Oceania

Oceania is a vast, arbitrarily defined expanse of the world where the Pacific Ocean – rather than land borders – connects the nations. It is home to glistening white beaches, coconut palms swaying in the breeze, beautiful coral reefs, and rugged volcanic islands rising out of the blue ocean. Its diverse nations have some of the world's most international cities, and some of its most remote villages.

It incorporates the areas often known as Polynesia, Melanesia and Micronesia, as well as Australia, New Zealand, and surrounding islands.

Countries

Australia- The largest and most populous country in Oceania.
Cook Islands
East Timor- One of the world newest nations, emerging from violent times and now accessible to travelers.
Federated States of Micronesia
Fiji- A major island tourist destination. Resorts, coral reefs and beaches.
French Polynesia- Including the beautiful island of Tahiti.
Kiribati
Marshall Islands
Nauru
New Zealand- A major destination, second to Australia in size. Well developed facilities for travelers.
New Caledonia- A piece of France, in the tropics.
Niue
Palau
Papua New Guinea- An adventurous, but possible, travel destination.
Samoa
Solomon Islands
Tonga
Tuvalu- One of the smallest countries in the world.
Vanuatu- Well developed island destination.

Other destinations

Uninhabited small islands

Understand

European influence

Australia and New Zealand are both former British colonies. At one time it was envisaged that the two colonies would become a single country.

Papua New Guinea was, at one time, a United Nations trusteeship, administered by Australia.

Various islands have been annexed by the Britain, Portugal, Germany, France and the United States.

This has had an influence of aspects of culture. Many areas speak both an indigenous language, and the language of the colonial power, often mixing in interesting blends. There has also been an influence on the food and architecture.

Common cultural heritage

Ecology

Ecologically, Oceania also includes the eastern parts of Indonesia as far as Lombok and Sulawesi.

Get in

By plane

See the country articles for detailed information on how to Get in.

The major countries of Australia and New Zealand offer extensive connections to all continents.

There are some other gateways offering other opportunities to get in to Oceania, and for interesting itineraries. Air France connects New Caledonia direct with Tokyo and Paris]. Onward connections to Sydney and Auckland are possible. Air PAcific connect Fiji with Los Angeles with connections through to Sydney, Auckland and Tahiti. Tahiti is connected to the Los Angeles, and you can fly to the Cook Islands direct from there.

Guam and Honolulu offer a gateway to many smaller Pacific Islands.

The smallest islands with less tourism present additional challenges to get to. Many are entirely deserted, and some have restictions on access.

By boat

A South Pacific cruise.

Get around

The most popular way for travelers to get around between the main destinations of Oceania is by plane.

There are some options for boats, cruise ships, private yachts, adventure cruises, and even cargo ships.

Consult the guide for the destination you are visiting.

See

Do

Eat

Drink

Stay safe

Stay healthy

This page was last edited at 05:25, on 29 January 2009 by Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. Based on work by cz, Ian Sergeant, Stefan Ertmann, Peter Fitzgerald, John A, Tim Sandell, Evan Prodromou, Upamanyu Mallik and Todd VerBeek, Wikitravel user(s) Cacahuate, Texugo, Episteme, I Love Jigsaw, Spouting horn, Jake73, Yzerfontein and WindHorse, Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel and others.