GEOGRAPHICAL LOCATION

The Kingdom of Tonga is located on the eastern edge of the Indo-Australina Plate, between latitudes 15.50 degree south and 23.50 degree south and longitudes 1730 west and 1770 west. Dry land are of Tonga is 688 sq km and the sea area covered by the group is 362,500 sq km.

CLIMATE

From December to April, the weather is hot and humid with considerable rainfall. The cool dry season, with average temperatures of up to 22°C, runs from May to November. Tradewinds during the season make for pleasant days and cool nights.

CURRENCY

Tonga's currency is the pa'anga. TOP$1 is about USD$1.77

ENTRY REQUIREMENTS

• Bona-fide tourists and business persons from the majority of countries, including New Zealand, United States, United Kingdom and Australia, may enter Tonga for a period not exceeding 31 days without a visa, but visitors from certain countries will need a visa prior to arrival. Check with your travel agent when you book your ticket.
• If required, a visa application form can be downloaded from the Tonga Visitors Bureau website at www.tongaholiday.com or contact the Tonga Immigration Department at visatonga@gmail.com or phone: (676) 26 969/26 970
• Visitors must also have a valid passport (6 months or more), an onward air or sea ticket and relevant health certificates. If visitors wish to extend their stay, permission must be requested from the Principal Immigration Officer, Nuku'alofa.

HANDICRAFTS

One place where the cultural experience can be seen at its very best is at the Tongan National Centre. You can visit the museum, take part in a kava ceeremony, see some of the best dancers in the land and taste a genuine Tongan feast. The adjacent gallery offers contemporary art and genuine cultural handicrafts. See tapa making; woodcarving and mat weaving.

LOCAL CONSIDERATIONS

• Bathing suits and bikinis are fine for the beach and poolside but are frowned upon if worn in public. Tongan law prohibits any person from appearing in a public place without a shirt.
• For police, fire brigate and hospital services ring 911
• The Government provides comprehensive medical and dental facilities to residents and visitors. Modern hospitals can be found in Nuku'alofa, Ha'apai and Vava'u. There are also dispensaries, chemists and pharmacies available.
• Religion - Christian, although virtually every denomination is represented in Tonga.
• Tongans do not expect tips, though no offence will be caused if special service is rewarded in this way.

LANGUAGE

Tongan is the main language, however English is widely spoken.

POPULATION

Tonga's people are Polynesian with a total population (Census 2006) of 101,134.

TIME ZONE

Tonga is 13 hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time and 18 hours ahead of New York.

TRANSPORT

A temporary Tongan driving licence may be obtained from the Central Police Station providing you have a current driving licence. Cost is TOP$15 tax exclusive. A current passport is required. The main forms of transport on land are buses, vans, taxis and car rentals. There are regular ferry services to the outer islands.

HISTORY

The Kingdom of Tonga is the only Pacific nation never to have been controlled by foreign powers, and is the last remaining Polynesian Monarchy. Polynesians are thought to have arrived in Tonga more than 3000 years ago and the first of the hereditary rulers, known as the Tu'i Tonga, governed from about 960AD. The ruling royal family of Tonga can be traced back more than 1000 years.

The 170+ island group was first visited by Dutch travellers in the early 1600s, although it was the Dutch explorer Abel Tasman who became the first European to set foot on Tongatapu and Ha'apai in 1643. The British seafarer Captain Cook, dubbed the archipelago the 'Friendly Islands' in 1773 and visited again in 1774 and 1777.

The adoption of Christianity by the ruling family (which followed the arrival of Methodist missionaries in the 1820s) and an overall policy of accommodation with the British meant that the islands were never colonised. King George Tupou I, the great-great-great grandfather of the present ruler and the first chief to rule over all of Tonga, was the founder of the present dynasty. Tupou I took power in 1831. He introduced representative government to the islands during his reign.

A Treaty of Friendship was signed with the British in 1879 which afforded Tonga the unique status of a 'Protected State' (as distinct from a Protectorate, which allowed for less autonomy in government). However, the islands were subsequently made a protectorate in 1900.