Wallis et Futuna

Wallis and Futuna is a three-island French territory between Samoa and Fiji. The administration and international airport are on Wallis Island, while Futuna and Alofi 155 miles southwest are largely agricultural. The only regular access to these little-known Polynesian isles is on Aircalin from Fiji and New Caledonia to Wallis. A smaller plane links Wallis to Futuna several times a week. Mata Utu village on Wallis has all the trappings of a French colonial capital, including a massive Catholic cathedral, gendarmerie, courthouse, and territorial assembly. In the southwest corner of Wallis are circular Lake Lalolalo and the ruins of a 15th ...

Wallis and Futuna is a three-island French territory between Samoa and Fiji. The administration and international airport are on Wallis Island, while Futuna and Alofi 155 miles southwest are largely agricultural. The only regular access to these little-known Polynesian isles is on Aircalin from Fiji and New Caledonia to Wallis. A smaller plane links Wallis to Futuna several times a week. Mata Utu village on Wallis has all the trappings of a French colonial capital, including a massive Catholic cathedral, gendarmerie, courthouse, and territorial assembly. In the southwest corner of Wallis are circular Lake Lalolalo and the ruins of a 15th century Tongan fort at Talietumu. Futuna Island is notable for the Church of St. Pierre Chanel, Polynesia's first Catholic saint, who was martyred here in 1841. Many of the inhabitants of Futuna have gardens on uninhabited Alofi Island, just across a narrow channel from Futuna's airstrip. The snorkeling off Alofi is good and one can hike along the coast to limestone caves. Very few travelers make it this far.

About the Expert

David Stanley is the author of the Moon guidebooks Fiji, Tahiti, and South Pacific. He has been writing about the Pacific since 1979.