Flexible Island Hoping - Book in Advance?

[bacara2]

I’m going to be traveling through some combination of French Polynesia, Cook Islands, Fiji, Niue and Tonga this June/July/Aug and don’t know whether I need to book airfare in advance. I have a flexible schedule, so I’d like to avoid it where possible.

Anyone know how far in advance flights get booked?

I guess I have the same question on lodging, but from what I've heard that shouldn't be too much of a problem.

[EverythingEverywhere]

I basically did the same trip you did last year.

Technically, you need an outbound ticket for most of those countries. However, I was never asked anywhere other than Tahiti. I got busted there and I had to buy a (refundable) ticket to the US at the airport. Most places are just glad to have tourists and are not worried about someone who doesn't speak the language hiding out.

You can only get to Niue via Auckland, FYI.

I'd add Samoa to your route, or perhaps in place of Niue. There is a weekly flight from Apia to Nuku'alofa on Air New Zealand. You can also take a short daily flight from Samoa to American Samoa. Samoa is great and the beach fales are really cheap.

Flights in that part of the world change frequently. If you do book in advance, give your self lots of time for connecting flights. Days if possible. There is often only 1 plane doing a route and a route may only be once a week.