It turns out we were the first post COVID cruisers into Vava’u on the island of Neiafu, Tonga on 7 October 2022 –  Yay us!   We had emailed our notice of arrival form at the time of our departure from Samoa, to info@customs.gov.to.

Within an hour, we got an email acknowledgement of receipt from the customs official, cc’d to an immigration official. The same happened when we updated our ETA the day before arrival, this time with acknowledgment emails from both customs and immigration people. They also confirmed the desired procedure on arrival in Neiafu as described below.

We called Vava’u Marine & Port from two miles out of Neiafu on VHF Channel 16. They answered quickly and switched us to VHF Channel 14.

They instructed us to tie up to the main wharf at the west side in front of a container, lined up bow towards the main shore. This area was fenced off from the rest of the wharf.

We approached the wharf and a dock hand wearing HiViz directed us into position and caught our lines. We slung fenders horizontally to protect from the hard rubber wharf bumpers, 1.5 feet wide and spaced well apart.

Half an Hour to Fill out Forms

The dock hand escorted me to the Customs people in a wharf building. They sighted our COVID vaccination documents, passports, customs clearance from last port of call, ship’s papers and made photocopies. It took me half an hour to fill out the forms, many of which were very similar to the pre-arrival form and to each other.

This done, they sent me back to the boat and the quarantine official arrived a few minutes later and boarded to sit with us in the cockpit. Another similar form and the official walked me back to see Immigration in a wharf building next to the first one I’d been in. This visit was similar to the Immigration one but with less paperwork and a $20 fee ( local currency – the Paanga). They advised me to return with the money and collect my clearance documents and receipt after I’d been to the nearby ATM.

I returned to the boat and the Health Official arrived a few minutes later, boarded the boat, again only to the cockpit. His form was similar to many of the previous ones. His fee was $100 (Paanga). He drove me in his vehicle a couple hundred metres to the closest ATM, gave me a Health Clearance, a receipt for the fee and a ride back to the boat. Then I paid the Customs fee and we were done.

Quick and Easy

Total time from tie up to casting off with clearance papers and receipts in hand was 2 1/2 hours. Another cruiser arrived as we were casting off and were processed with similar efficiency.

Interesting aside – We decided that all the officials must have gone to the old 1980s version of US Customs & Immigration charm school. No smiles or unnecessary friendliness until we were finished each stage in the process, followed by plenty of smiles and well wishing once we were done with each official.

Other Notes

The Cruiser Net on VHF Channel 26 is still hosted Monday to Saturday at 08h30, by a Canadian called Bear from a local deli, I don’t recall the name. It was upbeat, friendly and informative.

VHF Channel 26 is widely monitored but is a hailing channel alternative that leaves VHF Channel 16 clear for urgent or emergency radio traffic. We were asked to switch to VHF Channel 68 (for example) for casual radio traffic.

Oh, and don’t forget the quick response and heart emoji we got from the Tonga Tourism FB messenger person. We’re still smiling about that one.

Al Tattersall
SV Ten Gauge

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About the Author:

Al and his partner Lucinda are Canadian-New Zealanders and who left their home in Nelson NZ in 2018 and sailed to Alaska via French Polynesia and Hawaii. COVID travel restrictions slowed their return, so they bided their time in Alaska and British Columbia until the borders opened up more freely this year. Their next destination is the Bay of Islands in New Zealand and then home to Nelson at the top of South Island. They are sailing a Ganley Tara 39, a steel monohull built in 1978.

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The opinions expressed in this article are the author’s own and do not reflect the views of Noonsite.com or World Cruising Club.

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