Christmas in the Pacific: Here is your 2025 flight price guide

Are you dreaming of a Pacific Christmas? Here’s your ultimate summer guide to flights around the festive season.

While travel memories may be priceless, your bank account might not agree. Here’s a price list for a Pacific getaway over Christmas.

We’ve rounded up prices and flight tips to help you plan your island escape in time for the holidays.

Cook Islands

Go from ‘Kia Ora’ to ‘Kia Orana’ and back for $1976 with Jetstar. Who needs luggage when you can comfortably wear your swimsuit under three layers of clothes? You might not be Cher, but you can celebrate Christmas twice if you catch the 8.05pm flight on 25 December, crossing the International Date Line to turn back time.

Photo/Cook Islands Tourism

Sāmoa

Sāmoa has the most expensive return trip, with non-stop flights to Faleolo International Airport for $2553. If you don’t mind a three-hour stopover in Nadi on the way home, Fiji Airways can get you back for $57 less. That’s just enough time to enjoy a breakfast of babakau (fried dough) or topoi (coconut milk dumplings). Be sure to add this to your holiday itinerary as those passport pages fill up.

Niue

If you want to reach The Rock before Christmas, you’re out of luck. There are no available seats from Auckland until 27 December. An economy seat on Air New Zealand costs $1032, excluding luggage. Flights only operate on Fridays, so you’ll need a Christmas miracle to ensure that returning flights on 2 January fill up, forcing you to extend your return to 9 January, which currently costs $1077. Don’t forget to take advantage of free Wi-Fi across the atoll for remote work, but just be aware that stronger signals may come at an extra cost.

Fiji

Travel to Fiji for a return fare of $1788 on Fiji Airways. Enjoy activities like partying on Cloud 9, swimming at the Sabeto Falls, and trying the Sleeping Giant Zipline. Planning to shop at the Namaka Municipal Market? Add $35 each way for checked luggage. Your family and friends will appreciate gifts of handmade crafts, carvings, and jewellery.

Tonga

While the Friendly Islands have a population almost equal to the number of Tongans living in New Zealand, many will be heading home for the summer to reconnect with loved ones. Return flights with Fiji Airways cost $2247, or you can take a detour with a 12-hour Sydney stopover via Qantas for $4564. You might find your cousins in Australia feeling smug about their higher incomes, so use that as an opportunity to persuade them to treat you to dinner.

Solomon Islands

Say ‘Halo olketa’ in Honiara with a flexible ticket for $2916. There are no direct flights, so you’ll need to stopover in Brisbane or Nadi. Most flights take about eight hours, giving you enough time to enjoy Eggs Benedict in Auckland before departure, and then dine on poi (mashed taro root) and lap lap (grated yam with coconut milk, baked in banana leaves) in the evening.

Tokelau

Tokelau has no airport, so you must fly to Apia, Sāmoa, and then board the MV Mataliki. The government vessel departs fortnightly, but schedules are flexible and must be booked in advance, with priority given to locals. A return fare on the boat is about $306, giving you plenty of time to relax, as the journey can take more than 24 hours to reach the closest atoll.

Tahiti

Fly the farthest for the best price this Christmas. Mix-and-match tickets can get you to Papeete, French Polynesia, for $1564, which includes 23 kilograms of checked luggage. Opt for a 3.15am return flight with Air New Zealand to save $93, but who needs sleep when you’re in paradise?

Note: Prices were correct at the time of publication. The search criteria were for an adult economy ticket from Auckland Airport for flights between 20 December 2025 and 10 January 2026, give or take a day.