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Noumea and Lifou - looking for advice from those who have been there


Natassia73
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Hi all,

 

Who's been to Noumea or Lifou before? Looking for advice.

I've now made the decision to to just 'wing it' at the ports. It will be Easter Sunday in Lifou and Easter Monday in Noumea. (Cruising on Celebrity Solstice).

I'd really like to have a really nice lunch in both places to try the local cuisine, but I really DON'T want to get sick - lol. Anyone eaten in an amazing place in either port?

Next, Does anyone know if you can you buy passes to Jinek Bay before you leave, or only on the ship?

Also, do you need local currency? Is it the same currency in both places? How much do you reckon you need for the day? I'm not looking to buy a lot, but some lunch and a bit of spending money.

Thanks for any info!

Natasha

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I'm not sure whether Celebrity will sell the tickets for Jinek Bay onboard or not, it varies by cruise line. If not you will need to pay the locals and you can use AUD. I think it's about $15. They do try to restrict the number of people in the water at any one time.

 

There are several good restaurants at Lemon Bay (Baie de Citrons) in Noumea but I'm not sure what will be open on Easter Monday. So far O Mediterranee is the best we've tried. There is also a really good coffee shop at Anse Vatu Bay, in the curved block of shops near the roundabout. They also have light meals. We usually use the HoHo bus to get around Noumea. You get tickets at the back right of the terminal building and, again, you can use AUD. You can get local currency at the ATM located in front of the Casino Supermarket across teh road from the terminal.

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I'm not qualified to answer as I haven't been, but wanted to say hi as I'm on the same cruise :)

 

I'm having trouble finding French Pacific Francs (XPF, that is the currency for both ports as they are both part of New Caledonia) for less than a minimum order of AUD$500, which is way more than we need. I've been told AUD is fine on Lifou so will follow OwKiwi's suggestion and grab a small amount of XPF at an ATM in Noumea.

 

Googling 'Noumea foodie tour' will bring up a few articles and blogs with ideas for lunch and some recommended bakeries and chocolate shops. I hope a few things are open!

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If it's a nice day in Noumea and you fancy a picnic have a look in the supermarket. The food selection there is awesome. Two big halls right at the back, one has meats, charcuterie and pates, the other has breads, cheeses and salads. Plus you can buy wine there. You will need local currency to shop there.

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A member has posted a very comprehensive & helpful review a little further down the page dated 27/1/17, lots of info on a number of Pacific Island ports,. Food, beaches, tours,currency. Makes me very sad that I had to cancel out of my Voyager of the Seas cruise i had booked for 26/3. :(

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 4 weeks later...

Thanks so much. I was wondering about how to get local currency. You think the ATM is the best way?

 

I'm not sure whether Celebrity will sell the tickets for Jinek Bay onboard or not, it varies by cruise line. If not you will need to pay the locals and you can use AUD. I think it's about $15. They do try to restrict the number of people in the water at any one time.

 

There are several good restaurants at Lemon Bay (Baie de Citrons) in Noumea but I'm not sure what will be open on Easter Monday. So far O Mediterranee is the best we've tried. There is also a really good coffee shop at Anse Vatu Bay, in the curved block of shops near the roundabout. They also have light meals. We usually use the HoHo bus to get around Noumea. You get tickets at the back right of the terminal building and, again, you can use AUD. You can get local currency at the ATM located in front of the Casino Supermarket across teh road from the terminal.

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Thanks. I was told you may have to get tickets onboard. This isn't the case with Celebrity?

 

quote=aussieboys88;52331033]If u like snorkelling lifou is one of the best I've seen compared to barrier reef, Maldives n bora bora. Head behind shops at beach n walk about 15 mins to other side Pay about $20au to locals who man the reef. It's so beautiful

 

 

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  • 10 months later...

Have been to Noumea three times now and am going again in April on Explorer of the Seas with RCL.

 

If you haven't done the HoHo bus then you should do it.

 

Generally though we find Noumea to be a relatively boring port so the last two times we did a bunch of research and did our own thing.

 

Most recently:

- Hired a care for the day from RedSpot (they were one of the few English speaking agents) and they met us at the drop off point in Noumea so getting the car was super easy.

- We went to the revolving restaurant at L'Entrecote Au 360 for lunch. The food was ok, the price was ok, the view was excellent.

- We found a patisserie that we wanted to go to which was L' Atelier Gourmand. It doesn't look like much from the outside but the cakes were incredible.

- We found a really quiet beach to go to also. On our first visit there was a run down resort nearby but on our last visit it had been done up and there's now a cafe at the resort. It's the beach the locals go to - quiet water and virtually no-one around. It's called Kuendu Bay and is about a 10 min drive from Noumea.

 

Like most ports - you get out of it what you put into it. There's some shops around the drop off point in Noumea but haven't generally found much of interest without heading away from the town.

 

Hope that helps.

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  • 2 weeks later...

Hi there,

We will cruise to Hawaii with Carnival Legend this April, will stop over Noumea for a day. Do you know how far from the ship dock to the city and how to get there? As a couple, we just want to wonder around the city? Do we need to exchange to their currency or we can use our AUD?

 

 

 

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In 2016 I was on a HAL cruise that docked right in town. Carnival had a ship in the same day that was close by. You can purchase a ticket in the terminal for a cute little train that circles the island . If I remember it was about $20.00 AUD for a 3 hr tour. Beautiful scenery and some WWII sights.

 

I'll be in Noumea in October on a return cruise to OZ!

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Hi there,

We will cruise to Hawaii with Carnival Legend this April, will stop over Noumea for a day. Do you know how far from the ship dock to the city and how to get there? As a couple, we just want to wonder around the city? Do we need to exchange to their currency or we can use our AUD?

 

There are two docks for cruise ships. One is at the main cruise terminal in town, one is in the industrial port about one or two km away.

 

If you dock in town, you walk off the dock into the cruise terminal building which will have lots of tourist operators who take Oz dollars. The shops in town generally do not take anything except local currency or credit cards.

 

If you dock at the industrial port, the only way out is on the free shuttle bus from there to the cruise terminal.

 

There is not a lot to see just wandering around the town. There is the Place des Cocotiers (the local park) and a couple of small museums.

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We love to cruise the South Pacific. Here are some videos made from our travels... one is of the HOHO in Noumea and other is on tour in Lifou. Hope they help in your planning...

 

SOUTH PACIFIC PLAYLIST

 

2017 SOUTH PACIFIC January 18-February 12 HAL Noordam/RC Voyager of Seas

 

NOUMEA, NEW CALEDONIA 2017 ... HOHO bus

 

LIFOU, NEW CALEDONIA...2017 Melanesian Experience https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&feature=vm&video_id=2doAVL7j4K0

 

PORT VILA, VANUATU 2017 ...Around Island Safari https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=ZGUvRreGTsQ

 

DRAVUNI ISLAND, FIJI 2017

https://dizivizi.com/video/312936/2017-i-love-travel-dravuni-island-fiji.html

 

SAVALA ISLAND, FIJI from LAUTOKA 2017

 

ISLE OF PINES, NEW CALEDONIA 2017

 

SOUTH SEA ISLAND from LAUTOKA, FIJI 2017

 

SUVA, FIJI .2017 COUNTRYSIDE DRIVE AND FIRE WALKING SPECTACULAR

 

MYSTERY ISLAND, VANUATU 2017 ...Visit to village on island of ANEITYUM https://www.youtube.com/edit?o=U&video_id=CcFkANcjTMQ

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We were able to use AUD and USD while on our South Pacific cruises at most places

 

I'm not qualified to answer as I haven't been, but wanted to say hi as I'm on the same cruise :)

 

I'm having trouble finding French Pacific Francs (XPF, that is the currency for both ports as they are both part of New Caledonia) for less than a minimum order of AUD$500, which is way more than we need. I've been told AUD is fine on Lifou so will follow OwKiwi's suggestion and grab a small amount of XPF at an ATM in Noumea.

 

Googling 'Noumea foodie tour' will bring up a few articles and blogs with ideas for lunch and some recommended bakeries and chocolate shops. I hope a few things are open!

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  • 3 weeks later...

We were in Noumea last Sunday. Basically everything in town is shut. Morning market is open until noon. Casino supermarket across from cruise terminal until.12.30. Not sure even they would be open on Easter Monday. I recommend you ask on TripAdvisor Noumea forum and a local can tell you. HOHO bus ticket was A$12 or $24 with Duck Island water taxi when bought from cruise terminal in town. Free Internet access was limited to 5 minutes at cruise terminal or 2 hours at park in town. Just sit anywhere shady in the park and you should get access. You need to have your mobile phone so you can receive a txt to get access.

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  • 5 weeks later...

Hello, do anybody have info on the P&O shore tours for Noumea and Lifou that are suitable for pushing a old frail passenger in a travel wheelchair? On the website I can only see the tchou tchou train as being suitable. Thanks!

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Noumea also has a fun market... first stop on HOHO or you can walk there along the sea about 10 min or so.

 

Think it closes before noon.

 

 

 

Hi

Is the market open ever day ? Or just Sunday’s ?

 

 

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