Tonga?

[Travelnsj]

Anyone ever been to Tonga?

Looking for any info...
What is the best time of the year to go?
Time for Calm waters?
Places to stay?
Time for the Warmest water?....

looks like the water is cool 75-79 degrees from July thru Nov.....

Any info is appreciated.

 

[Waves]

I havent been to Tonga, but I am organizing a trip via a vendor of mine who lives their (he is from Montana and has a international cell phone), he basically discouraged it, all of the newer buildings (hotels) where destroyed in riots last year. There isnt a single dive shop, and the waters have very strong currents. he spends most of his time in Tonga, and a portion in Vanuatu.

hope that helps a bit..

 

[Wiggsy]

I just got back from Tonga and was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the general reef diving (lots of caves and caverns) and also the chance to dive with Humpback Whales. You can hear whales on most dives and we snorkelled only meters from them on one dive. One of our groups had the whales hang around for 20 minutes or so - up close and personal. We dived Haapai (staying at Sandy Beach Resort - pretty expensive really...) and Vavaa'u (which is a little warmer being further north). The water temperature in July/August was 25 degrees C in Haapai and 26 degrees c in Vavaa'u. Vavaa'u has the bigger more professional dive operations - Beluga diving's boat are excellent and although the water wasn't as clear as at Haapai (we had over 40 metres vis at Haapai) the caverns and tunnels at Vavaa'u are very good. The diving isn't quite as colourful as Fiji (where I had been the week before at Beqa Lagoon Resort), but the diving at Tonga is very good and a little differet - a lot like Aitutaki in the Cook Islands and Moorea in Tahiti.
Strong currents? Nope - none whatsoever. Very easy entry level diving - easy for photogrpahers. Very pleasant dive sites - not all that spectacular - not 'world class diving' like Blue Corner at Palau, or the shark feed dive at Beqa, but really lovely diving nonetheless with masses of smaller fish and good hard corals. The hard corals at Haapai are superb and apparently there are some great soft coral sites at Vavaa'u (though I didn't get to visit them. We saw Black tip reef sharks on most dives and the underwater topography at Vavaa'u is quite spectacular!

 

[maddmike]

Just got back last week from 1 week in Vava'u. Diving was better than expected; similar quality to Fiji, way better than Kona or Bermuda, not as incredible as Palau.

I strongly recommend Dive Vava'u. They are about as perfect a dive operation as possible. They also do whale-swimming, which is a truly amazing experience. It's worth planning your trip to coincide with the right season for whales.

Water temp was 76. No current. There are a few hotels in Neiafu, Vava'u.

Evidence of damage in downtown Nukualofa from the riots was actually pretty minimal.

 

[Wiggsy]

Check out Mala Island resort in Vava'u - very scenic location - great beach - the best food I had in Tonga and very affordable. I didn't stay there (we were at the Paradise Lodge hotel near town - but i wish I had been at Mala. We had dinner there and were blown away by the hopsitality of the place. A little backpackerish....but the bures/'fales are a lot nicer inside than they look on the outside. A great location - you will see whales off in the distance on some days....And I had great service from Beluga diving - well set up boat...very professional op. The water is warmer at Vava'u than Haapai - but Haapai had better corals and superior visibility. Either way, Tonga is worth a look - a good look....don't write it off. I must admit, Fiji still has the edge for cultural enrichment, great resorts and brilliant soft corals. But Tonga has Whales....heaps of 'em. If you don't see whales between July and October, then you would be very very unlucky.

 

[JONATHAN A]

Just got back from a 3 week trip to Tonga. Stayed at Matafonua lodge in Foa, Ha'apai (very nice place, great people, great food and extremely reasonable rates). We dived and went whale watching with Ha'apai divers at Sandy Beach, the diving ranged from mediocre to extremely good, some of the better sites are further out and you need good weather to access them. Amongst the highlights were an encounter with 2 adult humpback whales on our checkout dive and the dive at ofalanga's arch - a stunning underwater coral arch and cavern dive, really excellent.

The main reason for visiting Tonga was to see the humpbacks and we weren't disappointed, we had 4 in water experiences over the three weeks and these included over an hour with a calf and three adults on one occassion and a 20 minute session with an extremely curious calf on another - simply amazing. The operation that is run out of Ha'apai is very professional and 'whale sensitive', I have no hesitation in recommending them - www.tonga-dive.com. They took a very passive approach towards whale watching leaving the whales to dictate events, if the whales showed no interest then they were left well alone.