Your post inspired me to look at the HA route map, which I hadn't done in ages.

My one trip to FP was in 2006 where I took in Tahiti and Moorea in the space of a week and had to live like a monk but brought it in at $120 a day using guesthouses, le truck, the truck food vendors and getting around Moorea on a bicycle. Beautiful place, but durn. The Cook Islands were much cheaper...nice private rooms with fan were in the $30s and I could go to island nights AND eat the buffet. And get around on a rented motorcycle.

Have not been to American Samoa but have been to western Samoa (reachable by ferry, I think) and the main islands are really beautiful and only lightly visited. It's very lush and green and you have volcanic blowholes and some really unspoiled-looking beaches.

I was a frequent traveler to the Philippines, though I haven't been since the Duterte era began. The most dangerous areas are in Mindanao and have been off the tourist map for many years. Manila is crowded and has terrible traffic and can be an acquired taste. Most people go someplace like Boracay or Palawan (nice beaches), and you've also got spots like the Banaue rice terraces and the Chocolate Hills, but getting there and back isn't always easy. Cebu is more manageable as a city and has the Magellan historic sites, some megamalls and the Mactan Island resorts.

Fiji itself has some nice countryside, the cute sugar trains and Suva being stick in the 70s, with most people heading to the Mamanucas (think islands like Gilligan's Island) or the Yasawas. I haven't been to Vanuatu but it's endangered like the Marshalls or Kiribati. Yap is very laid-back but if you can go on Yap Day, do it.

It's too bad the old Virgin Blue isn't still around. That could help a lot.

Catweazle

Well they became Virgin Australia but yes, there's been more than just airline name changes!