Tonga Travel Guide

Tonga travel tips & advice

The Royal Palace is one of the most popular attractions of the islands. Located on the beautiful waterfront in Nuku’alofa, the palace is surrounded by a metal fence that was erected decades before in order to protect it and the tropical shrubs and flowers that grow there. You can’t go into the palace, but it’s an exquisite piece of architecture to look upon.

Another interesting royal sight is the Mala‘ekula, the royal burial grounds. The Kings of Tonga are buried here as well as their close, loved relatives. The cemetery is locate within walking distance from the Royal Palace, along a road lined with Norfolk pines on either side. The cemetery was created after the first king of modern Tonga died. His grave is situated so that it can be seen from the palace terrace.

Aside from the royal sights of Tonga there are other interesting places. Like the Anahulu cave, an underground cavern filled with hundreds of stalactites and stalagmites. There are beautiful coral reefs to snorkel or dive at, and impressive Blue Holes found along the coastline at Houma; hole that seawater spews forth from like geysers. One of the most intriguing thing to see are the Ha‘amongo Trilithon.

These massive stone arches are made from coral and form an arch; one stone laid vertically across the top of two upright ones. It’s thought that they may have been used as some sort of calendar, and that they were the entrance to the old royal compound of Tonga. It’s estimated that each stone weighs an astonishing 39 tons each. The real question would be, how did they get the one on top of the other two?

Tonga is truly a magnificent place to visit, with white sandy beaches to lounge on, fishing waters where you can catch game-quality barracuda, tuna and sailfish, and get the chance to see humpback whales during their mating season.