Fafa Island. A private Island resort an hour boat ride from Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga on Tongatapu island. This resort has private fales and caters to couples and families. Run by a German family and Tongan workers living on the Island, Fafa is really a magical place.
When booking you can arrange an airport pick up. There are only several flights in and out of Tonga a week, so the shuttle will wait to depart until everyone going to the Island on your flight has cleared customs. It is about a 40 minute ride to the wharf and then you board a medium size boat to Fafa.
The boat goes quite slow and does take a full hour. Fafa is surrounded by coral reef so in order to land you must get off the boat and take a separate motor powered plank to the white sandy beach.
Once you land you are greeted by the German manager and Tongan staff take your luggage to your fale. You are given a tour of the grounds and start off at the restaurant and bar.
When booking, or on arrival, you can also choose a meal plan. This can be full board, or half which is 2 meals. Each meal is 3 courses and has very large portions. We did the half board and got breakfast delivered to us each morning. As the resort is owned by a German couple everything is charged in Euros. After getting our final bill we found that it would have been cheaper to pay a la carte. This does depend on how much you order, but as the portions were so large we found we could have done without the starter or dessert on some dinners.
Next is the library with books and magazines to choose from. This is the only place on the Island where you can get on the Wifi. You get 1GB total for your stay but you can always buy more. Do note the speed is very slow so just forget it and relax!
Depending on how many people are checking in, you will need to wait on the path as the Manager shows each party their fale. We had a superior fale and were assigned to a secluded West Coast room.
We were again given a tour and told about our fale before being left to finally enjoy. Do note that this is somewhat of an Eco-Resort and they use solar panels for electricity. If the shower becomes cold they will come and hook it up to gas for you, but we did not have an issue with this. This obviously depends on the weather however I would suggest you just give in to nature.
The first thing I did was lay in the sun in our hammock. Listening to the crashing of the waves and local birds was super serene.
Fafa does have some native birds that are endemic to the South Pacific and management is trying to grow the dwindling population. The Kohi parrot is a protected species and 2 breeding pairs were taken to Fafa after the local Bird Park closed on the main island. They now have 10 birds and hope to breed more each year!
Another special thing about Fafa is the Mabe Pearl Oyster Farm. The waters around Fafa were claimed a Special Management Area in 2013, which means it is a protected marine area. Management began a pearl farm in 2015 and you can buy some of these special pearls in the gift shop at reception. These Black-Winged-Pearl oysters, and thus pearls, are special to the Pacific because the pearl actually grows on the side of the shell instead of inside the body of the mollusc creature. Mark got me one as it also gives back to the Tongan family living on Fafa.
Being an Eco-Resort the fales do not have air conditioning. Our fale, Huni, had a mosquito net around the bed and overhead fan. Luckily did not visit at the height of summer so it was not too hot. To the left was the bathroom with outdoor shower and to the right was a closet with mini-fridge.
We also had a sun bed which looked out to the hammock and beach.
Dinner is from 6pm to late so we went around 7pm. We ate on the pier every night as we loved being over the water and seeing the stars come out. It was quite chilly in the wind and did get dark but the staff lit the torches for us which added to the romance.
The following day we did a 20 minute bush walk. We kept an eye out for the native bird and found the flying fox tree. As it was in the day time we did not see any flying foxes (bats).
We then grabbed some kayaks and went out to sea. The water is super clear so we were able to see coral up close. You are only allowed to kayak at high tide so the kayak does not scrape the coral.
At low tide you can then do a walk around the entire Island. You get to see the rocky East side and then sandy West side.
My favorite activity was the snorkeling. The goggles, snorkel and fins are provided at reception for free to guests.
Each fale had their own space of private beach. It was super romantic and felt as though we had an entire Island to ourselves.
In order to get breakfast delivered we had to choose what we wanted the previous night. Again, portions were plentiful and you can not go wrong with any choice. The fruit and veggies were always super fresh!
Prime time to go to Fafa is from June-October. Whale watching season is from about August to October. We went right at the end of October so it was not too busy, however we missed the whales.
It was hard to leave Fafa because I truly disconnected. I loved being able to shower outside, hear the birds at night and the ocean all day. It was just soothing.
You can visit Fafa as a day trip if you are in Tonga, however I definitely recommend staying at least 2 nights to get the full experience. Depending on the day of the week the resort does offer yoga, a traditional tribal night and other activities. Fafa is definitely known as a Honeymoon spot, so I hope to go back one day 🙂
Tip: Bring some drinks and snacks for lunch to save money. We brought 3 bottles of wine from duty free and finished them in the 3 days. Get a travel case for peace of mind that they won’t break en route.