I was born on this island back in the 70s. My father was in the service and met my mother in Vietnam during the war. We left in the late 70s to the USA. Very humbling time for us. I recall being held back from kindergarten because I spoke French! My mother swore I would never speak French again and enrolled me in ESL courses! True to her word, I now only speak English 😔 But I still retain much of the culture in terms of food and even listening to the music. Not many people know about this place unless they are knowledgeable in maritime travels or have an interest in global interest or are from that region. I have never been back to my place of birth. Perhaps one day. I wish New Caledonia all the best!! 👍😊
I actually just got back from a vacation there. It's actually more beautiful than presented in this video. I would say it's the most beautiful place I've travelled to so far. Though there is a direct flight to Singapore, there has been no marketing done and this is not aimed as a tourist location for people from Singapore. It seems this route was set up to bypass Tokyo which used to be route taken by the French to NC but which is now much further due to the air space restrictions over Russia. I also have to warn that this is a very expensive location to visit. It's not Bali. The prices are like those in Singapore. Restaurant bills are similar and tour prices are like Singapore tour prices. Be prepared to spend about 3-4k SGD per person (including flights) for a week's vacation (not with Luxury Stays, just regular 3 star hotels). You will also need some knowledge of French to get around if you're not on a tour. New Caledonia is not something you can experience through souvenirs (of which there are few) or videos. It's something that can only be experienced in person. Enjoy the direct flights while it lasts though. I doubt it'll be around once the airspace is normalised. The Japan route was bringinging in some Japanese tourists as well and is probably a more profitable route.
What are some of the things that I need to plan before visiting this island? Did you go with a tour group or do you guys have a person tour guide/driver?
@@steve-rh8yo I would say you need to plan everything. We went on our own and I made all the bookings for hotels, rental car and airbnb on my own. So I had a full itinerary for the time there. All their stuff is in their local currency (XPF) so you can withdraw money at the airport and various ATMs around. It's a very developed place. There aren't actually any tours per se. So called "tours" actually mean transport. They'll bring you there and collect you later. There are no instructions or directions on how to get around. No signs and the like. Even the very touristy locations are not signposted. You'll just follow other tourists around or wander there on your own. Sometimes a local may put up a handwritten sign directing you there but you'd have to understand French to understand the sign. So yeah, knowing French is something to take note of. I don't have a background in French but I have sufficient fluidity in Spanish which has the same grammatical structure so I could read about 40% of the text there but no direct communication with the locals. In fact the only full conversation I had in the time there was with this student who sat beside me on the flight back to Singapore and that whole conversation had to be conducted in Spanish (this is just because she studied it. Don't expect to get around NC with Spanish) Also, you'll need a lot of sunscreen for the beaches, bring along water shoes and snorkeling or diving gear. Water on the main island is clean. No worries. On the Loyalty islands and Isle of Pines, you'd drink bottled water. Safety is excellent. Even better than Singapore so don't fret.
Strange that it seems everyone knows Fiji and yet (at 62) this I have only just spotted New Caledonia on Google Earth and looked it up. I've never heard of it before. I'd much rather go here than Nauru (which is what I was looking at GE for). It looks beautiful.
I was born on this island back in the 70s. My father was in the service and met my mother in Vietnam during the war. We left in the late 70s to the USA. Very humbling time for us. I recall being held back from kindergarten because I spoke French! My mother swore I would never speak French again and enrolled me in ESL courses! True to her word, I now only speak English 😔
But I still retain much of the culture in terms of food and even listening to the music. Not many people know about this place unless they are knowledgeable in maritime travels or have an interest in global interest or are from that region.
I have never been back to my place of birth. Perhaps one day. I wish New Caledonia all the best!!
👍😊
Thanks for sharing! New Caledonia is on my wish list of places to travel to.
I actually just got back from a vacation there. It's actually more beautiful than presented in this video. I would say it's the most beautiful place I've travelled to so far. Though there is a direct flight to Singapore, there has been no marketing done and this is not aimed as a tourist location for people from Singapore. It seems this route was set up to bypass Tokyo which used to be route taken by the French to NC but which is now much further due to the air space restrictions over Russia.
I also have to warn that this is a very expensive location to visit. It's not Bali. The prices are like those in Singapore. Restaurant bills are similar and tour prices are like Singapore tour prices. Be prepared to spend about 3-4k SGD per person (including flights) for a week's vacation (not with Luxury Stays, just regular 3 star hotels). You will also need some knowledge of French to get around if you're not on a tour. New Caledonia is not something you can experience through souvenirs (of which there are few) or videos. It's something that can only be experienced in person.
Enjoy the direct flights while it lasts though. I doubt it'll be around once the airspace is normalised. The Japan route was bringinging in some Japanese tourists as well and is probably a more profitable route.
What are some of the things that I need to plan before visiting this island? Did you go with a tour group or do you guys have a person tour guide/driver?
@@steve-rh8yo I would say you need to plan everything. We went on our own and I made all the bookings for hotels, rental car and airbnb on my own. So I had a full itinerary for the time there.
All their stuff is in their local currency (XPF) so you can withdraw money at the airport and various ATMs around. It's a very developed place.
There aren't actually any tours per se. So called "tours" actually mean transport. They'll bring you there and collect you later. There are no instructions or directions on how to get around. No signs and the like. Even the very touristy locations are not signposted. You'll just follow other tourists around or wander there on your own. Sometimes a local may put up a handwritten sign directing you there but you'd have to understand French to understand the sign.
So yeah, knowing French is something to take note of. I don't have a background in French but I have sufficient fluidity in Spanish which has the same grammatical structure so I could read about 40% of the text there but no direct communication with the locals. In fact the only full conversation I had in the time there was with this student who sat beside me on the flight back to Singapore and that whole conversation had to be conducted in Spanish (this is just because she studied it. Don't expect to get around NC with Spanish)
Also, you'll need a lot of sunscreen for the beaches, bring along water shoes and snorkeling or diving gear.
Water on the main island is clean. No worries. On the Loyalty islands and Isle of Pines, you'd drink bottled water.
Safety is excellent. Even better than Singapore so don't fret.
@@steve-rh8yo- You need to plan on bringing a shit ton of cash.
💰
Hi from New Caledonia !
We are proud To be French...
Cap
@@RIPVEVO cap
Nah Tonga owned you guys first lol
I am from morocco i want to go to California how i can
@@alibabavlogs6627 get a visa
Tchia brought me here
Same!
New Caledonia 🇳🇨
Strange that it seems everyone knows Fiji and yet (at 62) this I have only just spotted New Caledonia on Google Earth and looked it up. I've never heard of it before. I'd much rather go here than Nauru (which is what I was looking at GE for). It looks beautiful.
So so many such beaches in Indonesia
who cares...💅
Good luck
thanks government
if only japan won midway and coral sea.
we would still be there to kick their ass.
Lol hearts of iron 4