One flight, six islands: Hawaii to Micronesia

For the few thousand residents of the remote Pacific Islands, United Flight 154 has been the only connection between home and the rest of the world for decades. Nicknamed the Island Hopper , the flight departs three times a week from Honolulu, Hawaii, to the Pacific island of Guam. During the 20-hour journey, the plane makes five landings on small islands in the blue ocean.

^{Foto: AussieActive/Unsplash}

For travelers, the Island Hopper offers the unique opportunity to see six islands, far from civilization, in less than a day. You take off early in the morning from Honolulu International Airport in Hawaii and soon find yourself flying over a vast blue expanse of water. The plane is narrow, with only three seats on either side of the aisle. The kind of plane you normally fly on for short flights of just a few hours. Not now, this impressive flight takes you in twenty hours to what feels like the end of the world!

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Marshall Islands and Micronesia

After a five-hour flight over the Pacific Ocean, you finally see the first dot appear in the water from the round airplane window. The first stop of the Island Hopper is Majuro, the capital of the Marshall Islands. On each island you make a short stop of three quarters of an hour. There is no real time to explore the islands, snorkel in the clear blue water or sunbathe on the white sandy beaches. If you want to, you can stay on one of the islands and board the next flight over the islands a few days later.

^{Foto: Kurt Cotoaga/Unsplash}

In addition to Majuro, the Island Hopper stops at Kosrae and Pohnpei in Micronesia, Chuuk, where more than sixty shipwrecks from World War II lie submerged in the water, and Guam, the end point of the route. And then there is Kwajalein. This is the only island where you are not allowed to leave the plane as a traveler in transit. Kwajalein is an American military base that you can only see from behind the airplane window.

^{Foto: Jay J. Ramirez/Unsplash}

After a long, tiring twenty-hour flight, the Island Hopper lands on the island of Guam. This island in Micronesia is closer to Asia and Australia than to the United States . On the way, you have flown over the international date line, which means you have made a leap in time. The total flight time is less than a day, but at the end of the trip you will have spent two days further. Two days full of memories of endless views over the Pacific Ocean, small deserted islands and landings on narrow airstrips on the beach.

^{Foto: Lucie Rangel/Unsplash}

Looking for more island inspiration? Also read: 5x Islands in Europe for a wonderful late summer