HEADS UP - Some links on Breeze Around The World are affiliate links. This means if you choose to make a purchase through one of the links I provided, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. These earning help me keep the blog going, thank you for your support!
When I booked my resort in Tonga, I had no idea what to expect.
I am, by nature, a budget traveler. Hostels, guesthouses and cheap airbnbs are my typical haunts. But this summer when I went to the Kingdom of Tonga, I couldn’t help but book a few nights at Matafonua Lodge. This was largely in part to a glowing review from my favorite travel blogger Never Ending Footsteps.
And when I saw the price, $130 USD for a fale (fa-lay), I couldn’t say no!
While this is certainly more expensive than even a private room at a hostel, staying at a resort doesn’t have to totally break the bank in Tonga. You can stay in your own sliver of beach side paradise for less than the price of a Marriott Hotel in Seattle.
I had seen a few photos online but I was trying to go into the “resort” experience uninfluenced, and because of that I had a few surprises in store for me!
I spent over 2 weeks in Tonga, 6 days of that being at the beautiful Matafonua in Ha’apai. I paid for this trip entirely myself so you can read ahead knowing I’m sharing my honest opinions.
I’ll go over the top beach resorts in Tonga you should consider for your dream getaway, as well as travel logistics, activities, food and culture. Read it all or jump around using the table of contents!
There are well over 20 inhabited islands in Tonga and while not all of them have tourist accommodation, you’re sure to find a spot that suits you.
There are 3 main island chains in Tonga: Tongatapu, Ha’apai and Vava’u. For that true South Pacific feel, I would look at either Ha’apai or Vava’u as they offer the most options for pristine beach resorts.
I knew I wanted to go to at least 2 island chains (see my last minute trip planning for more about why I picked Tongatapu and Ha’apai) and stay at a few different types of accommodation. After reading up on Ha’apai and Matafonua Lodge, I dreamed of staying in their beachside fales.
Matafonua is a mid-priced resort, as it is not all inclusive and the rooms are private but with a shared bathroom for all guests. All snorkel gear, kayaking and bikes are free to use at Matafonua and they have wifi (which can be hard to find in Tonga!). For $130 you will be in a picturesque beach bungalow aka a fale, and while the bathroom is shared you’ll fall asleep listening to the ocean. A continental breakfast is also included.
During the low season (Oct – Mar) the rooms are just $115, but you’ll just miss out on all the whales. If you’re in Tonga July – Sept and want to swim with whales, you’re in luck as Matafonua runs an excellent whale swimming program. Guests get a small discount!
To inquire about booking, email them at [email protected]
If you’re curious as to what a bit more money can get you right down the road, Matafonua’s sister property is Sandy Beaches Resort. For $375 usd per night during the whale season, you will be in a private room with a private bathroom right next to the beach. Dinner is included with your stay in addition to breakfast, and you get all the same free amenities (wifi, bikes, kayaks and snorkels).
To inquire about booking, email them at [email protected]
There are also beautiful beach resorts on other remote islands, giving you even more of a luxury getaway feel. Serenity Beaches Resort offers private bungalows for just $250 usd per night, right on the beach. Listen to the waves crash and watch as the whales swim by!
Looking at a resort for those on a tighter budget, there’s the beautiful Diana Resort in Ha’apai. You’ll get a fale right on the beach for two people for just $73 usd!! That includes breakfast! While I didn’t go here myself, our friends did and the photos look amazing! They are one of the only female run businesses in the area (not to mention Tongan owned!) and they also offer whale swims during the high season.
I’ve chosen to highlight some of the amazing resorts in the Ha’apai chain because that’s where I personally traveled. If you’re hoping to go up to Vava’u, the resort I considered staying at was Mystic Sands Resort.
An entire bungalow with a king bed and continental breakfast included is $359 usd per night. While we ultimately didn’t make it up to Vava’u, Mystic Sands looks like the perfect getaway!
Getting There
Now that you have your dream resort picked out, a quick word on getting there. If you can, let the resort deal with the only local airline, Lulutai airlines.
This airline is infamous for canceling flights, changing times and just flat out getting suspended. All without warning their patrons. Thankfully they let you change your domestic flights for free which is a perk.
I paid the extra $20 to have Matafonua book my domestic flights, and I’m so glad I did! We got stuck on the island of ‘Eua for 5 extra days and would have missed our domestic flights. But a quick call to Matafonua and we got moved right over to a new flight.
Many, many people have spent extra days in Tonga due to travel logistics within the country. Book flexible international flights and make sure you book in buffer days on Tongatapu when getting to and fro the outer islands.
If you choose to take the ferry, just know the schedule is never posted more than a week in advance and you can’t buy tickets online. The main contact form for ferry services like Tofa Ramsey Shipping is through their facebook.
Don’t let the horror stories scare you off! Tonga is a beautiful place full of friendly, laid back people. You will eventually get where you need to go, it just might be on island time.
Matafonua Review
So what was it like to stay at one of Tonga’s most popular resorts for a week? When you book with Matafonua, you can pretty much turn your brain off once you get into the pre-arranged airport shuttle. They will pick you up from the Ha’apai airport and drive you 6 miles to the tip of the island, where paradise awaits.
My jaw almost hit the sand, I was so shook at where we had landed ourselves. We were greeted by the owner Nina and she gave us a little introduction to our stay. Our bags were even dropped off at our fale! I felt totally spoiled!
The resort sits at the tip of the island, so there are panoramic sandy beaches and a beautiful sprawling lagoon right outside our door. Lanky coconut trees framed my view as I looked out at the dazzling blue water. I know I’m laying it on thick here, but it really was that spectacular. I hate to bring it back to money, but you really do get what you pay for here!
I am constantly trying to get in the ocean (seriously I snorkeled every day, sometimes twice a day) and Matafonua has some of the best snorkeling I’ve EVER done.
The snorkeling was incredible but there is a pretty strong current that flows out of the lagoon and will spit you around the tip of the island. I love everything about being in the water, but honestly this current kinda scared me. We were told our intro speech that if we got caught in it to just swim towards shore and eventually we’d end up back on the beach. The “left” side of the resort outside of the lagoon had no current, so if we got pulled over there we’d be fine.
The current was weakest during low tide but it was pretty much present all 6 days we were there.
With that being said, my biggest complaint was that sometimes the current would sweep me along too fast and I didn’t get to look at all the fish I wanted to! HA! Seriously, the snorkeling is unreal here.
There were vibrant corals, hundreds of fish and amazing invertebrates. I couldn’t get enough of the biodiversity! If you are an ocean lover and you wished you had fins, this will become your new happy place.
Not to mention that the food is great, staff is friendly and the owners make you feel like you know them well! They also run an amazing whale watching/swimming trip which lowkey changed my life.
Local Tongan Culture
I’ll be honest, it can be hard to get a sense of the true Tongan culture when staying at a resort.
You can easily stay at any number of resort islands and bask in the sun, toes in the sand with an itty bitty bathing suit on. But this is the fabricated Tonga meant to cater to you, the tourist. If you want to see how people actually live, what they actually eat and a real town that doesn’t look like the set of White Lotus, you’ve got to get away from the resort.
We spent the first 9 days of our trip on ‘Eua where we hitchhiked, wore modest clothes, went to Tongan church, shopped in the grocery store and got chased by a stray dog.
Our perfectly constructed stay on the beaches of Matafonua felt like a different world. There weren’t even any stray dogs around (thankfully!) to remind us of the non-resort world. The owners have started doing a Friday night traditional Tongan meal and floorshow to help bring some of the authentic Tonga to the resort world.
Tongan Floorshow
I thought the floorshow would feel performative and cringey but I honestly was surprised at how much I liked it!
The local school puts on the floorshow as a fundraiser to help rebuild after the last hurricane. And while it was performative on many levels, by the end of the night we were all whooping and hollering and dancing together. Some of the performers didn’t look too stoked, but many of the kids genuinely seemed excited to be on the floor dancing and showing off the traditional dress.
I guess the floorshow has become somewhat of an event for friends and parents because I noticed a ton of locals crowded in the back when I got up to use the restroom.
A short video I took of the floor show at Matafonua! It was so fun!
Pangai, Ha'apai
The main town of Pangai is 9 miles away from Matafonua. On a bike it took us just 1 hour (the island is flat) to get there. Once there we were set on spending our money at some Tongan owned business. Matafanua has been owned by a truly lovely British couple for the last 16 years, so while they do a lot of the community, we wanted to support some folks in town directly.
We went to 4 different grocery stores where we were reminded of how bleak the food selection is and how good we were eating at Matafonua. Of the 4 grocery stores we went to, every single one was owned by a Chinese family.
China sends a ton of money to Tonga and they must have a good visa program with each other, because this was common on all 3 islands we visited. I don’t know anything about the local politics, but I tried to support Tongan owned business where I could!
In town, we bought ice cream cones and had a really nice chat with the owners there, who gave us a more honest perspective of living on the island. On the 9 mile bike ride back we went by loose horses, lone cows tied up on the side of the road and we even got barked at by a dog again.
The resort is idyllic but it’s designed like that for your ultimate get away experience. If you go there and don’t set foot in town (which many don’t) that is 100% okay! But just remember the way you’re living for a week in that fale is not how the people serving you dinner are living.
Tonga Resort Dining
Circling back to the food – oh my gosh was it good! The continental breakfast was very well stocked with cereals, toast, fruit and banana bread. There was a large lunch menu including pizzas, fish tacos, burgers, a garden burger, salads, ota ika (traditional raw fish), milk shakes and smoothies.
Every night you had the option of ordering something from the aforementioned menu or the dinner special. When we were there this included the Tongan feast, BBQ night, bean stew, lobster night, mahi mahi and curry.
Yeah, we were eating good.
But this was my first time doing resort life, and I didn’t realize how quickly the food would add up. We were on a budget in Tonga (of sorts) and I had planned on us cooking for ourselves most nights. It didn’t even occur to me that this would not be possible at the resort. Even if we could have made top ramen in our room at night, dinner at Matafonua was a fun social aspect we weren’t going to give up.
We enjoyed a late breakfast, had a snack in our room (PB and apples anyone) for lunch and then rolled up to dinner very hungry. Would I recommend this method to people? Ehhh not really, but it goes to show you can splash out on luxury on your own terms.
Included Activities at a Resort in Tonga
There was so much to do at Matafonua! From the unforgettable whale swim to hiring out horses for half a day (something we didn’t have time to do but wanted to!) to snorkeling, you can make yourself a jam packed schedule. Or you can totally just lay out on the beach too.
Included in your stay is access to an amazing marine reserve for snorkeling, stand up paddle boarding, kayaking, biking and if you have sailing experience you can even use their hobie cat. What we spent on the room we totally made up for in free activities.
It’s been 2 weeks since I’ve gotten back “home” to New Zealand and I still can’t believe this trip happened. Especially not pampering ourselves at Matafonua. I wasn’t sure a trip like this was even possible for me, I thought you had to save tropical beach getaways for your honeymoon! But Tonga is the perfect South Pacific dream vacation.
It felt so special staying at Matafonua; we forgot what day of the week it was and adjusted to island time. I would wholeheartedly recommend staying here!
Just a heads up – due to their popularity Matafonua is booked years in advance during the whale season. We were able to get a last minute stay here because I sent them an email with a range of dates asking if they had any cancellations. Thankfully they had a 5 night spot but I had to book all 5 nights (oh darn).
If you have flexibility in your schedule you may be able to get in at the last minute like us! If not, they are well worth the wait!
Get your dream trip started by booking with Matafonua at [email protected] or at another beautiful resort like Mystic Sands Resort.
Wherever you may go in Tonga you are sure to have an unforgettable time!
Bree is a travel writer who specializes in adventure travel – from backpacking guides to ocean escapades! She has worked in marine based tourism in Alaska and in ocean outdoor education on Catalina Island. She is currently living with her partner in New Zealand where she is working and backpacking.
I pay for everything myself – this post contains affiliate links. If you book through one of my links, I will receive a small commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for using them as it helps keep the blog going!
Ahoy! I’m Bree and I’ve started this blog to help you plan your next great outdoor adventure. With a background in marine science, I’ve got an aptitude for all things ocean, but you’ll find land based adventures here too! Everything you see here is based on my own travel experience and paid for myself. I hope you stick around!
Pingback: Planning a Trip to Tonga: My #1 Piece of Advice
Pingback: How to Plan a Trip to Tonga... Last Minute Tips - Breeze Around The World
Pingback: Tonga Budget 2025: How to Save Money in Tonga - Breeze Around The World
Pingback: Is Tonga Worth Visiting: 6 Things to Know Before You Go
Pingback: Is it Easy to be Vegetarian in Tonga (2025)? - Breeze Around The World
Pingback: What Fish Can You See Snorkeling in Tonga? - Breeze Around The World
Comments are closed.