From New Caledonia To Micronesia

Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia is located just a couple of hours flight away from Australia’s east coast and is the gateway to the South Pacific archipelago. Noumea is a seaside town known for its beautiful bays, stunning islets and relaxed Melanesian and European culture. The locals closest to the cruise port speak a little english however for the most of Noumea, French is spoken with very little English. Read more about Noumea, New Caledonia

Lifou is the largest and most populous island of the Loyalty Islands, in the archipelago of New Caledonia. Lifou is located east of New Caledonia’s main island. Lifou is known for its stunning crystal waters, fantastic diving spots and hiking, formed by raised coral and dense scrubland. Read more about Lifou, New Caledonia

Luganville is a port on the south coast of Espirito Santo, the largest island in Vanuatu. It belongs to the archipelago of Vanuatu (the New Hebrides before 1980) in the Pacific region of Melanesia. Luganville on the SE coast is Vanuatu's second-largest settlement, and the provincial capital. Read more about Santo (Luganville), Vanuatu

Santa Ana Island is a raised coral atoll in the Makira-Ulawa Province of the Solomon Islands, east of Papua New Guinea. Port Mary, situated on a small bay of the same name on the SW of the island, is the main town. Each cruise ship Zodiac that arrives at the beach landing is greeted by a fierce “welcoming committee”, composed of local men, masked and mud-smeared, dressed in warrior costumes and brandishing spears, shields, and machetes. Read more about Santa Ana Island, Solomon Islands

Honiara, located on the northern coast of the island of Guadalcanal, is the capital of the Solomon Islands, which lie between Vanuatu and Papua New Guinea. Pijin is the principal language. The climate is tropical, and while the most pleasant time to visit is winter, July to September, the cooling sea breezes temper the humidity and heat along all coasts year-round. Read more about Honiara, Solomon Islands

Rabaul is a town on the Gazelle Peninsula in East New Britain province, Papua New Guinea. A busy commercial centre, it is situated on Simpson Harbour, a sheltered inlet of Blanche Bay. Almost the entire old town of Rabaul is buried under volcanic ash, the result of a volcanic eruption in 1994, and one is in awe of the scenery, which resembles an alien prehistoric landscape. Read more about Rabaul, Papua New Guinea

Chuuk (‘Mountain’ in Chuukese) is an island group in the south western part of the Pacific Ocean. (It is on the same longitude as Sydney, but lies 820km N of the Equator.) It comprises one of the four States of the Federated States of Micronesia, and geographically it is also part of the larger Caroline Group. The main population centre of Chuuk State is the Chuuk Lagoon, a large archipelago with mountainous islands surrounded by a string of islets with an undersea coral reef beneath clear waters. Read more about Chuuk, Micronesia (Federated States of)

Pulap Atoll consists of three islands – Pollap in the north, Tamatam in the south, and Fanadik to the central west – spread N-S over 10 km, to the north of New Guinea in the western Pacific Ocean. Pulap is part of the widely scattered Caroline Islands. The Atoll belongs to the state of Chuuk in the Federated States of Micronesia, and has a population of around 1300. Read more about Pulap Atoll, Micronesia (Federated States of)

The island of Yap, which actually consists of four continental islands that are very close together and joined within a common coral reef, is the most intriguing island in Micronesia. Scattered throughout the island are huge, ancient, stone money discs that are very heavy and are never moved around. They are still used for ceremonial exchanges, such as transfers of land titles. Read more about Yap Island, Micronesia (Federated States of)

Ifaluk is a coral atoll of four islands in the central Caroline Islands in the Pacific Ocean, and forms a legislative district in Yap State in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM). The primary islets of Ifaluk are called Ella, Elangelap, Rawaii, and Falalop, which is the atoll's main island. At first glance, Ifaluk seems like an advertisement for a certain kind of paradise. Read more about Ifaluk Atoll, Micronesia (Federated States of)

The Island of Guam, the western-most (or should we say eastern-most?) territory of the United States, is an island in Micronesia in the western South Pacific Ocean, about three-quarters of the way from Hawaii to the Philippines. Along the Tumon Bay beachfront, the island's glitzy duty-free shopping centre is a shopper’s paradise, while the gleaming white sand and crystal clear, warm waters for swimming, snorkelling, or just relaxing, are equally as appealing. In Tumon visit the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral Basilica, and the National Museum of the Dulce Nombre de Maria that features changing displays of inspirational art created by local artists. Read more about Guam, Guam