In April, I went on my second famil since starting at Reho Travel. The famil was organised by New Caledonia Tourism.

My famil started early in the morning we had to be at the airport at around 0600 – flight turned out to be a Qantas aircraft. Due to the early hours in the morning I don’t remember much of the flight journey to New Caledonia. Once we arrived at Noumea, we were stuck at the airport for ages as there was only one line for Foreigners, and there were about 80 other Australian travel consultants. Out of the airport, we boarded our bus according to where we were staying for the night. My group ended up staying at the Le Surf Hotel. We checked in and quickly got changed and met in the restaurant for some yummy seafood buffet. After lunch we headed to the cultural centre. The cultural centre Tjibaou is definitely worth seeing before you head off to the other islands or start working on your tan. The cultural centre did teach us the customs and the traditions of the island and did benefit us later on when we travelled to the Island of Lifou. First night was lovely we began our night by drinking some $15.00 Duty Free Vodka and headed out for a bite to eat at a lovely beer pub/restaurant. Here we all bonded and had many laughs. We all then headed to an over water bungalow bar where we had a few more drinks.

Second day was an early start as we travelled to Lifou Island. Lifou Island is the biggest island. It was such a surprise as all the houses were huts and it was quite different to Noumea. We first visited the Chief of the village to ask permission to visit Lifou. We went into a hut where the chief spoke in French about the history of Lifou. Once this was over we had lunch at Hotel Le Servigny. We did a quick inspection as well, not something I would recommend. It is more of a motel, small and old. After lunch we headed to a home stay hostel. This hostel is located right by the beach which was beautiful. The only problems were the wasps that were nesting in the main hut. Finally, we were able to go to the famous beach Luengoni Beach, where were able to enjoy the sun, the clear water and some much needed free time. We left the beach and headed to our accommodation at the Oasis De Kiamu. Oasis De Kiamu is small but clean and cheap. Food was beautiful and service was great. They will be renovating the property next year although it is just fine the way it is. I recommend this hotel.

Next day we ended up checking out the Vanilla Plantation. We hiked up a little mountain where the guide showed us all the herbal plants and the growing process of the vanilla pod. After this, the group forced our lovely guide to give us free time for some more snorkelling. After snorkelling we ended up at another hotel called Drehu Hotel where we had lunch. Drehu Hotel is very nicely located and I think is the only decent hotel on Lifou. Drehu is not a 4 or 5 star but is 2.5. They will be renovating early next year. After lunch we went to the airport to catch our flight back to Noumea. Back in Noumea, we checked into Ramada Plaza. We had a quick dinner and went out for some drinks at the over water bungalow pub.

Next morning was Anzac day so we attended the memorial service. After this, we headed back to Ramada for lunch – we met up with all the other agents who went to various islands. We listened to their experience and their thoughts on the islands. Turns out most people spent their time lying on the beach and snorkelling. Our group had two hours in total on the beach and the rest inspecting hotels. I was a bit upset but at least I learnt everything about Lifou and Noumea and you get to read about the benefits of my experience with the hotel reviews below. After lunch we headed to the Yacht Club where we saw the charter boats. We then had some free time for some shopping. Shopping was not worth it though.

The last night we had a Gala Dinner on Duck Island. We took a water taxi to Duck Island where we had dinner and a dance. We all had to perform a show as a group to show the other groups our experience on the Island we travelled to. Our group made up a song and a dance. After Duck Island everyone partied on till early hours in the morning. An hours sleep and we were up and boarded our bus to the Airport and back home to Sydney.

This famil trip was a great experience. Very busy and was exhausted by the end but I have learnt a lot about Noumea and Lifou Island. Beautiful country but it is an expensive country. 

HOTEL INSPECTIONS

Le Surf Hotel
Is located across from the beaches - la Baie des Citrons et la Baie de l'Anse Vata and a short walk to restaurants and bars. For a 3 star it has a great location all the facilities required on a holiday. It does need a few refurbishments but is suitable for budget conscious travellers. The room is spacious and has all amenities most 5 star hotels provide.










Ramada Plaza Noumea
This is the newest property in Noumea and is located on Anse Vata Bay – resort area of Noumea. 4 star property I would say a 5 star. The whole hotel is beautiful and modern. Has two restaurants. The Le 360 degree Restaurant is amazing, the only restaurant that is revolving with a panoramic view of the city and the lagoon. Rooms are very spacious with all modern furniture’s. This is more of a serviced apartment as all room come with a kitchen with all cooking facilities. It does not have a resort feel to the hotel. I believe this property would be suitable for corporate travellers or company conferences as they have a beautiful business centre/meeting rooms etc., This property is also kid friendly – they have a kids club which is located in one of the Deluxe Suite rooms. Ramada was the only property that seemed to cater for the kids.

This is my favourite property because of the cleanliness, location, the great service, and the lovely rooms. You get all the hotel service such as restaurants and business centre etc., yet you get kitchen and laundry in all rooms – just like an apartment – the apartment style is great as restaurants are very pricey in Noumea - you can have a night in cooking some nice home meal.






New Caledonia Hotels and Resorts – Nouvata Park Resort
2 star property to 5 star properties all located on one premises.

Le Pacifique
2 Star – Suitable for backpackers/students. This is located on the back of the hotel. Very simple but has all the things you need and is definitely for budget conscious people. I think it’s great as you get to use all the facilities of the hotel that the 5star 4 star guests have access to. Plus, when you are in New Caledonia you hardly spend time in your room.

Le Nouvata
This is my favourite over the Le Surf property, which has the same star rating. The rooms are clean and slightly more modern. Not as spacious as the Le Surf but I like the whole feel of this Resort that it is definitely the winner between Le Surf.

Le Park
4 star - This is the most expensive property out of the 3 in the Resort. I was a bit shocked, as I definitely prefer the rooms in Le Nouvata to the rooms in Le Park. The rooms here has a bit of a 70s feel in a not so nice way…it definately needs some refurbishment. I really do not recommend this.

Le Meridien Noumea – 5 Stars
This is the only 5 star property that I recall is in Noumea. It definately has a nice resort feel to it. Resort is enormous and spacious. The pool is beautifully located right by the beach. This is my favourite hotel in Noumea. Property has several restaurants in different class and style you feel as though you don’t have to leave the resort. Not central as other hotels but still I believe this is the only hotel I have seen that had the luxurious holiday feel to and would definitely recommend this property for all travellers heading to Noumea for a few nights before heading to the islands.

Le Promenade
4 star Serviced Apartment
This property is still under construction but is absolutely stunning. Located right by the beach close restaurants/shops/bars and club. All apartments are very spacious and the rates are pretty reasonable. 3 Bedroom sleeps 6 people approximately pays around 100$ a night (based on the rate given at inspection). The premises will in near future have shops and restaurants. Very modern and top of the range accessories – beautiful property.