'Eua & Port 'Ohonua

'Eua is the southernmost of the Tonga Islands, about 10 miles south-east of Tongatapu, 10.5 miles long and rising to 311 m near its south end. The anchorage is English Road, an open roadstead off 'Ohonua on the north-west side. NGA says it's in 46 m and unsafe in westerly winds, and Customs lists 'Ohonua as a port of entry.

At a glance

Getting in

From Tongatapu. LINZ chart TO 503 covers the run from Nuku'alofa Harbour to Port 'Ohonua, with a 1:10,000 inset of 'Ohonua. Use it with TO 501.

Eua Iki. If you come round Tongatapu's east end, NGA says breaking reefs run about 0.8 mile south-south-east from Eua Iki, 3 miles east-north-east of Tongatapu's east point. Keep at least 1.5 miles off its east and south sides.

From the south. NGA says 'Eua makes a good landfall when approaching Tongatapu from the south, but to take care. Kalau, a 37 m islet, lies 2.5 miles west-south-west of 'Eua's south end.

Anchoring

• English Road. NGA gives an anchorage in 46 m about 0.3 mile off 'Ohonua village, on the north-west side of the island. LINZ chart data in OpenStreetMap marks an anchorage just off the wharf.
• Westerlies. NGA says the anchorage is unsafe in westerly winds. Watch the forecast and be ready to leave for Nuku'alofa.

Clearing in

'Ohonua as a port of entry. Tonga Customs' ports-of-entry page (read 28 October 2026) lists Nafanua, 'Ohonua, for 'Eua. Name it as your port of arrival on the advance notice and confirm Customs, Immigration and Quarantine can attend before you go.

• Tell Customs 24 hours ahead. Tonga Customs' Advance Notice of Arrival (small craft) form must reach Customs at least 24 hours before your ETA, by email or fax (the addresses are on the form). If you can't send it electronically, the form says you may give notice another way, for example by phone. It asks for crew and passport details, previous ports, firearms and any animals on board.
• Call on VHF 16 before you arrive. The form asks you to call Maritime Radio on VHF 16 before reaching your nominated Customs port, to confirm or update your ETA.
• Office hours and fees (dated). Customs works 8:30 am to 4:30 pm, Monday to Friday. Its fees page (read 28 October 2026) lists inward or departing clearance as free in normal working hours, TOP 80 outside them and TOP 100 on weekends and public holidays. Special attendance out of hours needs an application on the approved form at least 2 working days ahead.
• Temporary admission. A private yacht can be entered under temporary admission without duty or tax. It must leave within 4 months unless Customs extends this by up to 8 more months (12 in all). Customs warns that breaking the conditions can mean severe penalties or seizure of the boat.
• Immigration. Passports must be valid for at least 6 months. Citizens of the countries on the Customs immigration page (Australia, New Zealand, the UK and the USA among them) can be given a 30-day visitor visa on arrival; everyone else needs a visa before arriving. Extensions are handled by the Immigration Department in Nuku'alofa (Salote Road) and Neiafu (Tonga Development Bank building, first floor). The page is written for air arrivals, so ask Customs how its return-ticket condition applies to yacht crew.
• Restricted goods. Firearms and ammunition need a licence, and TOP 10,000 or more in cash is a restricted import.
• Quarantine. The Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Forests' Quarantine Division inspects at seaports. Its meat rules cover ship's crew: no more than 20 kg of meat products per adult, commercially packed, sealed and labelled with the country of origin, from the origins it lists (for example Australia, New Zealand and the USA), and no meat from Samoa or Fiji. Declare animals on the arrival form.
• Leaving. Clear out on Customs form C15. Once cleared you must sail straight for your next overseas port and not stop anywhere else in Tonga; the form gives a fine of up to TOP 10,000.

Hazards and cautions

• Westerlies. English Road is unsafe in westerly winds (NGA).
• South side of Tongatapu. NGA reports uncharted reefs up to 4 miles off Tongatapu's south side, and old mine zones around Tongatapu.
• South-west swell. NGA says south-west swell from gales in high southern latitudes causes heavy surf on the south coasts of the islands.

Weather and seasons

• Cyclone season (dated). Tonga Meteorological Services' Tropical Cyclone Seasonal Outlook for 2026–2027 (released 28 October 2026, read 30 October 2026) gives the official season as 1 November 2026 to 30 April 2027 and notes that cyclones have occasionally formed outside it. It expects an average season, with 2 to 4 tropical cyclones affecting Tonga and a moderate to high chance of at least one severe tropical cyclone, and the highest risk from January to March 2027. It also reports drought declarations in force for Tongatapu, 'Eua, Ha'apai and Niuatoputapu, with Vava'u and Niuafo'ou under drought warning, so plan your water. NGA Pub. 126 adds that at Nuku'alofa sudden, violent west and north-west squalls are common from December to April.

Rules in brief

• Whales. Tonga's Whale Watching and Swimming Regulations 2013 say a private vessel may not approach closer than 300 m to any whale (unless it meets the swimming rules). If a whale approaches you, keep out of its path and, where practicable, keep 300 m away. Nobody may swim with whales except from a licensed whale-swim operator's vessel, jet skis must stay 2,000 m away, and when leaving whales go at idle or no-wake speed until you are 300 m clear.
• Special Management Areas. Many coastal communities manage their own Special Management Areas under the Fisheries Management Act 2002. The Ministry of Fisheries' brochure says nobody may enter or fish in an SMA's Fish Habitat Reserve without the community committee's permission. The brochure is from 2010 and shows only the first six SMAs, so ask the Ministry or the local community before you fish.

Facilities

• Wharf. OpenStreetMap shows the 'Eua ferry wharf and a slipway at 'Ohonua.
• Hospital. OpenStreetMap shows Niu'eiki Hospital south of 'Ohonua.
• Supplies. We haven't found an official source for fuel or water for yachts. See Ashore for what's mapped within walking distance.

Ashore

What's within about a 15-minute walk (1.2 km) of each marina, ramp or landing on this page, measured along streets and footpaths in OpenStreetMap. Addresses are from OpenStreetMap where it has one; where it doesn't, we show the name and distance only. Listings as fetched from OpenStreetMap on 28 October 2026; check opening hours before you walk.

From 'Eua ferry wharf (wharf / landing)

No marine stores or chandlers are mapped in OpenStreetMap within the walk.

Places, types, addresses and walking distances: © OpenStreetMap contributors (ODbL), fetched 28 October 2026.

About this page

These are free planning notes written by a working delivery skipper from public sources. They are not for navigation. Use the current LINZ chart corrected for notices to mariners, current local notices, official tide tables and local advice. Spotted something out of date? Please use Report a correction below.

Official links

Check these before you go. They beat anything on this page.

• Tonga Customs: ports of entry
• Tonga Customs: tariffs and fees (clearance fees)
• Tonga Customs: offices and hours
• Tonga Customs: private crafts (advance notice, temporary admission)
• Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Forests: Quarantine and Biosecurity
• LINZ Notices to Mariners (cover the TO charts)
• NGA Pub. 126 Sailing Directions (Enroute) Pacific Islands (free PDF)
• Tonga Customs forms (Advance Notice of Arrival for small craft, C15 outward clearance)
• Tonga Meteorological Services: forecasts, tides and cyclone outlooks
• Tonga Meteorological Services: marine forecasts
• Maritime NZ: search and rescue in the Pacific (Mayday, beacons)
• TO 503 Nuku'alofa Harbour to Port 'Ohonua (1:50,000)
• TO 501 Approaches to Tongatapu including 'Eua (1:100,000)

Sources & credits

Need a delivery skipper for this coast? Get a quote from Garry Hartshorne, AMSA Master <45.