Tonga respect · Courtesy in Tonga
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Courtesy in Tonga
Courtesy in Tonga
For maximum respect, keep your knees covered (both men and women). Men, keep your shirt on everywhere except at the beach. Topless men off cruise liners have been arrested and held until after the ship has left! This is a very conservative Christian country. Keep in mind that Sunday is strongly revered, the vast majority of the population will attend religious services, very few shops will be open and there is very little to do.
Hotels will be open, as will some restaurant and beach resorts, although mainly to serve expats and tourists. Small shops, including, in Nuku'alofa, a popular bakery, may open later on Sunday afternoon.
TV stations close or play Christian shows on Sundays. Radio stations will also play religious on Sundays. To compensate, the cinema in Nuku'alofa usually has a screening just after midnight on Monday morning.
Tonga features many major Christian denominations; the Methodist church especially has a widespread presence. Many of the services are very enjoyable. Strike up a friendship with some locals and you will have no problems finding an enjoyable Sunday experience despite the lack of commercial activity.
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Tonga Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.