Tongatapu to Ha’apai: A Scenic Flight in Tonga

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During our recent three month stint in Tonga we took a flight from Tongatapu to Ha’apai to spend a few days by the beach for our wedding anniversary. I don’t usually write full posts on getting to places but this flight was special!

Above Tongatapu

Tongatapu is the main island in Tonga, with Ha’apai and Vava’u the main destinations for tourists. We opted for Ha’apai as the beaches looked better and we were keen to relax rather than doing tours etc. We made the right choice, but more on that later.

We boarded a small plane (around 15 seats) and were soon high above Tongatapu. It was a bit shakey for a start but then the clouds cleared and some beautiful islands came into view.

Islands and Reefs

We were soon flying over some stunning islands, most of which seemed completely deserted. The colour of the water was close to what we saw on our flight to the Maldives back in 2014. We took so many photos and luckily we both had window seats this time! Our two year old son was along for the ride as well.

 

 

Ha’apai

As we got closer to our destination the views got even better. Ha’apai is a group of 51 islands and is a relatively popular toursit spot in Tonga. It’s quiet by any other standard though, with only around 10 places to stay among the three main islands (Uoleva, Lifuka and Foa).

 

If this place was in Southeast Asia or even Fiji or the Cook Islands there would be a lot more going on. I’ll post about our time on Foa Island soon but as you can see from the photos below it’s a beautiful place to spend a few days.

The Details

The flight from Tongatapu to Ha’apai takes around 40 minutes. The airports at either end are tiny but there’s a restaurant at Fua’amotu Airport’s domestic terminal. We were also told by a local that you can leave your car for free at the domestic terminal. We left our rental there for three nights with no issues — definitely easier and cheaper than getting transport to and from the airport.

The flights aren’t cheap (700 TOP return on Lulutai Airlines) but there is a ferry option if you’re keen to save money. We probably would have flown one way and took a ferry on the way back if it wasn’t for our son — a potentially rough overnight ferry with a two year old might not have been much fun!

Are you planning a trip to Tonga? Let me know in the comments below!

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Jon Algie

A travel blogger from New Zealand who hates talking about himself in the third person and has no imagination when it comes to naming websites.

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