Top 10 Marinas in the Pacific Islands
The Pacific Islands passage is one of sailing's great adventures — a 10,000 km arc from Panama or Mexico across the Pacific to French Polynesia, the Cook Islands, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, New Caledonia, and Australia. The trade winds blow reliably from the east and southeast between April and October, providing the perfect downwind conditions that have made this the world's most popular bluewater cruising route. Arrival in each island group is a ceremony of customs clearance, anchoring in lagoons of impossible turquoise, and provisioning from roadside markets. The marina infrastructure is modest compared to the Mediterranean but covers the essential waypoints.
Port Moselle, Noumea, New Caledonia
New Caledonia's capital is the unquestioned hub of South Pacific cruising. Port Moselle Marina, the largest in the region, offers 550 berths in one of the Pacific's finest natural harbours, sheltered by a barrier reef that extends 1,600 km — the world's second longest. The city is thoroughly French in character: baguettes, wine, and charcuterie are available from the Marché Municipal, and the Musée de la Nouvelle-Calédonie provides excellent context for the Kanak culture and the island's turbulent colonial history. French bureaucracy governs clearance, so patience is required.
Port Denarau Marina, Fiji
Port Denarau, on the western side of Viti Levu near Nadi, is the main marina gateway for the Fiji archipelago and the Pacific's most-used vessel staging area between Australia/New Zealand and the Americas. The 150-berth marina has a resort hotel, restaurants, a chandlery, and organised ferry transfers to the outer islands. Fiji's sailing season runs from May to October, avoiding the cyclone belt's active period; the Yasawa and Mamanuca groups to the northwest offer world-class anchorages in turquoise lagoons.
Vuda Point Marina, Fiji
Sixteen kilometres from Nadi, Vuda Point is Fiji's oldest and most respected boatyard marina, well-placed for cyclone storage (the Fiji cyclone season runs November to April). The 220-berth marina and hardstand facility cater specifically to long-term Pacific cruisers hauling out between seasons. The boatyard offers antifoul, engineering, rigging, and electronics repair, and the social atmosphere among the cruising community is notably strong. The traditional village of Viseisei, Fiji's most historically significant settlement, is within walking distance.
Marina Taina, Papeete, French Polynesia
Tahiti is the administrative centre of French Polynesia and the first landfall for most westbound Pacific crossings. Marina Taina, 5 km west of Papeete city centre, offers 350 berths and is the main yachting facility, though the city's main quay also accommodates visiting boats. Provisioning in Tahiti is superb by Pacific standards: the Carrefour hypermarket and the covered roulotte food trucks in Papeete are legendary among cruisers. The charter industry centred on Raiatea, 200 km to the northwest in the Society Islands, provides a high quality of marine services.
Raiatea Careening Club, French Polynesia
Raiatea's protected lagoon, shared with Tahaa island, is the epicentre of French Polynesian bareboat and skippered chartering. The Raiatea Careening Club and nearby bases operated by The Moorings, Sunsail, and Dream Yacht Charter provide hundreds of charter vessels. Bora Bora's iconic silhouette and the turquoise lagoon lie just 30 km to the northwest, accessible by daysail. Raiatea's Marae Taputapuātea, a complex of ancient Polynesian temples on the lagoon shore, was designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 2017.
Opua Marina, Bay of Islands, New Zealand
New Zealand is the southern terminus of the Pacific cruising circuit and the staging ground for the annual ARC Pacific and World ARC rallies. Opua, in the Bay of Islands, is the official port of entry for most yachts arriving from the Pacific. The small marina has basic facilities but its customs clearance infrastructure is excellent, and the Bay of Islands — with 144 islands, excellent anchorages, and temperatures mild enough for year-round sailing — is one of the finest cruising grounds in the southern hemisphere.
Suva Harbour, Fiji
The capital of Fiji is less used by cruising yachts than Lautoka or Vuda Point but the Royal Suva Yacht Club, founded in 1904, provides affordable moorings and a social hub. The city's market — one of the finest in the Pacific for fresh produce — and the Fiji Museum, which houses an outrigger canoe and artefacts from the HMS Bounty mutineers, are within walking distance of the quay.
Neiafu, Tonga (Vava'u)
The Vava'u group in northern Tonga is universally celebrated as one of the Pacific's most beautiful cruising destinations: 50 islands within a protected lagoon, consistently warm trade winds, and some of the clearest water in the world. The Neiafu town quay and the adjacent Moorings charter base offer basic services. Humpback whales use the Vava'u lagoon as their calving ground from July to October, making whale watching from the yacht's cockpit a realistic expectation.
Port Vila, Vanuatu
Port Vila, capital of Vanuatu on the island of Efate, offers a well-protected harbour and a yacht club with basic facilities. Vanuatu's 80-island archipelago is geologically active: Tanna Island's Mount Yasur, an active stratovolcano with an open lava lake, can be visited by road from Port Resolution anchorage. Clearance in Vanuatu is more complex than other Pacific nations — up to four government departments must visit the boat — but the service is ultimately efficient and officials are friendly.
Mooloolaba Marina, Queensland, Australia
For yachts completing the Pacific circuit and entering Australian waters through the Coral Sea, Mooloolaba on the Sunshine Coast is a well-equipped first port with 350 berths, a chandlery, a travel hoist, and excellent quarantine facilities for biological products carried aboard. The town has a supermarket, marine services, and easy access to Brisbane's larger repair facilities 100 km south. The Whitsunday Islands, 600 km north, provide Australia's finest inshore sailing in the lee of the Great Barrier Reef.
Explore on the map
The Pacific Islands passage traces one of the world's great sailing arcs — from Central America through French Polynesia, Tonga, Fiji, Vanuatu, and New Caledonia to Australia. Use the interactive map to identify waypoints, plan island-hopping routes, and understand the distances between each island group. Explore the Pacific Islands on the map to plan your bluewater Pacific adventure.