South Pacific: How Do I Get There?
 The vast majority of visitors to the South Pacific Islands is by air. There are some particular nuances about getting to your accommodation or desired island once you get there, which we'll discuss on this page. Since the South Pacific encompasses many different countries, pick from the following for more details about it... Most accommodations have shuttle arrangements to get you to your accommodation from local airports. Car hire is possible, but they're quite expensive, and depending on the island you're on, they might not be that attractive of an option. If you're on a shoestring budget, you can go places by public transportation on Tahiti Island but keep in mind that many of the drivers there speak only French or Tahitian. Public Transportation ("Le Truck" or a conventional bus) is either nonexistent or not as reliable on smaller islands (including Moorea and Bora Bora). Tahiti Island and Moorea Island have waterfalls. Hiring your car on these islands might not be a bad idea. It might also be possible to hire a car in Tahiti and take the ferry to Moorea for a little added flexibility. Talk to a travel agent to see what other options are available.
If you're planning to check out the largest Fijian Island, Viti Levu, car hire might be a good investment. It allows you to explore waterfalls and other attractions on the island at your own leisure. But realize the island is huge (it takes about 90 minutes to drive from Nadi to Sigatoka (pronounced "Sing-a-toka") and over 3 hours from Nadi to Suva. It will take you all day (around 6-8 hours) to drive around the entire island (the King's Road on the east coast of Viti Levu north of Suva [more accurately north of Nausori] is unsealed though they're working on improving it). Self driving is fairly straight-forward on Fiji, but there are taxi options, and some resorts may even offer complimentary shuttles. However, many smaller islands don't require additional transport to get around as they are actually self-contained resorts where you could literally walk around the circumference of the island in just a few minutes.
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The hub for French Polynesia is at the Faaa International Airport in Papeete on Tahiti Island. From Los Angeles, it's typically a nonstop flight of around 8 hours. Most vacationers will be staying on an island different from Tahiti Island at some time during their trip. Island-hopping (e.g. Moorea, Bora Bora, Marquesas Islands, Tuamotus, etc.) can be accomplished by domestic flights, which also take off from Faaa Airport. If you're going to Moorea Island, there are ferries that shuttle between Papeete, Tahiti and Vaiare, Moorea (typically requiring an hour).
The hub for Fiji is the Nadi (pronounced like "Nandi") International Airport on Viti Levu Island. From Los Angeles, it's typically a nonstop flight of around 10 hours (you will cross the international date line so you'll lose a day local time). From other parts of the world, it's about 4 hours from Sydney, 3 hours from Auckland, and 6 hours from Hawaii. Most vacationers will be staying on an island different from Viti Levu at some time during their trip. Since Fiji is literally a collection of hundreds of islands, the possibilities are abundant. You could require an inter-island flight from Nadi to some other island (e.g. Taveuni, Vanua Levu, etc.) or an inter-island boat ride from Nadi or Pacific Harbour to a neighboring island (e.g. Matamanoa Island, Turtle Island, Castaway Island, Beqa Island, Tavarua Island, etc.). There's even a domestic flight that goes across Viti Levu between Nadi and Suva, the capital of Fiji.
