Request for advice on Pacific island trip
Oct 7, 2017, 11:08 am
#1
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 8
Request for advice on Pacific island trip
I'm currently planning a two month trip which will take me from SE Asia to Sydney via several countries and territories in the South Pacific. My itinerary looks something like this:
MNL - POM - HIR - VLI - NOU - SUV - WLS - SUV - FUN (Tuvalu) - SUV - APW - PPG - APW - Tokelau (only by boat from Apia) - APW - TBU - SYD
Do any airlines in the region offer a travel pass or something similar that would allow me to cover most of these destinations? Any other suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance,
Darren
[Moderator edit to purported signature manually placed by member.]
MNL - POM - HIR - VLI - NOU - SUV - WLS - SUV - FUN (Tuvalu) - SUV - APW - PPG - APW - Tokelau (only by boat from Apia) - APW - TBU - SYD
Do any airlines in the region offer a travel pass or something similar that would allow me to cover most of these destinations? Any other suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
Many thanks in advance,
Darren
[Moderator edit to purported signature manually placed by member.]
Last edited by Ocn Vw 1K; Oct 7, 2017 at 8:37 pm Reason: FlyerTalk Rules do not allow new members a signature.
Oct 7, 2017, 1:43 pm
#2
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Join Date: Apr 2001
Location: MEL CHC
Posts: 21,026
I'm currently planning a two month trip which will take me from SE Asia to Sydney via several countries and territories in the South Pacific.
My itinerary looks something like this:
MNL - POM - HIR - VLI - NOU - SUV - WLS - SUV - FUN (Tuvalu) - SUV - APW - PPG - APW - Tokelau (only by boat from Apia) - APW - TBU - SYD
Do any airlines in the region offer a travel pass or something similar that would allow me to cover most of these destinations? Any other suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
My itinerary looks something like this:
MNL - POM - HIR - VLI - NOU - SUV - WLS - SUV - FUN (Tuvalu) - SUV - APW - PPG - APW - Tokelau (only by boat from Apia) - APW - TBU - SYD
Do any airlines in the region offer a travel pass or something similar that would allow me to cover most of these destinations? Any other suggestions/tips would be appreciated.
Start by looking at the airports info on wikipedia.com, airport web sites & google flights. These will list airlines and possibly routes.
Do not know of any travel pass. There is no one airline/alliances that covers these places
From these places flights often go to/from a bigger airport in Australia, New Zealand and/or Fiji.
Many locals/tourists have little need to visit adjacent islands, but do go to/from the Australia, NZ and/or Fiji.
Examples (with non stops and via other airports):-
TBU-SYD
NOU-SUV
HIR-VLI
To me 2 months (62 days) is short time to visit these places (17 airports/destinations). Time in the South Pacific goes slower
http://www.gcmap.com/mapui?P=MNL-POM...SU=kts&RS=best
Last edited by Mwenenzi; Oct 7, 2017 at 3:43 pm
Oct 7, 2017, 10:21 pm
#4
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Part of France 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_(island)
And has an airport https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hihifo_Airport
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wallis_(island)
Wallis (Wallisian: ʻUvea) is a Polynesian island in the Pacific Ocean belonging to the French overseas collectivity (collectivité d'outre-mer, or COM) of Wallis and Futuna. It lies north of Tonga, northeast of Fiji, east-northeast of the Hoorn islands, east of Fiji's Rotuma, southeast of Tuvalu, southwest of Tokelau and west of Samoa. Its area is almost 100 km2 with almost 11,000 people
Oct 8, 2017, 1:38 am
#5
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Great trip but very ambitious and as you have discovered needs a lot of planning, unlike travel around SEA. Airfare is going to cost you a lot (I'd guess $5000 minimum for cheapest economy). There is no travel pass, closest to that was the old CO (Continental airlines) hopper fare but that is gone for many years and didn't match your route. That fare was subsidized by the US gov't, and no such subsidies are allowed any more. Hence the huge increase in airfare to match the actual cost of operating these very expensive routes (fuel costs double due to transport cost, for example). You might find hubbing in NAN or AKL to be cheaper than point to point travel, despite much longer distances. POM-HIR costs $700 (one-way cheapest economy) for example. FJ might have a travel pass (they used to for Fiji, worth investigating). Good luck.
Oct 8, 2017, 1:47 am
#6
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Looks like quite a trip. You'd get to see some places that might be submerged or at least evacuated in 20 or 30 years, so there's some urgency with that.
My own experience back in the day was trying to maximize places visited on awards via U.S. carriers and alliances. With CO it was helpful to go out of MNL and pick a destination and a stopover for 25K (like MNL-MAJ-KSA-MNL) and I did 4 or 5 trips like that in the early aughts that hit every stop but TRK and KWA (just couldn't get excited about Ebeye).
Did a similar thing on NZ using UA miles transferred over during the great Amtrak conduit way back when. CO was the north layer and NZ was the south layer but there was a cluster of not-so-well-served places like Nauru or Tuvalu or Kiribati or several others that were off the big grids. All those are probably interesting as well, though hitting 'em economically could be a challenge.
My own experience back in the day was trying to maximize places visited on awards via U.S. carriers and alliances. With CO it was helpful to go out of MNL and pick a destination and a stopover for 25K (like MNL-MAJ-KSA-MNL) and I did 4 or 5 trips like that in the early aughts that hit every stop but TRK and KWA (just couldn't get excited about Ebeye).
Did a similar thing on NZ using UA miles transferred over during the great Amtrak conduit way back when. CO was the north layer and NZ was the south layer but there was a cluster of not-so-well-served places like Nauru or Tuvalu or Kiribati or several others that were off the big grids. All those are probably interesting as well, though hitting 'em economically could be a challenge.
Oct 10, 2017, 10:21 am
#8
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 8
Great trip but very ambitious and as you have discovered needs a lot of planning, unlike travel around SEA. Airfare is going to cost you a lot (I'd guess $5000 minimum for cheapest economy). There is no travel pass, closest to that was the old CO (Continental airlines) hopper fare but that is gone for many years and didn't match your route. That fare was subsidized by the US gov't, and no such subsidies are allowed any more. Hence the huge increase in airfare to match the actual cost of operating these very expensive routes (fuel costs double due to transport cost, for example). You might find hubbing in NAN or AKL to be cheaper than point to point travel, despite much longer distances. POM-HIR costs $700 (one-way cheapest economy) for example. FJ might have a travel pass (they used to for Fiji, worth investigating). Good luck.
Thanks again.
Darren
Oct 10, 2017, 10:24 am
#9
Original Poster
Join Date: Aug 2014
Posts: 8
Looks like quite a trip. You'd get to see some places that might be submerged or at least evacuated in 20 or 30 years, so there's some urgency with that.
My own experience back in the day was trying to maximize places visited on awards via U.S. carriers and alliances. With CO it was helpful to go out of MNL and pick a destination and a stopover for 25K (like MNL-MAJ-KSA-MNL) and I did 4 or 5 trips like that in the early aughts that hit every stop but TRK and KWA (just couldn't get excited about Ebeye).
Did a similar thing on NZ using UA miles transferred over during the great Amtrak conduit way back when. CO was the north layer and NZ was the south layer but there was a cluster of not-so-well-served places like Nauru or Tuvalu or Kiribati or several others that were off the big grids. All those are probably interesting as well, though hitting 'em economically could be a challenge.
My own experience back in the day was trying to maximize places visited on awards via U.S. carriers and alliances. With CO it was helpful to go out of MNL and pick a destination and a stopover for 25K (like MNL-MAJ-KSA-MNL) and I did 4 or 5 trips like that in the early aughts that hit every stop but TRK and KWA (just couldn't get excited about Ebeye).
Did a similar thing on NZ using UA miles transferred over during the great Amtrak conduit way back when. CO was the north layer and NZ was the south layer but there was a cluster of not-so-well-served places like Nauru or Tuvalu or Kiribati or several others that were off the big grids. All those are probably interesting as well, though hitting 'em economically could be a challenge.
Darren
Oct 12, 2017, 6:40 pm
#10
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May as well go to PPG and/or the other islands in Samoa - you ll be waiting a while for the boat to Tokelau, I know a guy who waited 3 weeks, and couldnt get a ride.
Have a look at some of the FJ routes - they are available via QF and AS miles.
I've also seen flights into WLS available on Air Calin via FlyingBlue miles.
Have a look at some of the FJ routes - they are available via QF and AS miles.
I've also seen flights into WLS available on Air Calin via FlyingBlue miles.
Oct 15, 2017, 2:52 am
#11
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Not only will it be expensive but some routes only operate once or twice a week, so will be very difficult to make the schedule work within any reasonable time.
As others suggest above, a series of round trips from various hubs in the region (AKL, NAN/SUV, NOU) are likely to work better than trying to fly point to point.
As others suggest above, a series of round trips from various hubs in the region (AKL, NAN/SUV, NOU) are likely to work better than trying to fly point to point.
Oct 30, 2017, 6:51 am
#12
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And if one of the weekly flights gets delayed/canceled, the whole schedule falls apart unless the OP has planned to stay for several days at the next destination. I hope the OP has very good travel insurance or is planning to buy refundable tickets or tickets with low change fees.
Last edited by DoTheBartMan; Oct 30, 2017 at 6:59 am