Expert: Mick Maurer - 2/19/2002

Question
Any suggestions on getting to the South Pacific islands (any group)?  I'm looking to travel the South Pacific for as long as possible.  The idea of working on a boat and reaching the general area with more $ than I started with sounds ideal, but as I have learned is far out of reach.
Are RTW tickets the best way to see more of the island countries for my money?  Also, which vaccinations should I get before departure?  Thanks much for your time.....

Answer
You don't need any vaccinations.  RTW tickets generally don't work for seeing a lot of the islands as you can generally not back track and the major airlines do not have flights between say Tahiti and Fiji and/or the Cook Islands.  Your best idea might be to get to FP or Fiji and hook up with a freighter as a passenger (they usually only hire locals to work the ships).  It still is not going to be cheap.