An extended long weekend in 2019 was a perfect opportunity for us to get on a plane and visit Tonga!
The Kingdom of Tonga is a Polynesian country and the last remaining kingdom in South Pacific. It is an archipelago of over 170 islands (36 are inhabited). We flew from Auckland, New Zealand, to Nuku’alofa on the main island of Togataupu and started our trip there.
You probably heard about the Hunga Tonga-Hunga Ha’apai devastating volcano eruption and tsunami that hit the country in January this year. The islands are still recovering from this but from the beginning of August the Kingdom is open to visitors.
Tongatapu is not famous for long sandy beaches you would expect on a tropical island. This place is different, a bit more rugged and wild.
Travelers like to come here from July to November during whale watching season as these waters are well known playgrounds for humpback whales. You can jump in the ocean and swim with them too! There are just a few locations in the world where you can do that and this is one of them.
Tonga is not really popular with tourists and because it is so remote there are no crowds here. If you would like to explore an off the beaten track destination, friendly locals from this pacific island will be more than happy to welcome you!
Here are the top moments from our trip!
I would like to visit Tonga again some day as we didn’t have a chance to go to the outer islands this time and I’m sure that would be an awesome experience too!
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