lcuy

Thinking about taking the family to one of these island groups for Christmas. We are looking to do snorkeling, surfing, bicycling, and laying under a tree with a good book(my plan .

I crossed off Samoa as I heard it would be way too hot. We're coming from Honolulu, and ease of travel leads me to think Cooks might be best.

Any thoughts from experienced island visitors?

LordBalfor

All of these places will be hot at Christmas (it's summer down there). It's also the "rainy" season (such as it is), so you can expect it to be muggy with occasional showers. I THINK that the further east you go the wetter it tends to be - however many of the islands of Fiji are large enough to have wetsides/drysides. This is not true of the Cooks (don't know about Tonga).

Fiji will give you the widest variety of cultural/dining/activity choices (depending on where you are in Fiji of course - Fiji is much larger than the other places you mention, with many more islands and a much larger population). Tonga will likely offer you the most "pristine" experience in regards to the native culture and probably feel the most remote. Any of them will give you what you say you are looking for.

Expect places to be fairly busy (by their standards) as it is the Christmas holiday season. Book ahead.

Ken

PeggyE

I would look to the Yasawas in Fiji for the best possibiity of dryer weather. We have always gone to the South Pacific in April/May or October. But we were even in a flood on Rarotonga in the "dry(er)" season so there are no guarantees. I don't know why Samoa would be any hotter than the rest, and it & Tonga is the most culturally intact of the group you mentioned. Fiji has the widest range of accommodations to pick from. The Cooks though are a very easy atmosphere to assimilate into. Surfing is only is specific spots though through all these islands, with the Cooks perhaps being the easist to access areas. And it would depend on your children's ages & interests too.

LordBalfor

Opps! Actually should amend my response to exclude surfing - at least in the Cooks, not sure about the other locations in this regard.

Ken

SimoneSassett

We were in the Cook Islands last December, the first week of the month, and it rained on about 2 or 3 different days during our total 2 week stay. And, each time, it lasted only a few hours. A few other times, it rained overnight, but that didn't affect us much, since we were obviously sleeping at night. We stayed in Rarotonga and Aitutaki and din't venture any farther away from those islands, with the exception of the day cruise to one-foot island. I thought it was VERY warm the whole time, and didn't need a sweater at all. Have a great time!