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Post Updated Jan, 2024
Table of Contents
Jun-Oct: Peak season -The best weather conditions and whale season (the main reason tourists come to Tonga is to swim with whales or get up close and personal for whale watching).
Apr–Aug: Winter – Expect dry, cool weather. Not as humid during this time of year
Nov–Mar: Warm weather, but expect rain
Tongan Pa’anga (TOP). At the time of writing, 1 USD = 2.33 TOP
Entry visas are not required for nationals of the British Commonwealth and EU. Most visitors get a free 30-day visa on arrival.
A valid passport (with at least six months validity) and an onward ticket will be required to show immigration officials upon arrival.
The cheapest flights to Tonga can be booked online depending on where you are travelling from. We researched a few different websites; however, we found that Skyscanner always has the best flights with the cheapest prices.
The best flight connections can be found via Auckland (New Zealand), Nadi (Fiji) or Sydney (Australia).
Tonga has two phone networks: UCall (TCC) and Digicel Tonga. We stopped at the Digicel phone shop in Nuku’alofa (the capital) picked up a sim card for free, and purchased a credit voucher.
The vouchers start from 1TOP for 100Mb. We purchased a 10TOP credit, which gave us 2.7GB of data.
This is about USD 4.50. If you run out of credit, you’ll find that small shops sell credit vouchers to top up your phone.
NOTE: If you’re staying in Tonga for a while, it might be worth getting a sim card loaded with some call credit. If you need to make local calls to arrange onward accommodation, activity provider or car hire, this will come in super handy.
Get Connected the easy way – Buy an eSIM for Tonga
Both Tongatapu (main island) and Vava’u islands have good roads which allow local buses or taxis to get you around the islands.
Popular Ha’apai island has limited taxis available.
It’s the cheapest way to get around by far. A standard bus fare in Tongatapu is TOP 0.80 (USD 0.35c).
This is the cheapest we’ve seen on any island nation for a long time! The bus network is broken up into areas. The island’s west side, east, and around the capital, Nuku’alofa.
Either wait at designated bus stops or flag down the driver and pay him before you jump off.
Fewer bus services are available in Vava’u, and the schedule isn’t so unreliable.
Taxis are not so cheap, but sometimes you don’t have a choice. You can identify a taxi by the ‘T’ at the front of the vehicle’s number plate.
As many flights arrive late at night or very early in the morning – unless you’ve arranged a pick-up with your accommodation provider, a taxi is your only choice to take you to your accommodation.
Taxi drivers will politely approach you at the airport and see if you need a ride. The price to reach Nuku’alofa is about TOP 30-40.
Update Jan 2024: Recent travellers in Tonga have advised us that an airport transfer is now approximately TOP 70.
There are a couple of places to hire a car at the airport. The cheapest one is Sunshine Car Rentals (prices start from TOP45 per day), or you can reserve a vehicle on Discover Cars before arrival.
We hired a car for two days from Sukura Rentals in downtown Nuku’alofa, paying TOP 40 per day. (they also have vehicles for TOP$35 per day, but they were unavailable during our visit).
Update in Jan, 2024: Recent travellers advise that Sunshine Car Rentals prices now start from TOP 100 per day.
The car was small with lots of dents, but it was economical and excellent for us to explore the island of Tongatapu.
Hiring the vehicle is straightforward: take your driver’s license and pay in cash. We had to leave a bond of TOP$ 200 in cash (or AUD 120) with them, which was returned to us once we returned the vehicle.
Technically, you need a temporary driver’s license to hire a vehicle in Tonga. You must apply in person at the Traffic Office on Bypass Road, Vaololoa.
This should be completed within 24 hours of hiring the vehicle – you must show your current driver’s license from your home country and pay a fee of TOP$40.
We explored much of the island over two days and burned through 1/2 a fuel tank; it cost us TOP$ 40 to fill up.
Tonga comprises five island groups: Tongatapu, Ha’apai, Vava’u, ‘Eua, and the Niuas. Inter-island ferries (and flights) provide transport for getting between these island groups.
Our best advice is to double-check the ferry schedules, which change frequently. The Nuku’alofa Visitor Information Centre lists ferry schedules.
This is precisely what we did. We’d highly recommend this option for everyone wanting to visit Tonga on a budget.
Read our accommodation guide for Tonga for some recommendations.
We found Tonga Holiday Villa through some great reviews online – so this is where we chose to stay on the main island of Tongatapu.
This large, family-run, two-story guesthouse has three breezy, spacious rooms upstairs for guests to reserve. The rooms are clean and comfortable, and the staff that looks after the property are fantastic.
Bathroom facilities are shared, and you can access a full kitchen below to cook your meals, a significant bonus for saving money and travelling in Tonga on a budget.
This property has another guesthouse just next door called Paea’s Guesthouse.
If Tonga Holiday Villa is fully booked, I recommend you check this one. The same family owns them, and they also have glowing reviews. You can’t go wrong.
View ALL Accommodations in Nuku’alofa.
Exploring other islands in Tonga? VIEW some great deals here.
Friends Cafe – A popular meeting place for visitors and locals in Nuku’alofa.
They serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner six days a week and are THE place to come if you’re after a good coffee. Try the tuna fillet burger – delicious!
Mama’s Cafe – Located on Laifone Road in Nuku’alofa. Find traditional Tongan dishes for TOP$5-$10.
Talahiva Restaurant (Taufa’ahau Road). Another place where you can find typical Tongan meals is between TOP$5-$10.
Tiger Inn Restaurant – Located on Railway Road, behind the post office building. Cheap Chinese food is up for grabs here – noodles, stir fry, and wontons. Meals for TOP$7-$12
Cash is king in Tonga. Accommodation providers, cafes, activity providers, and small stores only accept cash, so make sure you have it available.
There are limited outlets that accept credit cards in Tonga, so you don’t want to get caught out. It’s worth mentioning that ATM withdrawal fees in Tonga are expensive!
All ATMs will charge you between TOP$10-$12 every time.
Tonga does not have a lot of choices when it comes to restaurants and cafes. If you want to eat out, you can expect to pay anywhere from TOP$15-$40 each for a dish.
If you’re happy to live on instant noodles, fried chicken, and chips, you could see Tonga on a budget. But there’s no need to punish your body like that. The trick is to stay feeling good and travel to Tonga on a budget to book a place with access to a kitchen and cater for yourself.
The markets provide some fantastic fresh fruit and vegetables to allow you to cook some nutritious and affordable meals while you’re here.
We put together some easy and tasty stir-fried vegetables with rice, noodles or pasta meals with a vegetable base.
Read more in our post on our 7 cheap and easy meals for travellers or see a few simple recipes below.
See below for some of my easy recipe suggestions. These are meals that taste good, and they’re easy on your budget. The ingredients used are generally quite easy to find in most countries.
Spaghetti/Penne with simple napoli sauce – You can buy pre-made jars of different pasta sauces in the supermarkets here. Alternatively, you can make a simple napoli sauce using cans of diced tomatoes, some onion and garlic, salt, and pepper. Add some cooked chopped vegetables such as carrots or any cheap green vegetable. Serve this sauce over some pasta of your choice and enjoy. Always a winner!
Toasted sandwiches – Always a quick and easy option. Sliced bread (white or brown) is easily found in supermarkets or small shops in Tonga. If you’ve got oil or butter on hand, make a sandwich using sliced cheese, tomato, grilled veg, or sliced meat. Toast it in a pan and enjoy.
Omelet or scrambled eggs – Super easy to cook and a filling option. Enjoy with fresh bread or put inside a wrap or on steamed rice with salad, tomatoes, and cheese.
Rice and vegetable stir-fry – Vegetables such as carrots, bok choy, green snake beans, eggplants, potatoes, onions, garlic, and avocado are readily available from the market. Soy sauce is super cheap in the supermarkets, too. Make a veg stir fry and serve it over rice or instant noodles to make a complete meal.
Shakshuka – All you need is one saucepan to create this dish. Fry some onion, garlic, and any spices on hand, such as cumin paprika if available (if not, no worries, it will still taste good). Pour two cans of crushed or diced tomatoes into the pan. Once this is bubbling and hot, add 3-4 eggs to the pan, some salt, and pepper. Cover the eggs with the tomato sauce mix. Turn it low and cover for 5-10 minutes until the eggs are cooked. Take off the heat and enjoy with some fresh bread.
At the beginning of our trip to Tonga, we soon realised that food portions are large! If you are travelling in pairs or happen to dine out with somebody, think about sharing. So, instead of ordering two massive dishes, perhaps order one main dish and a starter or something cheap and filling.
It’ll save you money, and you won’t feel so stuffed at the end of your meal.
As I mentioned, self-catering is a great idea to keep the costs down when visiting Tonga on a budget. Here is a list of typical supermarket items/fresh market prices.
Index of prices Price shown in TOP/USD
1.5L bottle of water TOP$2.00/ $0.86
Small butter TOP$3.00 / $1.30
Canned tomatoes TOP$2.00/ $0.86
Fresh sliced bread TOP$1.80 / $0.77
A dozen eggs TOP$9.40/ $4.05
1 x small bottle Maka beer TOP$4.00/ $1.73
Bag of rice TOP$3.00 / $1.30
2min noodles (one pack) TOP$1.00 / $0.43
UHT milk 1L TOP$2.60 / $1.12
Bag spaghetti 500g from TOP$3.50 / $1.50
Bottle of wine TOP$25.00 / $10.80
Meal of fried chicken (2 x pieces) and chips TOP$5.00 /$2.16
Cost of fresh produce from the fresh markets
Bunch of carrots TOP$3.00 / $1.30
Bok Choy/greens TOP$3.00 bunch / $1.30
Eggplant (x3) TOP$5.00 / $2.16
Avocado x 3 TOP$5.00/ $2.16
Tongatapu
Vava’u
Ha’apai
Eua
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3 Comments. Leave new
My dream is to go to tonga, for sure your post will help me a lot. kisses from Brazil
Just a note, as we are currently here. Prices increased a lot on some services. Might be the holiday season, but locals also told us that everything went up.
Airport transfer 70TOp per person one way. Rent a car (Sunshine rentals) 100TOP per day.
Tipp: we booked only one night on bookingdotcom and the rest cash on site. Paid via booking 270TOP, with them directly 150TOP, so huge savings!!!
Hi Heike,
Thanks for updating us with the new prices and info on booking accommodation in Tonga. We’ve updated this post to inform other travellers heading to Tonga. Hope you had a great time there!