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The South Pacific Islands are renowned for its idyllic coral and volcanic islands, swaying palm trees, white sandy beaches, turquoise lagoons and its peaceful environment. What it is less known for is its beautiful mounatin scenery, waterfalls, traditional villages and rich culture. Here is truely paradise on earth.

Of the fifteen small island nations that lie in the South Pacific, all are English speaking apart from Tahiti and New caledonia which are territories of France. Fiji is the most popular destination for tourism, followed by Cook Islands, Tonga has the last remaining kingdom, in the South Pacific, Samoa is the most conservative, Vanuatu has the best preserved traditional culture, Tahiti the most breath-taking scenery and New Caledonia is the wealthiest (Nikel mining) with the largest island (Grand Terre). The tiny island nations of Tokelau, Tuvalau, Kiribati have virtually no tourism and are known to the world as the disapperaing islands due to global warming. Nauru and Niue are rocky limestone islands rich in phosphate.


Fiji is the most popular and commercial destination in the South Pacific with many beach resorts, some small and some large, and a wide range of water activities. The small island resorts and sandy beaches are most popular with Australian and New Zealand family holiday-makers, European honeymooners, American adventurers and British backpackers. Fiji is renowned as a world class scuba diving and surfing destination with exceptional coral reefs. Eco tourism is also very strong in Fiji with high rainforest clad mountain ranges, remote islands and eco lodges in traditional fishing villages.


Tourism in the Cook islands is centred on the small volcanic island of Rarotonga which has a charming laid back holiday atmosphere most popular with New Zealand tourists having plenty of small affordable beach resorts, independant restaurants and sightseeing tours and excursions to keep holiday-makers busy. The outer island of Aitutaki in the Cook Islands is one of the most beautiful in the South Pacific, similar to Bora Bora in Tahiti but more down to earth, less commercialized and more affordanle. Aitutaki can be visited on a day tour from Rarotonga but its delightful lagoon, uninhabited islets and beautiful picture-postcard beaches are best absorbed on an overnight stay.


Tonga is the least developped for tourism of the main South Pacific destinations and the few beach resorts that exist offer excellent value for money. The islands have good exploring potential and are renowned for sailing and whale watching between May and October.


Samoa offers a traditional Polynesian culture along with exceptional and accessable tropical scenery with stunning beaches, lots of waterfalls and sweeping coastal rainforest views. Western Samoa is very affordable and has an excellent system of budget accommodation on the beaches. Neighbouring American Samoa, a territory of the USA, has a limited tourist infrastructure and although there are no beach resorts here, the coastal scenery and tropical National Parks are truly breathtaking.


Vanuatu is an adventurer's paradise with a rich and diverse Melanesian culture including the famous land divers of Pentecost, the world's most accessanle active Volcano and the world's most accessable wreck dive. The capital town of Port Vila is a charming seaside town with the islands large beach resorts and is a thriving port of call for overseas yachts and cruise ships.


New Caledonia tourism is centred around the beautiful seaside town of Noumea with its Mediterranean influenced cafe culture, beach resorts, French restaurants and casino. Beyond Noumea, the main island of Grand Terre offers good eco tourism opportunities, but the most appealing islands to tourists are the beautiful beaches of the Isle of Pines and Lifou in the Loyalty Islands.


Tahiti is blessed by beautiful lagoon islands with picturesque beaches and stunning mountains. Ruled by the French, there is a distinctive European flair to the islands with lots of international hotel chains offering over-water bungalows, excellent french cuisine but with extortionate prices to match. Tahiti offers some of the regions most impressive coastal scenery with razor back mountains and deep inlets and bays. For those who like to explore, this is great destination as long as you have a handsome financial budget.


Hawaii, one of the 50 States of the USA, has over 5 million tourists each year, dwarfing its South Pacific destinations by a long way. Waikiki Beach on the main island of Hawaii is world renowned as a classic beach destination and receives the majority of these tourists, many of whom travel from Japan and other Asian cities. With high rise hotels, a beach full of people and lots of boutique shops, it may not be everyones taste but the island does have some impressive coastal scenery and world clas golf courses for a quieter break. The other islands of Hawaii (Kauai, Maui and Big Island) also offer their share of high rise hotels and commercial tourism but they also have some of the regions most impressive coastal scenery with active volcanoes, managed coastal trails, river kayaking and lots of exceptional day sightseeing attractions either on tour or by self drive.

This Hotel Picture Guide is brought to you by South Pacific Picture, 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 small team of researchers 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.

If you haven't been able to find what you're looking for in our website, you might want to try the following specialist websites:

The definitive, most informative hotel guide to the South Pacific:


South Pacific Resorts
Fiji Resorts ; Cook Island Resorts ; Samoa Resorts ; Tonga Resorts ; Vanuatu Resorts ; New Caledonia Resorts ; Tahiti Resorts ; Hawaii Resorts


One of our most useful holiday planning websites is our unique interactive picture maps showing pictures of beaches, scenic attractions and hotel locations from around the south pacific islands:


South Pacific Pictures
Fiji Island Hotels ; Cook Islands Hotels ; Samoa Islands Hotels ; Tonga Islands Hotels ; Tahiti Islands Hotels ; New Caledonia Hotels ; Vanuatu Island Hotels ; Hawaii Accommodation ; Australia Accommodation


Last Updated
08 January 2010
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Pacific Travel Guides
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