Travelling to every Pacific Island country

When it comes to travelling to every country in the world, there are 2 regions which would be referred to as the “most difficult” — Sub-Saharan Africa and the remote Pacific Island nations. Now the definition of “remote Pacific Islands” can be debated, but for the purposes of this write-up, I will refer to them as whatever is highlighted in this image below, sans Hawaii, New Zealand and Papua New Guinea. 

The logistics behind planning a route through every pacific island nation is difficult. Some flights are only once a week – miss the window and you’re stuck on the island for another 6 days. Travelling by boat is possible of course, there are many backpackers who have hitched rides with cargo boats, but upon doing some research, I came to the conclusion that it required far, far more time, patience, and a stomach to brave the choppy waters, so I decided to stick with flying.

Now, after having visited every sovereign nation in the region as well as a few overseas territories, here is my honest opinion of the area as a whole. 

First off, would I recommend travelling to every pacific island nation? Absolutely not. 

It is boring, simple as that. Yes, sure you can go on some snorkeling/boat tours, see some WW2 sights if that’s up your alley. But there are just far, far more exciting places to visit to see those sorts of things than the remote pacific islands. 

Did I have fun times on the islands? Of course. Did I meet interesting, kind locals, and form connections, and learn more about their way of life? Absolutely. Did I forge new lifelong memories and have some incredible experiences? Yep. 

But truthfully, there was a lot about the pacific islands I hated. First off, the elephant in the room. The food at the ‘supermarkets’ and takeaway joints is absolutely atrocious. Without a doubt, the worst selections I have encountered on the entire globe. Walk into a supermarket, and it’s got about the same selection as a vending machine. Some chips, some Coca-Cola, some ultra-processed snacks, that’s it.

All these food items are imported, and arrive on boats which come every few weeks or so. There is a severe obesity problem/health crisis in the Pacific Islands. These countries rank as the fattest on the globe, surpassing even the United States – and if you’ve ever taken a walk around a Walmart in rural USA, you would know, that’s really saying something.

When I was in the Solomon Islands, I met a girl on the street I ended up wandering around with for the entire day. When I finished painting for the day, I asked her if she could take me somewhere to get some good food. She agreed, and we took a bus somewhere. 

I kid you not, I think it was the worst ‘takeaway place’ I had visited in my entire life. Over-fried chicken, plain rice, unseasoned potatoes and a hot dog. The only thing they had to season it with was a bottle of salt on the front counter. I am by no means a food connoisseur – I’m usually happy with something simple, but the food in the pacific islands is noticeably terrible, and one of the worst things about travelling the region.

I asked a local on an island about the situation, and they said that every month, a large boat arrives, carrying imported fruits/vegetables from elsewhere. In those first few days, people can buy a different variety of produce in the shops, but for the rest of the month, mostly only the locally grown fruits are available.

There are a lot of Chinese owned shops and restaurants on the islands, but even there, I had the worst “Chinese food” I’ve eaten in my entire life. I gather they are simply missing their usual ingredients, and instead make these plain, unappetizing dishes.

Pacific-Islanders live life at a simple, slower pace. The sense of community is strong, everyone knows one another. I hitchhiked many times on the islands, and I had plenty of interesting conversations with locals, and learned about the ways of life.

People lived a modest life, fishing, and spending time with family. On some islands, many people lived without running water or electricity. I couldn’t imagine. For me, after some hours of walking around, dripping in sweat from the intense heat and humidity, I found solace in the hotels/guesthouses, rushing to have a shower and relax in the room, blasting the AC.

A lot of people I talked to dreamed of leaving the islands. Many already did. Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, and Hawaii seemed to be some of the most sought after places to migrate to. 

When people think of the ‘Pacific Islands’, they usually think of resorts, scuba diving, and pristine turquoise waters. Sure, that’s one side to it.

But the other reality is that many of the pacific islands are extremely poor, struggling and underdeveloped. There was noticeably a lot of foreign aid I observed and sometimes humanitarian volunteers were on the same flights I took.

Some countries have standards way higher/lower than neighbouring ones. From passing conversations, it seemed that the leadership of a nation could really make or break it, some countries had corrupt governments and some did not.

There is a huge problem with aggressive stray dogs on the islands. Tourists are told to ‘walk around with a stick’. It’s not the most enjoyable pedestrian experience, walking around, swinging a stick to fend off packs of dogs.

There are some countries, such as Fiji which have embraced tourism, and made it an enormous part of their economy, building luxury resorts and hotels everywhere. It creates a lot of jobs and opportunities for the locals.

However, tourism is not something which is a priority for many of these countries, so many pacific countries remain some of the least visited in the world, and much of the population remain in poverty, unable to find jobs.

I understand not everyone wants their country to be overrun with tourism and become the next Bali. But in my opinion, embracing at least some tourism is greatly beneficial for a country. I’m sure that some people will disagree with me, but this is just what I think, having observed the situation on the streets.

I did not realize how grim the living situation was for many pacific-islanders, and how many people lived without electricity/running water in hot, dilapidated, metal shacks. It wasn’t until I walked the streets and talked to the locals, that I realized how bad it was, when they described their lives.

The pacific islands were also greatly affected by WW2, and many countries have a bloody/dark history. 

I can only hope that the situation gets better in this region of the world.

ONELOVE