7-Day Foodie Itinerary for Niue
Ready for a week of food tours, restaurant-hopping, uga hunting, fishing and more? If you’re a bit of a foodie, this Niue foodie itinerary for 7 days will certainly help you make the most of Niue, where you’ll experience new sights and tastes each day. However, if this itinerary is too full-on, see a more relaxed version in How to Spend 7 Days on a Foodie Vacation in Niue.
Note that some activities on this Niue foodie 7-day itinerary are only available on certain days of the week. This itinerary is based on if you arrive in Niue on a Friday (local time). If you arrive on a different day, be sure to move days around accordingly.
How to Get Around Niue in 7 Days
Due to limited transport options, we strongly recommend hiring a car to make the most of this 14-day foodie itinerary for Niue. Check out our advice on hiring a car in The Guide to Car Hire in Niue. Note, you will need to purchase a Niue Driver’s License, available from the Police Station in Alofi.
For more transport options, such as airport tranfers, bicycle hire and the island’s one taxi, see the 8 Ways to Get to Niue (& Get Around Niue).
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 1 – Land in Niue and Start Sampling the Restaurants
Welcome to Niue! After going through the customs and quarantine process of Hanan International Airport, as explained in Everything You Need to Know About Arriving in Niue, pick up your rental car outside of the airport or catch an airport transfer organised through your accommodation.
For home cooks, stop by the Swanson Supermarket just outside of the airport (turn left) on your way to your self-catering accommodation.
Foodie and Self-catering Accommodation in Niue
- Scenic Matavai Resort (not self-catering – restaurant on site)
- Scenic Matavai Apartments & Villa
- Turtle Lodge
- Namukulu Cottages
- Clifftop Fale
- Matapa Guest House
- Kumar Enterprise / Guest House
- Heleni Jessop’s Fatahega
- Stone Villas
- Lau’s Getaway
- Nic’s Bungalows
- Petite Hatava
- Kololi’s Motel
Check out some of our top picks for foodies in the 10 Best Accommodations in Niue for Foodies. All of these accommodations also feature in our Accommodation Section.
Restaurant Recommendation
If you’d prefer to eat out tonight, start off your foodie getaway by sampling one of the delightful restaurants.
Dinner: Kaiika Restaurant – Try this restaurant in Alofi’s fresh sushi made by a Tokyo chef! New York-style pizzas with a tropical twist and Middle Eastern rotisserie chicken are also on the menu. Bookings are essential.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 2 – Do an Orientation Tour and Get to Know Alofi
A great way to start your time in Niue is with an orientation tour to get to know the island. Explore Niue runs excellent tours with a bit of a foodie twist. You’ll be pointed out to all of the highlights, as well as the hidden gems along the west coast and the best time to visit them. You’ll also stop by a few attractions and get local insights into the best restaurants around the island.
After visiting a snorkelling spot, you’ll be treated to some Niuean refreshments, such as drinking coconuts and snacks made from tropical fruit and vegetables!
When the tour comes to an end, asked to be dropped off in Alofi. Here, you can sort out a few things for the rest of your stay. Purchase a Niue Driver’s License from the Police Station, book the tours that we’ve recommended in this itinerary at the Tourist Information Centre, and head to the Niue Vanilla shop to book the tour that we have recommended for tomorrow.
Restaurant Recommendations
Once you’re set for the rest of your holiday, treat yourself to lunch and dinner in the capital.
Lunch: Vaiolama Cafe – Get a fresh baguette and a cake from the cafe cabinet and sip on fruity smoothies or a coffee. The cafe also has an 18-hole mini golf course on the clifftops!
Drinks: All Relativf – Located at the Swanson Complex just outside of Alofi, this is the establishment to sip of real-fruit cocktails and smoothies.
Dinner: Wok on the Rock – Wash down the drinks with an Asian-Pacific fusion takeaway in Alofi.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 3 – Spend the Day at Avatele Bay and the Washaway Cafe
If you arrived in Niue on a Friday, then today is Sunday and a day of rest in Niue. While many tours, restaurants, shops and services are closed, there is one place on the island that is open for this day of the week and this day of the week only: the Washaway Cafe!
Located at Avatele Beach, the Washaway Cafe is an honesty bar. Write down your food order at the kitchen counter and take a table number. Help yourself to drinks at the bar and simply pay for everything at the end, telling the bar staff what you had. Our food recommendation is the fish focaccia where the fish is fresh and local and the focaccia is homebaked!
You can also enjoy swimming and snorkelling at Avatele Beach, best at low to mid-tide. Watch out for rips in the channel near the boat ramp.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 4 – Do a Uga Hunting Tour and Experience a Niuean Umu Night
A good idea for today is to join Ope from Taue Uga Tours for a tour of his ancestral rainforest where his family have been hunting uga for generations. Learn about uga, a coconut crab which is a local delicacy, on one of the two types of tours available. One is a day tour where you’ll help Ope set up coconut baits around the forest, meet some of the local uga and learn more about the Niuean legends and their connection with the forest. Alternatively, join the night tour to see uga when they are most active, see how the baits work and learn how to collect uga in a sustainable way.
Restaurant Recommendations
Tonight (Thursday) is the Spit Roast and Umu Night at the Dolphin Restaurant of the Scenic Matavai Resort in Tamakautoga and at the Hio Cafe & Bar in Tuapa.
Try local Niuean dishes, such as takihi, povi masima, moa Niue, faikai ika and more! All of which are prepared in a traditional earth oven in true Polynesian style.
The Hio Cafe’s umu night comes with local musicians for entertainment, while the Scenic Matavai includes fire-dance performances. Bookings are essential for both of these events.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 5 – Do a Niuean Plantation and Rainforest Tour
Your guide today is Tony of A5 Plantation Tours, who will take you on a 4WD tour of a local plantation and rainforest. You will learn how to husk a coconut, meet some uga and explore a real plantation where you’ll learn about modern and traditional methods for growing cassava, taro, kumara, watermelon, pawpaw, banana and much more. What’s more, you’ll even get to taste some of the fruit that is in season.
Restaurant Recommendations
Lunch: Crazy Uga Cafe & Bar – Serves up salads, paninis, pasta, fish and chips, etc. for lunch in Alofi.
Dinner: Gill’s Restaurant – Try aromatic Indian curries with fresh local fish, vegetarian options, beef or chicken, located in the Alofi commercial centre.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 6 – Browse the Niue Market and Do a Vanilla Plantation Tour
If you arrived in Niue on a Friday, then today is Wednesday where Alofi becomes a hive of activity. Not only is the weaving group in full swing in Makini Hall, which is well worth checking out, but the morning begins bright and early with the Niue Market or “Markete”.
The market runs from 6am to around 12pm where you can buy fresh tropical fruit and vegetables to spruce up back at your self-catering accommodation.
Niue Vanilla Tour
After you’re done at the market, head to Alofi North for your Niue Vanilla Tour. Learn the ins and outs of an organic vanilla plantation where you’ll wander around some 7,000 vines of vanilla, all of which need to be hand-pollinated. The super informative tour will help you understand the expensive market of these flavoursome beans.
Restaurant Recommendations
Lunch: Tavana’s Cafe – Have fish and chips the Niuean way, with the freshest of fish and cassava fries! Find them in the commercial centre of Alofi.
Dinner: Crazy Uga Cafe & Bar – Watch the sunset from this rustic Alofi restaurant during its Wednesday night spitroast or burgers. Bookings are essential.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDay 7 – Catch Dinner on a Fishing Charter
Fishing is a way of life in Niue, which you will get to experience with locals or passionate expats on one of the Niue fishing charters. Equipped with the latest gear, you’ll be reeling in the big ones like wahoo, mahimahi, yellowfin tuna, sailfish, marlin, giant trevally and more!
Generally, fishing charters in Niue operate with a “catch stays with the boat” policy, but most will either give you some to cook up at your accommodation or deliver it to one of the local restaurants where you’ll be able to sample the fish professionally prepared for a discount. Make sure to discuss this with the fishing operator before you head out.
Restaurant Recommendation
Lunch & Dinner: Jenna’s Restaurant – If you’re lucky enough to be around when they are open in the high season, check out this restaurant in Alofi serving local and international cuisine for dinner from Thursday to Saturday, as well as their Pacifika show and buffet night on Tuesdays. They are also open for lunch Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Friday. Bookings are essential.
(c) niuepocketguide.comDeparture Day – Pick Up Some Niuean Food to Take Home and Depart from Niue
All good things, like a Niuean foodie getaway, must come to an end. This morning, we recommend checking in your bags at Hanan Airport when it opens at 9am. This will then give you time to pick up some Niuean food before catching your flight in the afternoon.
Get some Niuean honey made from the cleanest bees in the world, available to buy at the Tourist Information Centre and Double M in Alofi. Additionally, pure vanilla and coconut products are available at the Niue Vanilla store in Alofi, as well as at the roadside stall of Koefaga Vanilla in Alofi South. The latter works on an honesty box system.
Back at the airport, park up your rental car where signposted and leave the keys in the car. You’ll also need to get a quarantine certificate for the food you are taking home with you. Then you’ll go through security and be able to enjoy one last drink in Niue at the Runway Bar. For more information on the departure procedure, see Leaving Niue: The Niue Airport Departure Process.
Goodbye, Niue!
More Foodie Trip Ideas and Itineraries
That’s it for the Niue foodie itinerary: 7 days. Get more trip-planning inspiration from our itinerary compilations: The Best Niue Itineraries for 2 Weeks, The Best Niue Itineraries for 1 Week, The Best Niue Itineraries for 5 Days and The Best Niue Itineraries for a Weekend.
