About the Kingdom of Tonga

GETTING
TO TONGA

“The Kingdom of Tonga”

The Kingdom of Tonga, in the South Pacific, is spread over 1000 nautical miles and divided into 3 groups: Tongatapu, of which its’ capital is Nuku’alofa, in the South; Ha’apai at the center; and Vava’u in the North. Vava’u lies 240km north of Tongatapu and consists of over 50 islands, Eueiki being in the center of the island group.

Your international flight will arrive at the Fua’amotu International Airport in Nuku’alofa, the capital city of The Kingdom of Tonga which is located on the main island of Tongatapu. TBU is the airport code for our international airport.

The schedules for the international flights into Tonga do not connect immediately to the domestic inter-island flights. Therefore, we recommend the Scenic Hotel for your Pre and Post Accommodation. Please click here for further information.

INTERNATIONAL AIRLINES

**The international airlines that service Tonga are:**
. Virgin Australia www.virginaustralia.com
. Air New Zealand www.airnewzealand.com.au
. Fiji Airways www.fijiairways.com (From Los Angeles to Fiji to Tonga)

Note: Tonga is located on the date line and we are the first nation to see the new day! So, if you are coming from Europe or America please note that we are a day ahead which means that you will lose a day coming but will regain it when you go back home.

It is approximately a one-hour flight to get to Vava’u. Contact www.realtonga.to to book your inter-island flights. Please note that there are no inter-island flights on Sundays.

 SCHEDULE FOR FLIGHTS

Nuku’alofa, Tonga (TBU) to Vava’u (VAV)

  • Morning Flights

    RT8801 Departs TBU @7:00am Arrives VAV @8.00am (Mon. thru Sat.)

    RT8802 Departs VAV @8:45am Arrives TBU @9:45am (Mon., Tue., Wed., Thur., Fri. & Sat.)

    FJ 275 Departs Nadi @8:00am Arrives Vava’u @11:10am (Saturdays & Wednesdays)

  • Afternoon Flights

    RT8823 Departs TBU @3:00pm Arrives VAV @4.00pm ( Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri. & Sat.)
    Vava’u to Nuku’alofa Tonga

    RT8824 Departs VAV @4:45pm Arrives TBU @5:45pm (Mon., Tue., Thu., Fri. & Sat.)
    Approximate price as of the 1st of January 2015

    FJ 274 Departs Vava’u @4:00pm Arrives Nadi @5:20pm (Saturdays & Wednesdays)

ADULT FULL FLEXI FARE: TOP$620 round trip TBU/VAV/TBU. The airfare may suffer changes so please contact Real Tongan Airlines for accurate fare prices. Lower airfares may apply.

BAGGAGE: Your international flights allowed you 23kgs of checked in baggage and 7kgs for hand-luggage. On your inter-island flight with Real Tonga you are ONLY ALLOWED 20 KGS CHECK IN AND 7KGS HAND-LUGGAGE. NOTE: THEY WILL CHARGE YOU TOP$5 PER KG

Please be aware that there are no international or domestic flights in Tonga on Sundays.

 

 

Maritime History and Culture

cultural_programsWe have discovered that Tonga has an incredible, untold maritime history that is unknown. In their past the Tongans have achieved many endeavors as a seafaring nation.

Tonga is the first nation to see the new day. During the Millennium, the late king of Tonga, Tu’po IV’s dream, was to highlight Tonga’s significance to the world with a vessel called the “Kalia”. We have found this vessel’s’ design to be highly advanced and that it can open up the sailing world to a technology that has been hidden in time. We have observed that the art of their seafaring knowledge needs to be reignited by building up the interest in all the Tongan people, especially the youth in order to embrace their culture once again as the late king of Tonga Tu’po IV intended to do with his dream of highlighting his nation through the great achievements of his ancestor and give Tonga its’ place in maritime history and tourism to the world by building his magnificent vessel, the Millennium “Kalia”.

Our goal is to make everyone aware of these achievements, and to do this, we have these ongoing programs:

Tonga Eueiki treasure_island_05_001

Treasure Island Eco Resort Tonga & Seafaring Centre – is planning to set up a project to mirror the arts of the traditional seafaring life of the Tongan people. We will be building small traditional outriggers so people can learn and experience firsthand the sailing and fishing techniques of the past. We will also have an educational library of books, films and pictures. www.kaliafoundation.org

line-drawing treasure-island-03-001 treasure-island-02-001

America’s Cup Challenge and World Speed Record – In life, we rarely come across a true “David vs. Goliath” story that grabs us out of our seats and leaves us forever changed. Oracle might be considered the untouchable “Goliaths” of the oldest trophy in the world, “The America’s Cup”, but the tiny Kingdom of Tonga is the oldest sailing culture in the world and still holds the key to sailing innovation. Mark Belvederes’ (Owner of Treasure Island Eco Resort Tonga) camber induced sail he invented holds 12 out of 16 speed records since 1984. He has taken the design advantages of the kalia, proa, drua, lia, which are the names used for a shunting vessel throughout the Pacific region and has built a high-tech version of this shunting vessel based on the ancient Tongan design for the world speed record attempt. So far, he has achieved two to three times wind speed, which is phenomenal for a sailing craft.

This high speed proa is featured at Treasure Island Resort.

Tonga will attempt to bring the cup home to a nation whose ancestors traversed the ocean long before the invention of the compass. Sailing is in the Tongan peoples’ blood. Americas’ Cup is our destiny. We invite you to be part of history in the making. www.kaliafoundation.org

Mark-Belvedere-Speed-Trail-Proa

Tongas’ Americas’ Cup Challenge Letter