One of aviation's last great milk runs, the Island Hopper has connected remote Micronesian communities — many with no other regular transport links — since 1986. Board in Honolulu and touch down across five stops over 3,500 miles of open Pacific before reaching Guam: Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and finally Guam — a bucket-list routing that fewer people fly each year as the world's airlines retire the thin routes that once made the Pacific feel knowable.
↗ Open full map in Google MapsDrag or swipe to explore · 2 most representative photos per day
A scannable breakdown of each day's activities and overnight stays
97 photos · 7 stops (curated from 372 submitted)
Firsthand Perspective
Book your flights well in advance and pay attention to which days of the week stop at specific islands.
Select window seats, obviously! Note the onboard mechanic is usually seated in 7C - fun to talk to.
Bring packaged snacks - especially helpful when island grocers often have very low inventory.
Be prepared for unexpected delays & flight cancellations. Hotels generally should be able to extend your stay since a cancelled flight usually means the new guest won't have arrived...
Watch out for flash flooding in Pohnpei - we thankfully did not take a local's suggestion to swim in the base of Kepirohi Waterfall, as earlier rainfall in the center of the island resulted in a sudden flash flood we had to run from.
I wish we had tacked on a few extra days to hit some additional places: Chuuk is known for its huge collection of WWII shipwrecks & airplanes; Ebeye Island is the only way civilians can disembark at Kwajalein (a US naval base).
