Tonga

Castaway Adventure in Tonga

From:

£3,591

Duration:

11 days

Date:

Various dates

Max People:

12

Min Age:

18+

A silhouette of a bat hanging from a tree.

The Highlights of our Tonga Adventure

Immerse yourself in a Polynesian adventure tour that’s more than just a holiday; it’s an unforgettable journey where you can live out your castaway fantasy in Tonga’s untouched paradise.

The world’s most pristine coral reefs

Perfect white talc beaches

Excellent fishing

Hunt pigs

Kava ceremonies

Staggering stars all the way to the horizon

Incredible levels of isolation

Trip Summary

Looking for an adventure travel experience that combines fun, untouched nature, bushcraft, and a survival challenge?

This is the plan: We meet you on the already remote island Ha’apai, where we spend a special night at the wonderful Kitesurf Tonga. You’ll meet your new tribe, eat gourmet cuisine and cover the expedition briefing before trying our best to get an early night. Tomorrow is a big day!

The following day, we’ll whisk you off to an uninhabited desert island, taking a 90-minute speedboat ride straight from the resort to the remote untouched island paradise—your new home.

For five nights, we will train you in all the essential bushcraft skills you’ll need to thrive, from friction fires to fish traps. We’ll dive for lobster by moonlight and wrestle in huge 20 kilo trevally. This part is survival light with all the kit to help. Designed to develop not just your skills but your confidence in this new environment. We sleep in expedition hammocks, and we cook together over the fire, sharing stories and passing around a bottle of rum. Fun is our top priority as we hone your skills throughout chapter one of your adventure. As you get used to tribal life, you won’t want this time to end.

Then, just as you start to get comfortable, sh*t gets real, it’s time to leave the nest and head to a new part of the island to test yourself, with just a handful of items and your newly learned skills for the 72-hour survival phase.

Your instructors are now on the other side of the island and it’s on you and your tribe now to build a shelter, catch food, make fire, and purify water. At times, this might be hard, but when you catch that fish as the sun is dipping over the horizon, it must just be the highest high you ever feel.

Then, after 3 days, you are rescued and head back to Kitesurf, to what now feels like a 10 star hotel, for the best shower of your life and a survival banquet.

Sounds like your type of adventure? We hope so!

Day 1

The expedition starts in Ha’apai, a small slither of beautiful tropical island with pigs and chickens providing more traffic than cars. We will collect you from the airport and jump on our speedboats to take you to your new island home. You’ll receive the expedition safety briefing, choose the location for our camp, hang up our expedition hammocks and light a fire.

Day 2

Today, we start building our shelter.

Day 3

Today is all about the different techniques one can use to find food on a desert island; Including what fruits and plants are safe to eat, how to get into a coconut and where to find shellfish. You’ll make a primitive handline, catch, prepare and cook fish. You can also try your hand at spearfishing. To finish the day, we will open some green coconuts and have fresh pina-coladas.

Day 4

Life on the island slows down. Disconnecting from wifi and phone, you will find yourself thinking about the outside world less and less.

Day 5

After breakfast we learn the most quintessential primitive skill, how to make fire. We will spend the afternoon catching our supper off the beach.

Day 6

This is it; survival begins. It’s just you, your fellow castaways and limited equipment. It is time to put into practice your newfound skills and apply your ingenuity. Will you survive, or thrive?

Day 7

Survival Phase

Day 8

Survival Phase

Day 9

Nothing will ever look quite so good as our rescue boats laden with ice-cold drinks. Once back we’ll enjoy huge a breakfast. That night we have a survival celebration.

Day 10

Today we’re heading out in search of humpback whales. And if luck’s on our side (which, let’s be honest, it usually is), you’ll get the once-in-a-lifetime chance to swim alongside these gentle giants.

Day 11

Sporting a fine suntan and a tremendous sense of achievement, you will depart home with enough tales to woo at any dinner party.

SHELTER

Hammock and tarp setup and care
Shelter building
Palm thatching
Machete and knife safety, sharpening and skills

Fire

Fire theory
Friction fire skills (bow drill and hand drill)

Water

Transpiration bags
Solar still
Evaporation techniques
Boiling water in bottles over fire

FOOD

Fishing with hand line
Coconut opening & cream extraction
Tree climbing
Hawaiian sling (hand spear)
Primitive cooking and fish preparation
Trap building
Wild edible identification

OTHER

Psychology discussion and case studies
Astro-navigation

The Island

This is our standout choice, a true gem in our selection. Complete isolation and the untouched, pristine wilderness make it into our winner.

Embark on an unparalleled adventure travel experience in Tonga, where the land’s unspoiled beauty comes alive. Pristine coral reefs fringe perfect white talc beaches, caressed by a spectrum of blues, offering an exceptional setting for your adventure holidays in Tonga.

It is a dream come to life, a postcard desert island that epitomises the essence of pristine wilderness, making it an unrivalled choice for our authentic bushcraft adventure. Yes, this is a long way for most of you, but we are certain it is worth it for this exceptional castaway holiday.

Arguably the world’s most pristine coral reefs fringe perfect white talc beaches, lapped by more shades of blue than we knew existed, encapsulating the quintessence of Tonga experiences.

Immerse yourself in a Polynesian adventure tour that’s more than just a holiday; it’s an unforgettable journey where you can live out your castaway fantasy in Tonga’s untouched paradise.

1 uninhabited private island – that quintessential neon tropical desert island with coral reefs.
5 days survival training by world-class bushcraft guide
General kit (incl. hammocks, camping gear, machetes, etc.). There are a few essential items that you need to bring.
3 days raw survival
2 nights at the Kitesurf Tonga Lodge (shared, twin rooms)
All food and drinks, including welcome dinner and survival banquet

Flights
Airport transfers
Visas, if required
Personal travel insurance
Personal kit. You can check out the general kit list here, however, we will be sending you a more detailled version after booking.
Personal expenses

Tonga, a stunning Polynesian Kingdom, is located as a tiny speck in the Pacific Ocean. This archipelago comprises 176 islands, out of which only 36 are inhabited. It lies south of Samoa and is positioned roughly two-thirds of the way between Hawaii and New Zealand. The largest and most populous island in Tonga is Tongatapu, which is also home to the country’s capital city, Nuku’alofa.

Tonga has a single international airport, Fua’amotu Airport (TBU), located on the main island of Tongatapu. Direct flights to TBU are available from Nadi (Fiji), Auckland (New Zealand), and Sydney (Australia).We bring the rest of the kit from your hammock to your machete.

Our Tonga expeditions might be taught by any one of our 7 magnificent instructors. From Mike who placed second in Australian Alone to Tom Williams.

In bushcraft survival, embracing minimalism is crucial. The essence lies in mastering the art of improvisation, whether it’s fashioning a rope from hibiscus tree bark or crafting a trap from an empty water bottle. Yet, we recommend you come prepared with a fundamental set of items: suitable attire, a knife, a headtorch, and a water bottle. The additional equipment, from your hammock to your machete, will be provided by us.

Our expeditions are designed to be tough enough to promote self-growth, but not too tough that people quit. That said, about 1 in 30 people will give up and leave the island. The first 5 days are survival lite, building up one’s confidence and resilience in this entirely new environment. After that, the final 3-day survival phase is where the real challenge lies. You will feel hunger perhaps more than ever before and an element of discomfort. However, it is with these experiences that you will gain perspective and appreciation of the comfortable lives we live back home. One former castaway put it very well; it’s a ‘gratitude reset’.

We take your safety seriously and ensure that our expeditions to deserted islands are safe for all. Before any expedition, we handpick islands based on various factors such as the absence of hazardous animals and currents. We provide a comprehensive safety briefing and our instructors are certified in wilderness first aid. While we cannot eliminate all risk, we work on a system of informed consent to inform you of potential risks before your departure. Please visit our risks and dangers page.

You’ll learn the following bushcraft skills:

Making Coconut bowls
Traps and hunting.
Jungle sanitation and hygiene.
Jungle navigation
Rescue: Techniques for gaining attention.
How to make cordage from natural fibers.
Coconuts: opening and various uses.
Primitive spearfishing
Palm weaving
Shelter: building techniques.
Water: physiology, collection and disinfection.
Solar stills, transpiration.
Fire making: Bow drill, hand drill, bamboo fire saw as well as fire steel.
Identification of flora and fauna for food, fire and other utilities.
Fishing techniques: Making and using traps, spears.
Fish identification, preparing and cooking fish
Traditional cooking methods: Bamboo pot, leaf wraps, clay bakes and smoking racks.

Before we head to the island we enjoy a dinner at the fantastic Kitesurf Tonga Resort. Kaz, who runs it with her husband Glenn, is a brilliant chef and before you eat they will proudly show you how they cultivate most of the fresh produce right there on the island!

After a hearty breakfast we head to swim with Humpbacks and enjoy lunch on the boat. Finally it is time to head to the desert island where for the next 5 days we cater to you with breakfast lunch and dinner. We use traditional techniques like the UMU to slow roast underground and Oka Ita, Tongas answer to ceviche with fresh coconut cream! We will also teach you how to wrap and prepare fish using leaves and natural cordage to cook directly on the coals.

Rescue arrives laden with cold beers and we head back to kitesurf tonga for a hog roast survival feast and a beach bonfire party!

Vegetarian or other dietary requirements? Don’t worry, we can adapt the menu for you.

The hotel accommodations are based on a shared arrangement. If you prefer a single room, you can request a single room supplement on the booking form, but this is subject to availability.

Before and after the expedition we will be staying at the KiteSurf Tonga Resort. Their rustic ‘falles’ are basic but spacious and just a few meters from the beach so you can listen to the waves and palms as you fall asleep.

Check out our other FAQs or contact us here.

First off, one of the most important considerations is travel time from your home country. Then you should consider whether domestic travel is required when you arrive. We love the website flight connections to help with travel time.

Tonga – A long way from everywhere (Except AUS & NZ)

There is no way to sugar coat it, Tonga is isolated! We recommend you arrive at least 2 days early in Tonga to make sure you are not caught up because of flight cancellations and to deal better with the jet leg.

To start, you will need to get to Nuku’alofa, the capital of Tonga. Nuku’alofa is served by Tonga’s only international airport, Fua’amotu Airport (TBU), on the main island of Tongatapu. You can fly to TBU directly from 3 places; Nadi (Fiji), Auckland (NZ) and Sydney (AUS). We find typically flight search engines don’t connect the dots get you to Tonga, so we like to use flight connections interactive map to help find routes.

We also recommend you download Hopper’ for your phone and enter your dates. They will tell you when the best time to book your flights is before the price creeps up, we love it. The best time to book a flight is typically around 90 days out.

Google flights is our favourite flight search engines, however, we find due to the low volume for Tonga, these search engines do not always find your complete route. So you may need to search for the connecting destination and book the final leg separately.

We always recommend booking directly with the airline once you have found your flights as you will have a preferential cancellation policy and better upgrade potential.

From Tongatapu to Ha’apai, there are two options for getting to Ha’apai, depending on your budget and preferences. The most common way to get there is by flying from Tonga’s main island of Tongatapu to Ha’apai’s main airport, Salote Pilolevu Airport.

If you’re looking for a more adventurous way to reach Ha’apai, you can also take a ferry from the capital city of Nuku’alofa to Ha’apai’s main port, Pangai. The ferry ride takes around 12 hours and offers stunning views of the Pacific Ocean along the way.

On the return leg: To be safe, we advise our guests to spend a night in Tongatapu before your international departure flight out just to be sure, as weather disruptions can sometimes cause delays with real Tonga. Or at the very least allow a good buffer of time between flights.

Check out our Tonga Travel Guide for more information about the destination or check out our blog for Tonga related articles.

Tonga Travel Guide

Tonga Blog Posts

People love us

“Just back from the Tonga trip and can honestly say this was an amazing life changing experience. I was also lucky enough to have my birthday on the island and on the day the owner, Tom made me feel extra special, making me teas, and such and we had a big bonfire to celebrate, which was brilliant.”

Philip Burns

“I recently went on the Tonga Expedition and it was nothing short of amazing. Surviving on a pristine island in the middle of the Pacific during the humpback whale migration was an unforgettable experience. This was largely thanks to the extraordinary instructors. Their expertise, patience, and passion really shone through as they guided us through the trip.”

A group of friends are celebrating the sunset on the beach. Silhouetted against the vibrant orange and pink sky, they are posing and enjoying the beautiful moment together. The image captures a sense of joy and camaraderie as they share this special time.

Michael Daggett

“WHAT AN AMAZING EXPERIENCE!!! Finally we did it, highly recommended. Tom took care of every detail. I’m glad I’ve done this.. it’s a one life experience that I was really looking forward. It was a very good thing to start this adventure with Tom, and have his help and advice. Really nice person, extremely helpful and nice to know”