Swimming with Humpback Whales and relaxing in paradise in Vava’u

Nature
The wow factor for nature - does it show nature at its best? Doesn't need to be the wildebeest migration or diving with hundreds of hammerheads. Rather make you pause as you realise just how awesome the natural world can be
10
Culture
How much does this experience showcase some of the better and finer things that us humans can offer? Sure, it can be ancient ruins and renaissance churches, but it can also be festivals or soaking up some of the great modern cities of the world
3
Fun factor/activity
Very simple - was it fun? This is usually linked in with doing some kind of activity - i mean, walking along some cliffs is nice, but paragliding from them, now that is fun. Its a vastly underrated factor in a truly great experience
10
Avoid the crowds
Big tour groups and being surrounded by loud fellow tourists can sap the life out of even the greatest of travel experiences. This score is to reflect just how much you can avoid this. But. . . The score also takes into account if the crowds actually add to the experience, such as with a party town or a bustling local market
10
World famous
How world famous is the experience?
1
unique
How hard is it to have a similar experience in other places round the world?
9
Overall TE Score
The overall travel experiences score:  fun factor + avoid the crowds + (best of nature or culture) + (best of world famous or unique). Then convert into a score out of 100
97 *What the scores mean and where do they come from
RANKING
How this travel experience ranks compared to all the other experiences on this site, based on the travel experience (te) score
2nd/454
Top 1%
continent
Oceania
country
Tonga
Length of time
3-4 days
Typical daily price
This gives you a rough idea of the daily price based on 2 people travelling where they can split costs like accommodation. It excludes travel there and back, and factors in inflation the numbers in brackets show the price range for the full time of the experience (so not necessarily daily). It is a range to reflect different budget vs higher end
$570 ($1,000-$1,800 in 2017 prices)
Time of year visited
July
Primary Tags
Click on any of the tags to see all travel experiences with the same tag
Islands Isolation Wildlife - Whales
All Tags
Adrenaline rush Beaches Jungle Kayaking Stargazing Swimming
Wow Factor
The wow factor reflects just how much you’re likely to say “wow”. As there’s a lot of experiences in the world, and a lot of wows, i’ve gone with a simple ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ to ⭐️ score, and a separate category for the truly "gash"
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Summary

The southern Vava’u islands in Tonga are about as close to paradise as it gets – hundreds of small, jungle-covered islands fringed by white sand beaches and some of the clearest water in the South Pacific. Their remote location means almost no light pollution, spectacular night skies, and a feeling of genuine isolation that’s increasingly rare.

But what puts this in the top Wow-factor category of ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ ⭐️ are the humpback whales. This is one of the few places in the world where you can legally and responsibly swim with them in the wild. Being in the water with these gentle, magnificent giants is insane and, without question, one of the most powerful wildlife encounters on the planet.

Stay on one of the smaller outer islands for at least three nights so as to really experience the tropical paradise feel, be able to see and hear the whales off the beach, and have the flexibility to be able to head out whenever the right whale opportunity arises (we stayed at the Treasure Island Eco-Resort on ‘Eua’iki Island, and couldn’t recommend it more).

 

Vava'u Humpback Whale while swimming

Table of Contents

Top 5 Highlights of Vava’u

Vava'u - #1 Swimming with Humpback Whales. Gentle, elegant giants. Truly awesome experience

#1 Swimming with Humpback Whales. Gentle, elegant giants. Truly awesome experience

Vava'u - #2 Staying in a true bit of paradise in the middle of the Pacific

#2 Staying in a true bit of paradise in the middle of the Pacific

Vava'u - #3 Kayaking to the nearby islands and seeing one picture perfect spot after another

#3 Kayaking to the nearby islands and seeing one picture perfect spot after another

Vava'u - #4 The first time you spot one of the Humpbacks, emerging slowly from the deep and realising just how big it is

#4 The first time you spot one of the Humpbacks, emerging slowly from the deep and realising just how big it is

Vava'u - #5 Chilling in a hammock waiting to hear the sounds of the whales to then jump in the boat and head out for another encounter

#5 Chilling in a hammock waiting to hear the sounds of the whales to then jump in the boat and head out for another encounter

Where the heck is Vava’u?

Middle of nowhere is where it is!  Tonga is a long island chain next to the likes of Fiji and Samoa in the South Pacific.  Vava’u is the northern-most island chain of Tonga, which puts it largely equidistant between the main islands of Fiji, Samoa and Tonga . . . and means you could fly via all 3.

 

Swimming with Humpback Whales and relaxing in paradise in Vava'u

 

Specifically for the Humpback Whale swimming, you want the southerly part of the Vava’u island chain.  We stayed at Treasure Island Eco Resort right at the southern end.

 

Vava’u Travel Tips

 

1. Accommodation – we stayed at the Treasure Island Eco-Resort on ‘Eua’iki, which is around a 30-45min boat ride from the main island.  Couldn’t recommend it more.  The location is perfect as it has two deep channels running alongside, so whales can be spotted easily, and is so far from the main islands that you have that wonderful feeling of isolation.  Listening at night only to the waves, wind (hopefully whales!) and looking up at the most spectacular stars on a clear night. 

 

It also just so happens to be the picture perfect view of paradise, with the crystal clear waters, white sand beach and reef just off shore.  You can kayak to the nearby islands which is super cool.  The key pull though is the owner, Mark, who is one of the Humpback experts in the region and will take you out each day to see the whales.  Him and his team couldn’t be more friendly and really made the trip – Treasure Island Eueiki Eco Resort.

Vava'u - paradise

 

2. Costs – staying for the 5nights / 6 days package (they only do packages) was T$6500 for two people in 2017.  This includes the accommodation, all food and drink, transfers to and from the main island, 3 days of whale swimming, taxes, use of all the equipment.  Note that paying the deposit is a bit of a faff as needs to be done through only certain country bank accounts.

 

3. Encountering the whales – your guide will give you all the background on the whales and the right advice on how to swim without disturbing them.  Everyone we met from the nearby islands were passionate about the conservation of the whales and were respectful.

Vava'u Humpback Whale

 

4. The whales are generally here July to October – we went in early July which meant we largely had the place to ourselves, but I suppose this needs to be balanced with the less likelihood of seeing the whales.  We were fortunate that we saw them on the first day, but then there were fewer over the following days.

 

5. How much time?  Make sure you give yourself enough time there – you don’t want to travel this far and be disappointed.  The 5 nights for us felt perfect.

 

6. 2 week itinerary for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa – its a bloody long way to go for just Vava’u.  We had the most fantastic time combining this as part of a 2 week trip through Tonga, Fiji and Samoa.  Have a look the entry for a 2 week itinerary for Fiji, Tonga and Samoa for the highlights and tips on how to get the best out the weeks.

Experiences Nearby

The below map shows experiences nearby with a colour that reflect the Overall Score of those experiences

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Score Detail

The scores above are the real point of this site.

Over 20+ years and 100+ countries, I’ve tried to rank the world’s best travel experiences — from genuinely mind-blowing ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ to the properly gash.

Every one of the 500+ places on this site has both a Wow Factor rating and a more analytical Travel Experience (TE) score based on the things that actually make travel memorable.

If you're curious about the thinking behind it, head to the About page.

Otherwise, explore the map above or on the Home page and see which places truly deliver maximum wow.

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