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◆ Country guide · Micronesia

Kiribati, 33 islands across an ocean

Thirty-three islands, 811 square kilometres of land, and three and a half million square kilometres of ocean holding them apart. Kiribati straddles the equator and the 180th meridian, and its eastern islands are the first inhabited places on earth to start each new day.

120K

People

Islands

811 km²

Land

Region

Best months

Jun · Jul · Aug

Ideal length

7–10 days

Budget / day

$120–260

Language

Gilbertese & English

Getting around

Domestic flights

When to visit Kiribati

Two seasons, and the dry one is the one you want.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best: June to September, when the southeast trades blow and the rain stops Peak: December, when Kiritimati sells the first sunrise of the new year Good: May and October, the shoulders either side of the dry season Wettest: November to April, when squalls close in over the Gilberts

Quick answer · where to go in Kiribati

Pick one group, not the country. Tarawa is where a Gilberts trip starts: one road along a chain of islets, with the hotels, the flights, and the bunkers and landing beaches of November 1943 at Betio. North Tarawa, by boat, is the quiet half. Air Kiribati hops to Abaiang, Marakei, Butaritari and Abemama for village life and empty lagoons. Kiritimati, 3,300 kilometres east, is reached from Honolulu for bonefishing and seabirds. The Phoenix Islands need a research berth or a charter.

Jump toMap Fun fact Stereotypes Famous I-Kiribati Food FAQ

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

The Phoenix Islands Protected Area covers 408,250 square kilometres, more than California. UNESCO inscribed it in 2010 as the largest and deepest World Heritage site on earth at the time. Only one of its eight islands, Kanton, has a permanent population.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to behave once you land.

"Kiribati has already gone under."

The realityIt has not. Nearly 120,000 people live here, the population is growing and South Tarawa is crowded. The real problem is narrower: the land is barely above the sea, fresh water is a lens floating on salt, and erosion, king tides and drought are today's planning problems. Writing it off is erasure.

"Christmas Island is the one off Australia."

The realityTwo islands in two oceans. Australia's Christmas Island is in the Indian Ocean south of Java. Kiribati's Kiritimati is in the central Pacific Line Islands, the largest coral atoll on earth by land area. Cook sighted it on Christmas Eve 1777, and Kiritimati is Christmas written in Gilbertese.

"It is a Pacific beach destination."

The realityThere is no resort industry and very little tourism. Beds are small hotels, guesthouses and village stays, the capital is a dense strip with waste and water problems, and the swimming people picture is on the outer islands. Come for atolls, culture, war history and fishing, or do not come.

"It is pronounced Kiri-BAT-ee."

The realityKiribas. Gilbertese writes the s sound as ti, which is also why the country's own name for itself, spelled Kiribati, is the local rendering of Gilberts. Getting it right takes five seconds and is noticed.

"One trip covers the country."

The realityThe republic is spread across three and a half million square kilometres of ocean and three time zones, and its two visitable ends are on separate air routes reached from separate countries. Even inside the Gilberts, an outer island is a weekly flight or a multi-day ship. Plan one group and go deep.

The world's first sunriseAn atoll is a beachTarawa is a war museumBanaba is just another atollSubsistence means povertyThe maneaba is a tourist sight

How to get it right

In a maneaba you sit on the floor, legs crossed or tucked under you. Feet pointed at people and a back turned to your hosts are both read as rude, and you stoop when walking past people who are seated.
A sarong, the lavalava, is what men and women wear to a formal maneaba function. Beachwear anywhere but the water is not acceptable, and modest cover is the norm for women away from the hotels.
The head is treated as taboo. Do not touch anyone's head, including a child's, however friendly the moment.
Direct eye contact is not the default, especially with elders. Looking away is not evasion here, and cutting between two people who are talking is impolite.
If you are invited to a botaki, a feast in the maneaba, a small gratuity handed to the master of ceremonies is customary. Ask a local host what amount is appropriate.
Sunday belongs to church across the country. Shops close, boats mostly stop, and turning up to a service is welcomed if you dress for it.
Ask before photographing people, a maneaba interior or a war site with graves near it. Kiribati is used to being photographed badly.

Famous I-Kiribati faces

The names behind I-Kiribati politics, sport, art and scholarship. Pick a field.

Anote Tong

President from 2003 to 2016, who put atoll sea-level rise in front of the United Nations.

Teburoro Tito

President from 1994 to 2003, and Kiribati's envoy to the United Nations since 2017.

Taneti Maamau

President since 2016, who switched recognition from Taipei to Beijing in 2019.

Ieremia Tabai

First president, 1979 to 1991. Sworn in at 29, then the youngest head of state anywhere.

David Katoatau

Lifted Kiribati's first Commonwealth gold in 2014, then danced at Rio 2016 for climate.

Teresia Teaiwa

Poet and scholar who built Pacific Studies at Victoria University, Wellington. Died 2017.

Teatao Teannaki

President from 1991 to 1994, in the first handover after Tabai's twelve years in office

Kaitinano Mwemweata

Sprinter on Kiribati's first Olympic team, three athletes at Athens in 2004.

Kakianako Nariki

Sprinter, the other half of that first Olympic track pair in Athens

Meamea Thomas

Weightlifter on that first team, where the programme that won Commonwealth gold began.

Ruben Katoatau

Weightlifter, David's younger brother, sixth in the 69 kg at the 2018 Commonwealth Games.

Teweiariki Teaero

Artist, poet and teacher from Nikunau who works legends and motifs into contemporary art.

Katerina Teaiwa

Banaban and I-Kiribati scholar who traced where Banaba's phosphate went and what it left.

Louisa Humphry

Master weaver with more than thirty years keeping I-Kiribati weaving in working use.

Must-try I-Kiribati food

Coconut, taro, breadfruit and whatever came off the reef this morning. Pick a category.

Palusami

Taro leaves baked in coconut cream to something between stew and custard. At every feast.

Te bua toro ni baukin

Babai, coconut cream and toddy syrup baked in leaves. Now often made with tinned meat.

Te ika mata

Raw reef fish in lime and coconut cream, over rice, with fish from this morning's lagoon.

Te ura

Coconut crab: rich, slow-growing and overharvested. Ask where it came from first.

Te inai

Fried parrotfish, eaten hot from the pan or cold next morning, the way guests get it.

Grilled reef fish

Split, salted and laid on coconut-husk coals. On an outer island this is simply dinner.

Te mai

Breadfruit, roasted in an earth oven, boiled or fried. The island starch long before rice.

Te bwabwai

Giant swamp taro grown in pits dug to the freshwater lens. A status crop for big days.

Te kaina

Pandanus, chewed off the key or dried into tuae, a slab that keeps for months on a canoe.

Te karewe

Coconut toddy cut from the flower at dawn and dusk. Sweet when fresh, and it ferments.

Kamaimai

Toddy boiled down to a dark, molasses-thick syrup that sweetens bread and babai.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning a Kiribati trip.

Currency

Australian dollar

The Australian dollar, and cash runs the country. Hotels and banks on South Tarawa take cards and little else does. Outer islands have no bank and no machine, so carry a week's cash from Tarawa.

Language

Gilbertese and English

English is official and carries signs and most conversations with visitors. Everyone speaks Gilbertese. The Gilbertese ti sounds like s, so Kiribati is said Kiribas.

Power

240V, 50Hz, type I plugs

The Australian and New Zealand three flat pins. Bring a universal adaptor. Outside South Tarawa supply is uneven, and several islands run on solar and generator hours.

Emergency

999

999 is the general line, but signal thins fast outside South Tarawa and Kiritimati. On outer islands call the council office or clinic. Serious cases fly abroad: insure for medical evacuation.

Time zones

UTC+12, +13 and +14

Three zones, no daylight saving: the Gilberts at UTC+12, the Phoenix group at +13 and the Line Islands at +14, the furthest forward anywhere. Since 1995 the whole republic keeps one date.

Visa

Visa-free for 30 days for many passports

Schedule 1 nationals, including Australia, New Zealand, the US, the UK, Canada, Japan and most of the EU, enter visa-free for 30 days. Passports need six months left. Cap: 90 days in 12 months.

Getting there

Nadi for Tarawa, Honolulu for Kiritimati

Fiji Airways flies Nadi to Bonriki on Tarawa a couple of times a week and Honolulu to Kiritimati weekly. Nauru Airlines adds a Nadi link. Schedules are thin and change, so build in slack.

Getting around

Domestic flights, minibuses and boats

Air Kiribati flies the Gilberts from Bonriki, with tight baggage limits and a moving schedule. Shared minibuses run South Tarawa's one road all day. Everything else is a boat, and ships take days.

Water

Bottled or boiled

An atoll's fresh water is a thin lens on salt, strained on South Tarawa. Drink bottled or boiled water, take rainwater as offered, and expect a bucket shower outside the hotels.

Connectivity

Improving, still thin

South Tarawa and Kiritimati have mobile data good enough for messages. Outer islands are patchy to absent. Assume you are offline once the plane leaves, and tell people at home.

Tipping

Not the custom

Not expected in restaurants or taxis. The exception is a formal maneaba function you are invited to, where a gratuity to the master of ceremonies thanks the hosts.

Kiribati travel FAQ

Do you need a visa for Kiribati?+

Most likely not, for a short trip. Nationals of the countries in Schedule 1 of the immigration rules, which includes Australia, New Zealand, the United States, Canada, Japan, Singapore, the United Kingdom and most of the EU, enter without a visa for stays of 30 days or less. Your passport has to be valid for six months beyond arrival, the length granted is the immigration officer's call, and the total may not exceed 90 days in any 12-month period. Anything longer, or any purpose other than tourism, needs a permit arranged in advance through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

How do you get to Kiribati?+

Through Fiji or through Hawaii, and which one depends on where you are going. Fiji Airways flies Nadi to Bonriki on Tarawa a couple of times a week, and Nauru Airlines adds a connection on the same route. Kiritimati is served from Honolulu, weekly, into Cassidy International. Both are thin schedules on small fleets, so a missed connection costs a week, and travel insurance and loose onward bookings matter more here than in most places.

Can you see Tarawa and Kiritimati on one trip?+

In practice, no. They are about 3,300 kilometres apart, at opposite ends of the country, and they sit on different air routes: one reached from Fiji, the other from Hawaii. There is no useful scheduled hop between them, so joining the two means leaving the country and coming back in, on flights that run weekly. Pick the Gilberts or pick the Line Islands, and treat them as separate trips.

Is Kiribati a beach holiday?+

No, and going expecting one is the main way visitors are disappointed. There is no resort industry. South Tarawa is a dense urban strip with a serious waste and water problem, accommodation is a handful of small hotels and guesthouses, and the swimming is better on North Tarawa or an outer island, where you stay in a village and the day is shaped by the tide and the boat. What Kiribati offers is an atoll country almost nobody visits, a living maneaba culture, one of the most intact Pacific battlefields anywhere, and the bonefishing on Kiritimati. It is a trip for the curious.

Is Kiribati disappearing?+

It is not gone, and it is not fine. Most of the land sits little more than a couple of metres above sea level on atolls whose fresh water is a thin lens floating on salt, so the immediate problems are the ones that arrive first: coastal erosion, king tides washing over the road, saltwater reaching the wells and the babai pits, and drought. Successive governments have made the case internationally for two decades, and the country has bought land in Fiji as a hedge. Visiting is not disaster tourism if you treat it as a country people live in, and the people you meet will tell you about it themselves.

What is there to do on Tarawa?+

More than a stopover suggests. Betio at the western end holds the Second World War remains, Japanese command bunkers, coastal guns and the beaches the US Marines landed on across the reef flat in November 1943, and they are unfenced and unlandscaped. The Te Umwanibong museum and cultural centre and the parliament at Ambo are on the same road. The market and the causeway are where the day happens. Then get off the strip: a boat to North Tarawa, a night in a village, and a maneaba evening are what people remember.

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