Tonga Holiday Facts
health, electricity and communication
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Tonga Islands
Pacific Travel Guides
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Tonga Holiday Facts
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Tonga Holiday Quick Facts:
Number of Islands: 171 (Tongatapu = main island)
Population: 106,000
Time: 13 hours ahead of GMT
Currency: Tongan Pa'anga
Languages: Tongan and English
The Kingdom of Tonga is the official name of the islands. Tonga lies south of the equator and is one of the most southerly of the tropical South Pacific islands. It lies directly to the south of Samoa, south east of Fiji and south west of Niue, the Cook Islands and Tahiti.
Tonga Health and Dangers
Mosquitoes are present in most parts of Tonga, although trade winds keep these to a minimum on coastal areas.
The country is free from malaria, yellow fever and most other diseases endemic in tropical countries.
Tap water is generally safe to drink and few tourists suffer from stomach upsets, although bottled water is available and much healthier. In the tropics it is advisable to drink plenty of water throughout the day to avoid dehydration. The only real threat is the Sun - sunstroke, prickly heat and other skin irritations are quite common, the latter especially so in the more humid season between December and April. Take light, airy clothes. Local private doctors and pharmacies are good although hospitals can provide only basic accident and emergency operations.
Travel Insurance
Tonga Electricity
Electricity is 240 volts AC50 cycles (same as UK, Australia and New Zealand) but if you come from the US you will probably need a convertor. Sockets are three pronged, the upper two prongs being angled and flat, the lower prong being circular. However, several of the German managed resorts have imported their own European style plugs.
Tonga Communication
The country code for Tonga is (676). Telephone lines are reliable with direct international calls and international calling cards which can be used a public phones around Nukualofa Internet Cafes are available in Nuku'alofa and Neiafu but are painfully slow and not that cheap either. Few resorts or guest houses offer internet access for their guests. Sending cards and letters abroad is exceptionally cheap and handling is efficient, although the quality of post cards is poor.
Sunday in Tonga is a strict day of rest and any commercial business from restaurants to taxi operators are closed. There are no international or local flights on Sunday.
Tonga Tourist Information
Readers may also be interested in the following destinations:
Fiji Tourist Information
Cook Islands Tourist Information
Samoa Tourist Information
Tahiti Tourist Information
Hawaii Tourist Information
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