Moon Handbooks South Pacific [Paperback]

The latest in the batch of Moon Handbooks releases proves again that Moon is one of the finest travel series around. What sets Moon apart from most guidebooks is the attention to detail, and more importantly, a respect for the topic.

From lagoon swimming in the Cook Islands to witnessing the race of the banana bearers in the Heiva i Tahiti festival, travelers will find the best of the South Pacificboth popular and obscurein this guidebook. Moon Handbooks South Pacific provides in-depth coverage of outdoor recreation, with specifics on swimming, diving, yachting, kayaking, biking, hiking, camping, climbing, caving, and horseback riding. Complete with helpful maps, photographs and illustrations, as well as useful advice on practicalities such as food, entertainment, shopping, visas, money, health, packing, and inter-island travel, this guidebook offers the tools you need for a uniquely personal experience.

Imitators abound, but Moon Handbooks South Pacific was the first - and is still the best - detailed, reliable source of information on travel around hundreds of Polynesian and Melanesian islands. It's loaded with insider information about places on and off the beaten track, not just the hot spots. In this edition of his recognized masterwork, David Stanley provides:

Chapters on American Samoa, Cook Islands, Easter Island, Fiji, French Polynesia, New Caledonia, Niue, Pitcairn, Samoa, Solomon Islands, Tokelau, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, and Wallis & Futuna

Unbiased evaluations of guesthouses, campgrounds, hostels, hotels, and resorts on all the islands

Practical advice on food, entertainment, shopping, visas, money, health, packing, and interisland travel

Special attention to outdoor recreation: swimming, diving, snorkeling, yachting, kayaking, biking, hiking, camping, climbing, caving, horseback riding, and more

Ecotravel information: profiles of local flora and fauna, environmental issues, and ecotour providers

147 detailed maps and charts, 976 pages --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

David Stanley has spent much of the past three decades on the road. He has crossed six continents overland and visited 175 of the planet's 245 countries and territories. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

The Pacific, greatest of oceans, has an area exceeding that of all dry land on the planet. Covering more than a third of earth's surface - as much as the Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic oceans combined - it's the largest geographical feature in the world. Its awesome 165,384,000 square km (up to 16,000 km wide and 11,000 km long) have an average depth of around 4,000 meters.

The liquid continent of Oceania is divided between Melanesia with several chains of relatively large, mountainous landmasses, and Polynesia consisting of scattered groups of volcanic and coral islands. It's believed that some 30,000 islands dot the Pacific basin - more than are found in all other oceans and seas combined.

There's something about the South Pacific islands that has always fascinated humans and made them want to learn what's there. Each one is a cosmos with a character of its own. This book is about some of those islands. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.