jamesatfish
Active Member
- Joined
- Apr 9, 2008
- Posts
- 700
I don't usually share trip reports as there's only so much that can be written about QF1 or the Sydney F Lounge, but I've just gotten back from somewhere very different so I thought I'd write it up in case anyone is looking for a unique tropical adventure.
I found myself with the opportunity to spend a few days in Tuvalu, an island nation about 1000kms north of Fiji. It's one of the smallest and lowest countries in the world, home to around 10,000 people with a main island only around 11km from top to bottom. It's beautiful and underdeveloped at the same time, and the people are as laid-back, friendly and accomodating as you'd expect.
I'll split this into a few posts as I find time to write it all up.
Getting There
The first challenge with Tuvalu is actually managing to get to the island. Fiji Airways is the only airline currently flying into the country, and although they've recently added a 5th weekly flight (2 from Nadi, 3 from Suva) they're on weight-restricted ATR-72s and only carry 40-50 pax at a time. Given the demand for government travel, FIFO workers on the bigger infrastructure projects and Tuvalu citizens (who travel often to Fiji) it's hard to get seats, and they're certainly not cheap. You'll pay less to get from Australia to Fiji than from Fiji onto Tuvalu.
FJ sell 2 classes on the flights but the seats are identical in Business and Economy, only the food service is different. I did have the best in-flight garlic bread I've ever tasted on both flights, and the meal was better than what QF would serve on a trans-continental domestic flight in J. They even have a curtain to divide the 2 rows of Business from the rest of the plane. But you're still stuck on a twin-prop narrow body aircraft with 1 toilet for the best part of 3 hours which isn't the most comfortable way to travel.
The airport is a huge novelty, apparently it's the only international airport in the world where the runway is open to the public when flights aren't landing. As the biggest open space on the island it's used for running, sports training, games and general recreation, and there are no fences around any of the airport facilities (which is an issue when our inbound flight had to go-around due to a dog casually running across the runway with the plane on short final).
About 15 minutes before a flight arrives they'll sound an air raid siren across the island and the runway will be cleared by officers on motorbikes. Another siren sounds just before landing and again before departure to make sure everyone has moved off the runway. They'll place a few cones at the runway crossings and outside the airport building which is about as much "airport security" as you'll get.
The airport itself is a relatively new building, but inbound immigration is still performed outside in the open air. Once you clear immigration you wait outside for your bags to be delivered from the plane, by the world's most careful baggage handlers (whether it's because they're in full view of passengers and staff or because they're just nice people, or a bit of both).
Seat availability aside, the biggest issue is reliability. The flights get 3 landing attempts before they turn back to Fiji, and if you don't get off the island on your booked flight it can be weeks before a seat opens up on a subsequent flight. FJ recently cancelled all flights for a few weeks because the airport fire truck broke down, which meant a whole heap of tourists had to find last minute accommodation to extend their stay until the truck was fixed, flights resumed, and spare seats could be found to get them home.
Traditionally the flights have been to and from Suva which makes connecting from Australia painful, but recently they've added 2 flights from Nadi as well which is slightly better, though the timing still means you need to overnight in Nadi on the way there and the way back. If you end up on a flight out to Suva (as we did) the same plane carries on to Nadi straight away, so although it's a very tight connection it's the most reliable option.
What you do get on any of the flights of course is a spectacular view of the island and the atoll on the way in!
If you can't find seat availability on the FJ flights or just want extra adventure there's a ferry that takes 3-4 days from Suva, but it only runs once a month so isn't really an option for casual tourists. The turn-around is a couple of weeks, as once it arrives at the main port it will spend some time dropping supplies to the smaller islands before heading back to Fiji.
I found myself with the opportunity to spend a few days in Tuvalu, an island nation about 1000kms north of Fiji. It's one of the smallest and lowest countries in the world, home to around 10,000 people with a main island only around 11km from top to bottom. It's beautiful and underdeveloped at the same time, and the people are as laid-back, friendly and accomodating as you'd expect.
I'll split this into a few posts as I find time to write it all up.
Getting There
The first challenge with Tuvalu is actually managing to get to the island. Fiji Airways is the only airline currently flying into the country, and although they've recently added a 5th weekly flight (2 from Nadi, 3 from Suva) they're on weight-restricted ATR-72s and only carry 40-50 pax at a time. Given the demand for government travel, FIFO workers on the bigger infrastructure projects and Tuvalu citizens (who travel often to Fiji) it's hard to get seats, and they're certainly not cheap. You'll pay less to get from Australia to Fiji than from Fiji onto Tuvalu.
FJ sell 2 classes on the flights but the seats are identical in Business and Economy, only the food service is different. I did have the best in-flight garlic bread I've ever tasted on both flights, and the meal was better than what QF would serve on a trans-continental domestic flight in J. They even have a curtain to divide the 2 rows of Business from the rest of the plane. But you're still stuck on a twin-prop narrow body aircraft with 1 toilet for the best part of 3 hours which isn't the most comfortable way to travel.
The airport is a huge novelty, apparently it's the only international airport in the world where the runway is open to the public when flights aren't landing. As the biggest open space on the island it's used for running, sports training, games and general recreation, and there are no fences around any of the airport facilities (which is an issue when our inbound flight had to go-around due to a dog casually running across the runway with the plane on short final).
About 15 minutes before a flight arrives they'll sound an air raid siren across the island and the runway will be cleared by officers on motorbikes. Another siren sounds just before landing and again before departure to make sure everyone has moved off the runway. They'll place a few cones at the runway crossings and outside the airport building which is about as much "airport security" as you'll get.
The airport itself is a relatively new building, but inbound immigration is still performed outside in the open air. Once you clear immigration you wait outside for your bags to be delivered from the plane, by the world's most careful baggage handlers (whether it's because they're in full view of passengers and staff or because they're just nice people, or a bit of both).
Seat availability aside, the biggest issue is reliability. The flights get 3 landing attempts before they turn back to Fiji, and if you don't get off the island on your booked flight it can be weeks before a seat opens up on a subsequent flight. FJ recently cancelled all flights for a few weeks because the airport fire truck broke down, which meant a whole heap of tourists had to find last minute accommodation to extend their stay until the truck was fixed, flights resumed, and spare seats could be found to get them home.
Traditionally the flights have been to and from Suva which makes connecting from Australia painful, but recently they've added 2 flights from Nadi as well which is slightly better, though the timing still means you need to overnight in Nadi on the way there and the way back. If you end up on a flight out to Suva (as we did) the same plane carries on to Nadi straight away, so although it's a very tight connection it's the most reliable option.
What you do get on any of the flights of course is a spectacular view of the island and the atoll on the way in!
If you can't find seat availability on the FJ flights or just want extra adventure there's a ferry that takes 3-4 days from Suva, but it only runs once a month so isn't really an option for casual tourists. The turn-around is a couple of weeks, as once it arrives at the main port it will spend some time dropping supplies to the smaller islands before heading back to Fiji.
