Next, New Caledonia opens its borders for holiday travel!

In welcome news of reopening borders, New Caledonia has announced that it is removing it’s 7-day mandatory quarantine for international travellers and holidaymakers. The announcement, which was echoed via the country’s tourism body and national airline Aircalin, is another big step to restoring pre-COVID holiday levels in the South Pacific. 

New Caledonia, like many South Pacific countries, had closed its borders for almost two years. The announcement says that the government has completed double vaccination for the majority of its population and therefore, welcomes all fully-vaccinated travellers across the world. Additionally, it is also replacing the erstwhile mandatory week-long quarantine with a hassle-free RT-PCR test before the country of origin. All visitors need to show is proof of full set of vaccinations and a clean COVID test.

New Caledonia’s national airline Aircalin has simultaneously announced promotional airfares (yay, us!) and new A320 Neo aircraft to rejuvenate holiday travel to the island country. If you’re already impatient by this point, you can check out the latest New Caledonia holiday packages and deals made by our South Pacific Specialists. Or, if you’re a first-time traveller to this lovely island country, why don’t you browse our blogs on New Caledonia? You’ll find plenty of reasons to visit the country several times over. For starters, did you know that New Caledonia has the longest continuous barrier reef in the world? Aussies, relax – it is the third largest barrier reef system, after Great Barrier Reef and the Mesoamerican one. We saw that coming, just saying. 

New Caledonia is also a wonderful meld of Melanesian and French cultures. You’ll find lovely French-style restaurants, cafes and patisseries next to amazing Melanesian village culture which has survived several hundred years intact. From Noumea’s glitzy cosmopolitan life to Bourail’s islander cowboys and vast plains, this country is a riot of contrasts and loveliness. For nature buffs, we would recommend visiting the Isle of Pines. It deserves a couple of days, but travellers always seem to spend double or more days there. If you want to know why, just read our blog on ‘The Best Things to do in Isle of Pines, New Caledonia’. We also have an ultimate guide to New Caledonia for newbies, it’s sort of like the 101 on it. It’s nice, too. 

And now, all of New Caledonia’s goodness is just two hours of flight time away from Brisbane, three from Sydney. Bon voyage, intrepid travellers!