The Lau Group consists of numerous small islands, roughly halfway between Fiji's main island of Viti Levu in the west and Tonga to the east. The southeast trade winds have always made it easy to sail from Tonga to Fiji, but very difficult vice versa. As a result the Lau Islands have a strong Polynesian flavor, which is visible in the people's names, their language, food, decoration, architecture and above all in their facial features. They are unmistakably Polynesians.
Vanuabalavu is the largest of the northern Lau islands. On the private island of Kiabu is an upmarket resort that caters to six guests at a time. Kiabu shares a reef with neighboring island of Yacata. Both islands are excellent for wind surfing, sailing, trekking and caving. The southern Lau islands are dominated by Lakeba.