Travel - International
AIR: The region’s major airline is Continental Micronesia (CS).
Approximate flight times: Flight durations from London to destinations in the Pacific vary considerably depending on the route taken. The most common route would include stopovers in Los Angeles and Honolulu; eg the flight time from London to Honolulu is 19 hours 30 minutes and from Honolulu to the Marshall Islands 4 hours 30 minutes.
International airports: Saipan (SPN), Guam (GUM) and Koror Babeldaob (ROR) when entering from the north and west, Pohnpei (PNI) from the south and Majuro (MAJ) from the south and east.
Regional airlines: Scheduled inter-island travel, charters and sightseeing are offered by several local airlines. There is excellent provision for travelling from Guam, Saipan and Majuro to the various islands.
Flights between the islands tend to be rarer. Airlines include:
Air Marshall Islands (CW): This government-owned airline runs charters, sightseeing tours and point-to-point flights between Majuro and other islands in the Marshalls; also international flights to Honolulu, Fiji, Kiribati and Tuvalu.
Continental Micronesia (CS): Operates between islands in all four groups, and to Hawaii, Guam, the Philippines and Japan. Several smaller airlines fly to Guam.
The Visit the South Pacific Pass is valid for many airlines operating in the South Pacific, including most of the larger ones, such as Air Caledonie, Air Marshall Islands, Air Nauru, Air Niugingi, Air Pacific, Air Vanuatu, Polynesian Airlines, Qantas, Royal Tongan Airlines and Solomon Airlines. Offering reductions of up to 40 per cent on normal airfares, this sector-based pass allows for flexible island-hopping between the destinations of the Cook Islands, Fiji, Nauru, New Caledonia, Samoa, Tahiti, Tonga, Vanuatu and the more remote Melanesian and Micronesian islands, together with major cities in Australia (Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane) and New Zealand (Chirstchurch, Wellington, Auckland). It is only available for people resident outside of the South Pacific. The journey must be started outside the South Pacific and only one stopover in Australia is allowed. A minimum of two sectors must be bought before departure (extra sectors can be purchased en route). There is a maximum of one pass per person, and passes must be used within six months of the first day of travel. Children under 12 years of age pay 75 per cent of the adult fare. For details and conditions, contact the South Pacific Tourist Organisation (see Contact Addresses section).
SEA: The major ports are Pohnpei, Majuro, Saipan, Tuik, Yap and Koror.
The following cargo/passenger lines serve the islands: Nauru Pacific, Royal Shipping Co, Daiwa Navigation Co, Oceania Line Inc, P&O, Saipan Shipping Co and Tiger Line.
There are numerous boats for touring, ranging from small speed boats to large glass-bottomed boats for fishing, sightseeing, sunset cruising, scuba diving and short-distance travel. A ferry provides service between Saipan and Tinian. Inter-island vessels provide limited and irregular service between Saipan and the smaller islands. Requests for reservations should be directed to the Office of the Government of the following: Saipan, Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas; Office of Transportation in Majuro, Marshall Islands; Koror, Palau; Kolonia, Pohnpei; Moen, Chuuk and Colonia, Yap. Cabin space is limited, and passengers may be required to sleep on deck (bring own mat). The field trip ships are leased by the governments to private firms, and rates are subject to change.
Cruise lines: Princess, Small Ship, Royal Viking and Norwegian American currently offer cruises to the islands.
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