6 Best Guided Tours in Niue 📷 [2023]

How to Book Tours in Niue

Tours in Niue aren’t always easy to find with a quick “Google”, so how do you book tours in Niue? You can book tours on arrival to the island at the Visitor Information Centre or the reception of your accommodation such as the Scenic Matavai Resort. Tour companies can also be contacted over the phone or via Facebook Messenger. Find out more about booking tours in How to Book Tours in Niue. We also go into tour prices in our guide Niue Travel Budget: How Much Does a Trip to Niue Cost?

1. Taue Uga Tours

Learn about the Niuean tradition of uga (coconut crab) hunting while learning about these fascinating arthropods on the Taue Uga Tours. There are two tours available, giving you the opportunity to partake in an uga tour when it’s convenient or when the crabs are at their most active – at night. You are also offered the chance to take an uga back to your accommodation to cook should you want to try the Niuean delicacy for yourself.

Tours depart from Avatele at the cenotaph just above the road access to Avatele Beach. Make sure that you have a sturdy pair of shoes, water and insect repellent. Note that the forest where you hunt uga has rough terrain and requires good balance and mobility. Tours are available Monday to Saturday. Pay with cash.

Taue Uga Day Tour

Join your local guide as you are taught how to set up coconut baits to attract the uga. You have a good chance of seeing some uga along the way. Your guide will also share insights about nature and culture throughout the tour.

Taue Uga Night Tour

See the coconut baits in action on this night tour that typically starts around 8 pm. Delve into the forest at night, when it’s the best time to see a lot of uga in the forest.

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2. Ebony Rainforest Tours

Join a local guide and acclaimed ebony carver, Jack, as you delve into the Huvalu Forest on the Ebony Rainforest Tour.

The casual tour takes you deep into the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area where he’ll show you Niue’s amazing trees, vines and moss and teach you survival techniques for living in the Niue bush. Learn about traditional food and medicine gathering techniques, while Jack guides you through the different properties of the island’s trees including the rare ebony tree, locally known as kieto. You’ll also get to see a few caves that not many tourists get to see, while a real highlight and photo opportunity is exploring Niue’s magnificent banyan (ovava) trees.

A drinking coconut and bottled water are included in the tour. Make sure that you have a sturdy pair of shoes and insect repellent. Note that the forest has rough terrain and requires good balance and mobility – suitable for ages 12 to 65. Tours are available Monday to Thursday and Saturday, lasting approximately 2 hrs 30 mins but can be shorter if you have other commitments or longer if you have lots of questions. Card and cash are accepted.

Tours depart from Hakupu – look out for the blue “ebony carving” sign at the southern entrance to the village. Otherwise, transfers are available from Alofi and the Scenic Matavai Resort.

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3. Explore Niue

Explore Niue offers two different guided land tours, as well as fishing charters and whale swimming tours. One of the most popular land tours is their orientation tour of the west coast, while they also offer east coast tours. Pick-ups are available from any accommodation and the Visitor Information Centre.

Explore Niue Island Discovery Tour

This tour orientation tour of the island introduces you to some of the west coast highlights, including cultural and historical sites, snorkelling spots and places to eat. The 4-hour tour also includes a tide chart to know when is the best time to visit each swimming location during your stay. Refreshments are included in the tour. Tours run in the mornings after plane days.

Explore Niue East Coast Tour

This half-day tour of the east coast takes you to the village of Hakupu on your way to the Anapala Chasm. After visiting the chasm, you delve into the Huvalu Forest Conservation Area to the iconic Togo Chasm for a tropical rainforest walk. Then it’s to the Hikulagi Sculpture Park before making your way across the island to Alofi and your accommodation. These tours require a minimum of four to run.

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4. A5 Plantation Tour

Experience a 2-hour tour of a Niuean plantation and rainforest with A5 Plantation Tours. Your guide, Tony, will teach you about the Niuean way of life living off the land on a very casual yet interactive 4WD tour.

You’ll get to touch and taste the food grown on the plantation depending on what is in season, including pawpaw, banana, mango, watermelon, cassava, taro, kumara and more! Tony also gives you plenty of opportunity to take fruit with you after the tour – so have a bag handy! Ask plenty of questions and you’ll learn a lot on this relaxed yet informative tour.

The latter part of the tour takes you to a tract of coastal rainforest for a short walk into uga habitat where you’ll look for uga in the wild and even get a chance to hold one.

You’ll need to make your way to Tony’s home in Mutalau on the northeastern side of Niue where tours depart. Follow signs for “A5 Tours” north of Mutalau village green. Sturdy footwear is recommended. Note that only cash is accepted.

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5. Maala Garden Tour

Visit a tropical bush garden and plantation where you’ll come away with a wealth of knowledge about Niue’s unique produce, not to mention the taste of delicious fruit still dancing on your tongue, on the Maala Garden Tour.

You will be shown the maala (garden) by your friendly and characterful hosts, John and Doris, and learn about growing food crops, tropical trees, herbs and much more. Like most of Niue’s guided tours, this is a very casual experience, so the more questions you ask the better! You can certainly pick up a few tips from your passionate hosts who have developed this garden out of a labour of love.

At the end of the experience, you will be treated to a spread of local fruits, nuts and a drinking coconut – many of which we feature in the 10 Exotic Fruits in Niue You Have to Try!

The Maala Garden Tour involves the least amount of walking out of all the tours described so far, while most of the terrain is flat. What’s more, the tour is one of the most affordable on the island, providing fantastic value for money.

The Maala Garden can be found along the Alofi-Liku Road around 10 km (6.2 mi) from Alofi – look out for the black and white sign (if you reach the 60 sign beside the house, you’ve gone too far). Tours are available Monday to Saturday. Pay with cash.

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6. Niue Vanilla Tour

Join Niue Vanilla International (NVI) for their vanilla plantation tour!

See a plantation with more than 30,000 organic vanilla vines and enhance your understanding of the vanilla industry as you learn about growing, harvesting and packaging vanilla. Visit between May and August, and you’ll see how flowers are hand-pollinated. You’ll also learn how to plant a vanilla vine, as well as discover more produce grown on the plantation, such as lime and dragonfruit.

The two-hour tour departs from the Niue Vanilla Store in Alofi town centre and includes transfers to the plantation. The experience also concludes here where you’ll be shown the various award-winning products from Niue Vanilla with, of course, the opportunity to purchase vanilla products from their gift store.

Tours can be booked at the Niue Vanilla Store in Alofi and paid with cash or card. Allow approximately two hours for the tour.

© NiuePocketGuide.com