Ouvéa is reached by air from Nouméa. Air Calédonie operates several short flights a day from Magenta Airport on the main island to Ouvéa Airport in the centre of the atoll — about 35 minutes' flying time. Book ahead in school holidays; the planes are small and seats sell out.
A weekly cargo and passenger ferry, the Betico, also runs from Nouméa via Lifou; the crossing takes a long day each way and is much cheaper than flying, but the schedule is sparse and the seas can be rough.
There is no public transport on Ouvéa itself. Most accommodation is concentrated near the long beach on the western shore and around the Mouli Bridge in the south. To see the island properly you will need to hire a car, ideally before arriving — there is a single rental agency at the airport and they sometimes run out of vehicles. Many of the gîtes (Kanak family-run guesthouses) will collect you from the airport.