SubWWWay to the Pacific

American Samoa
Cook Islands
Fiji
Guam
Independent Samoa
Marshall Islands
Micronesia
New Caledonia
Northern Mariana Islands
Palau
Pitcairn Islands
Solomon Islands
Tahiti & French Polynesia
Tonga
Tuvalu
Vanuatu

AMERICAN SAMOA

• If you blow your own trumpet on the SubWWWay - it naturally leads to Lonely Planet's Destination American Samoa
• A nice insight into fa'a Samoa, including links to news and cultural sites is Amerika Samoa. Talofa!
• For a good-humoured look into the personal lives of real Samoans, head to the Samoan Family Site.
• A guy with possibly too much time on his hands is researching the history of the Apollo space missions and their connection to American Samoa. See his work so far at Samoa and Apollo.
• Samoanet is the official tourist site, and has a few useful links.

COOK ISLANDS

• Before you hit the beach, hit Lonely Planet's Destination Cook Islands.
• Get the story at Cook Island News Online, featuring local news six days a week.
• The Cook Islands covers all the bases - history, geography, news, a message board (learn who passed away recently) and nearly all the islands.
• Web Central's site is commercial and half-finished, but there are links to individual accommodations providers and lots of other practical info.
• The Cook Islands Business & Tourism Pages are even more mersh, but you can get to just about every local eatery and hut for rent with an online presence.
• The Akatokamanava Multimedia Web Site is devoted entirely to the island of Mauke. Much of the site is 'under development', but it's still pretty exhaustive.
• The People of Cook Islands message board hasn't seen any action in a few months, but you could stir it up.

FIJI

• If you blow your own trumpet on the SubWWWay - it naturally leads to Lonely Planet's Destination Fiji
• Ex-Lonely Planet author Rob Kay's Fiji Guide is the best of the Fiji travel sites (though this isn't saying much).
• See what happens when the blurb writers and the bureaucrats get together at the official site of the Fiji Visitors Bureau and Fiji's National Tourist Office.
• The Fijians reckon they'll be the first to welcom in the new millenium. Find out about the party they're planning at The New Millenium.
• Fiji Online has a monthly summary of island news.

GUAM

• Lonely Planet's Destination Guam, where Controversy comes first.
• Get the government take on things at The Official Guam USA Web Site.
• Welcome to Guam is similarly one-eyed, but quite informative.
• If you feel the need for speed, check out Guam's biggest business at Andersen Air Force Base On-line.
• Have a listen to Guam's 'rational voice of conservatism' (is there such a thing?) at The Jeff Evans Show.
• Welcome to Chamorro Land for recipes, photographs and community info about Guam's biggest ethnic group.

INDEPENDENT SAMOA

• If Robert Louis Stevenson had read Lonely Planet's Destination Independent Samoa he would have hot footed it to his beloved island instead of dithering around in the cold clammy Highlands for nearly 40 years.
• There is actually a lot of useful information on the Manumea homepage but you should check this site out just for the cute-as-a-button animated graphics.
• You want to find somewhere that gives you something Samoan to do every month of the year? Check out the Samoa Homepage. It will tell you what to do, when to do it, and how to do it.
• Ever wondered how the Polynesians manged to find heaven on earth? The answers are all on the Polynesian Voyaging Society site.
• Daughter of Samoa is a long but intriguing account by a native Upoluian, born in 1865. One for the history buffs and those who take delight in the smaller details.

KIRIBATI

• If you want to sprinkle coral reefs on your yam chowder, try Lonely Planet's Destination Kiribati.
• The appropriately named Kiribati is one of the most in-depth sites around, and check out the pictures of the wild costumes from Butaritari.
• Kiribati Demographics has plenty of info, if lacking a little wit.
• Christmas Island is a quick guide for yachties.
• To see where Mrs Stevenson's wild and crazy flag lives, try The Kingdom of Abemama.
• The Central Pacific Islands Project is a good read on culture, government and demographics.

MARSHALL ISLANDS

• Squeeze into that Bikini with the help of Lonely Planet's Destination Marshall Islands - you'll hardly need another reference site a'toll.
• For detailing such a small country, the Marshallese embassy's RMI Online is remarkably thick with current information.
• Infoplease.com offers a quick but current catalogue of the Marshalls' facts 'n' figures.
• For the low-down on the Bikini Atoll, do yourself a favor and visit the expansive webpage of the Trust Liaison for the People of Bikini, Jack Niedenthal. The author's Interviews with Bikinian Elders are captivating.
• For a slightly racier account of the atoll's attractions, visit Niederthal's Going Down on Sara - the first paragraph alone is worth the download.
• The US Dept of Energy's International Health Program website for the Marshall Islands may help put to rest any lingering worries over fallout from the atomic tests at Bikini Atoll. Maybe.

MICRONESIA

• Throw away that tie and go casual at Lonely Planet's Destination Micronesia
• For all your basic tourist info, have a look at Federated States of Micronesia
• Get the official government low-down at Welcome to the FSM Government
• Micronesia Zone has stacks of pictures - including a series on Elvis in Palau - as well as a bucketful of links
• Life may seem slow, but the Island Tribune will keep you up to date if anything does happen
• Dive Guide International has listings of live-aboards and dive companies all over the islands
• Get a grip on Micronesian history at Traditional Navigation in the Western Pacific - it's not as dry as it sounds.

NAURU

• Lonely Planet's Destination Nauru has searing white rocks, deep sea fishing and 'exploitation as art form'.
• Air Nauru's The Republic of Nauru has a lot of general information on the island, (oh, and you can also fly there).
• The Republic of Nauru page does even better.
• TED Case Studies is a good, in-depth look at the destruction of Nauru through mining.
• The Lycos Guide to Yaren has a good rundown on Nauru and lots of links.

NEW CALEDONIA

• If you look up from your jambes de grenouilles for long enough, you should find Lonely Planet's Destination New Caledonia useful.
• Hotels and Travel in New Caledonia comes down with everything from dengue fever to hotel reservations.
• If your French is up to gratte, try Nouvelle Calédonie Présentation Générale for a couple of pages of history and vital stats.
• Get the Kanaky perspective at Kanaky Online.
• Try Tourism South Pacific for a quick peek at where the tourist offices are.
• Political Resurces on the Net has a useful collection of links to get into the politics of the place.

NORTHERN MARIANA ISLANDS

• Make Lonely Planet's Destination Northern Mariana Islands your first stop on the SubWWWay.
• The Saipan Tribune gives the lowdown on local news, weather and other happenings every day.
• If reading the news isn't enough for you, try the Marianas CableVision Online Edition, with RealVideo feeds of its daily newscasts.
• The CNMI Guide is mainly commercial, but it's got a heap of useful info, a good virtual tour and a collection of excellent essays on the island's political and economic scene.
• The Northern Marianas' government has a fine site on the islands, including their history, geography and culture.
• The Marianas Visitors Bureau site borders on being a tourist brochure, but their travel tips section has a lot of useful info.
• Saipan.com has detailed historical and geographical sections and useful links.
• Uncle Phil's Virtual Tour of Saipan has some dodgy photos but they'll give you an idea of the place. There's also a bunch of practical info.
• Rota has its own page, featuring a 'mini photo gallery', a very incomplete rundown of activities on the island, and miscellaneous guff.
• Chamorro.com covers Chamorro culture and events throughout the region.
• Know your nightingale reed-warblers from your bridled white-eyes? You will, at the American Memorial Park page on Saipan's Wetland & Mangrove Forest.
• You can groove to Chamorro tunes, some of them from the Marianas, at the Island Guahan - though you'll need a RealAudio player to do it and a lot of it sounds more like a '70s lounge band than anything else.

PALAU

• Lonely Planet's Destination Palau is mask and flipper-free, and it won't give you the bends.
• The Palau Visitors Authority site will stuff you silly with all the touristy information you can manage. And, oh, those diving photos....
• Keep current with the Washington Post's link to Palau, where you'll find archived stories from the Post and the Associated Press.
• Remeliik's homepage is a kooky site, very personalized, with links to many Palauan sites and a few tidbits of travel information.
• A similar site that includes horoscopes, Palauan proverbs and lots of links to matters Palauan is Alexander Azuma's homepage.

PITCAIRN ISLANDS

• If you're feeling a little mutinous on the Bounty-ous, try Lonely Planet's Destination Pitcairn Islands.
• The place for those cute little wooden replicas of the Bounty is the Pitcairn Island Website - and great pictures!
• The Island of Pitcairn has more info on the island's history than you'd care to shake a ship in a bottle at.
• Even Henderson Island gets its own web site.
• Bob and Connie Wood wrote about it at In the Wake of the Bounty - The World Discoverer.

SOLOMON ISLANDS

• If you haven't already, try Lonely Planet's Destination Solomon Islands.
• This official tourist site is as good a place as any to start.
• A large and compelling site is A Marine Diary which includes pictures, diary entries and interview transcripts with JR Garrett, an American soldier who fought at Guadalcanal.
• For the official low-down on what's up in the Solomons, head to the Ministry of Commerce, Employment and Tourism.

TAHITI & FRENCH POLYNESIA

• If you blow your own trumpet on the SubWWWay - it naturally leads to Lonely Planet's Destination Tahiti & French Polynesia
• Tahiti Explorer overstretches itself providing everything from essential travel info to discounts on black pearls.
• Want to know the Tahitian fertility rate? French Polynesia has the territory's dull but vital stats.

TONGA

• If you're friendly and in a pacific mood, you'll end up at Lonely Planet's Destination Tonga.
• Welcome to the Royal Kingdom of Tonga! has fast facts, activities, hotels and a very cool picture of the king.
• Tonga is a somewhat skimpy rundown on Tonga's bare facts and figures.
• You can get into live chat or check the weather at Tonga Online.
• The Kava Bowl is the place for online chat about Tonga (and you can even send a virtual flower).

TUVALU

• Surf the Net and pick coral from between your toes at Lonely Planet's Destination Tuvalu.
• .TV is Tuvalu's first and most lucrative website. See how the Internet really can make a difference.
• Official tourist information and some nice pics are available at the Tuvalu Travel Channel.
• For a particularly unique view of Tuvalu, Fiji and Kiribati, check out Fullbright Scholar Timothy Kennedy's Mono Pacifica. It may not give you any insights, but it won't hurt, either.

VANUATU

• If you bang your own tamtam on the SubWWWay it naturally leads to Lonely PlanetÆs Destination Vanuatu
• The Vanuatu Cultural Centre promotes VanuatuÆs cultures and includes heaps of links on languages, blackbirding and volunteer work.
• Vanuatu Online has a good amount of information on tourism, accommodation, activities and more for travellers.
• The Republic of Vanuatu Home Page ranges widely over the islandsÆ history, geography and finances.
• The World Association of Travel Agencies has a quick and dirty rundown on facts for the tourist and a useful list of representatives abroad.
• The Vanuatu Tourist Information Office offers a reservations service via email.
• Stan Combs' Vanuatu - a Canadian's Perspective is a fabulous look at the country behind the tourist brochures, written by a chap who spent five years working there.