New Caledonia's local travel accommodation includes small hotels in Noumea, a large number of small hotels and "gites" scattered throughout the large island of Grande Terre, the Isle of Pines, and the Loyalty Islands (Lifou accommodation, Ouvea accommodation, and Mare accommodation). These are small hotels, resorts and gites. Most of the small hotels in rural areas are fully booked on the holidays and weekends but normally have plenty of rooms available on weekdays. If you are booking from abroad, avoid booking on a major holiday.
General information about New Caledonia Hotels - Nouvelle Calédonie Hôtels
New Caledonia has 55 hotels, with 19 of these located in Noumea. There is an official star rating system from "no stars" to 5 stars. Star ratings are assessed annually by the tourism offices of the three provinces. "No stars" usually means the hotel caters mostly to local clients and has not applied for an international star rating. Hotels are generally one or more large buildings each with a number of rooms. Smaller hotels are sometimes called motels.
New Caledonia resorts
Larger resorts, like l'Escapade Island Resort Noumea, are 4 star resorts with a full compliment of holiday resort facilities and activities.
New Caledonia Youth Hostel
There is a youth hostel in Noumea but no real backpacker accommodation. Budget accommodation includes "Gîtes" and camping grounds.
New Caledonia Gîtes
New Caledonia has a variety of small "resort" style places to stay. These are divided into Gîte, Relais, Auberge, home stay, farm stay, and tribal stays. There is no absolute dividing line between these and a visitor would be hard pressed to decide what the difference was. In general, all of them are "bungalows" - some air conditioned, some not, some made of modern materials, some from traditional thatch, some with ensuites, some with shared toilet facilities. And some that have all of these options plus camping.
New Caledonia Camping
Unlike most Pacific island nations, New Caledonia enjoys a large number of camping grounds. "Camping Aménager" (managed camping grounds) provide toilets, showers, BBQ areas, and fire wood. They generally charge by the car but some of the more up-market ones charge by the person. There are also free, non-managed camp sites, especially in the Grand Sud. Camping and Trekking are very popular with Noumea residents, which means you can buy tents and camping equipment at reasonable prices, rent a car, and spend a week or two camping throughout New Caledonia on a modest budget.
