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◆ Country guide · Micronesia

The Marshall Islands, Majuro and the atolls beyond it

Twenty-nine coral atolls and five single islands, 181 square kilometres of land, and close to two million square kilometres of ocean around them. Most trips are Majuro and a lagoon or two. The other one is Bikini, where the United States set off 23 nuclear weapons and the fleet it sank in 1946 is now a wreck dive for technical divers.

42,418

People

Atolls

181 km²

Land area

Region

Best months

Jan · Feb · Mar

Ideal length

5–8 days

Budget / day

$150–300

Language

Marshallese and English are both official

Getting around

Shared taxis on Majuro’s one road

When to visit the Marshall Islands

A dry half and a wet half, and Bikini runs to its own calendar.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best: January to March, the heart of the dry season, with steady trade winds and February the driest month Good: April and December at either end of the dry season, and May to September for the Bikini liveaboard Wettest: October and November, the hottest and rainiest stretch on Majuro

Quick answer · where to go in the Marshall Islands

Most trips stay in Majuro: the capital, the hotels, the one road and the lagoon. Ride the road out to Laura at the western tip, then take a boat to Bokanbotin Island for the eco-glamping stay or to Arno for a day. Air Marshall Islands flies to Jaluit, the old colonial seat at Jabor, and Maloelap, for the wartime wrecks on Taroa. Build slack around every flight. Bikini is a separate trip: one liveaboard from Ebeye, technical divers only, May to October. Book it first.

Jump toMap Fun fact Stereotypes Famous faces Food FAQ

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

On 1 March 1954 the United States detonated Castle Bravo on Bikini Atoll: 15 megatons, the largest American test, one of 23 at Bikini and 67 across the islands. Its fallout reached inhabited atolls downwind, Rongelap among them. The date is now a national day of remembrance for the victims.

Stereotypes, sorted out

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

"The Marshall Islands is an American territory."

The realityIt is an independent republic, with a constitution since 1979 and a UN seat. The Compact of Free Association blurs the line: the US dollar, visa-free Americans, a US Army base on Kwajalein, and Marshallese free to live in the US. The 2021 census found 42,418 people, a fifth fewer than in 2011.

"Bikini is a beach you can go and lie on."

The realityBikini is a World Heritage Site because of what was done to it: 23 nuclear tests between 1946 and 1958. It has no residents and no land-based dive operation. Visitors come only on a liveaboard from Kwajalein, as technical divers, between May and October. The swimsuit is the least of it.

"The islands are about to vanish under the sea."

The realityThe threat is real and drives the country's diplomacy: Tony de Brum pushed the Paris Agreement toward 1.5 degrees, and Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner took the case to the UN in a poem. But 42,418 people live here today, with a capital, two hospitals and an airport. Listen to what they are up against.

"Nobody has heard of it."

The realityMore people have seen its name than could find it. Its ship registry is the second-largest in the world by gross tonnage, so Majuro is painted on tankers in every major port. In 2011 the Nitijela made all 1,990,530 square kilometres of its waters a shark sanctuary, then the largest anywhere.

Only Bikini and the bombsAn American territoryAlready under the seaToo far to bother withDiving or nothingJust more Micronesia

Cultural notes that actually help

Iakwe is the greeting, hello and goodwill in one word. Use it with everyone, drivers and market sellers included.
Dress for a church-going country once you leave the beach: shoulders and knees covered in town and in villages, and swimwear kept for the boat and the resort. For women, thighs are treated as private.
Sunday belongs to church and family. The Laura bus does not run, and a village visit that day is for the service, not for sightseeing.
Every islet belongs to someone. Land passes through families and their chiefs, the iroij, so ask before you land, picnic or collect anything on an outer islet, and go with a local operator where there is one.
The nuclear years are family history, not a tour theme. People from Bikini, Enewetak, Rongelap and other atolls still live with them, and 1 March is a national day of remembrance. Let a host bring it up.
Sharks are protected in every Marshallese water. Commercial shark fishing and the sale of any shark product have been banned since 2011, and a shark caught by accident has to be released.
Shared taxis take on other passengers along the way. Fares are not regulated, so agree one before you get in.

Famous Marshallese faces

The names behind Marshallese politics, advocacy, navigation and sport. Pick a field.

Amata Kabua

Founding president from 1979 to 1996, who wrote the anthem. The airport bears his name.

Hilda Heine

President 2016 to 2020 and from 2024, the first modern woman leader of a Pacific nation.

Kathy Jetñil-Kijiner

Poet who opened the 2014 UN Climate Summit with Dear Matafele Peinam, to an ovation.

Darlene Keju

Health pioneer who said in 1983 that test fallout spread far wider than the US admitted.

Tony de Brum

Foreign minister who sued the nuclear states in 2014 and pushed Paris toward 1.5 degrees.

Kessai Note

President 2000 to 2008 and the first commoner elected to the office. Speaker from 1988.

Lijon Eknilang

Rongelap survivor of the 1954 fallout who testified at the International Court in 1995.

Selina Leem

At 18, gave the Marshall Islands’ closing statement at the 2015 Paris climate conference.

Alson Kelen

Runs Canoes of the Marshall Islands, founded in 1989, which trains young canoe builders.

Korent Joel

Government ship captain and one of the last navigators trained to read ocean swells.

Mattie Sasser

The first Olympic weightlifter for the Marshall Islands, eleventh at Rio, tenth in Paris.

Giordan Harris

Swimmer for the Marshall Islands at the London 2012 and Rio 2016 Olympics.

Must-try Marshallese food

Breadfruit, pandanus, coconut and the day’s catch, much of it made to keep. Pick a category.

Chukuchuk

Rice balls rolled in fresh coconut for special occasions. Many call it the national dish.

Mā

Breadfruit, the top atoll crop, baked, boiled or fried. The harvest now comes in June.

Bōb

Pandanus, an atoll staple, sold ripe at the Majuro market and the raw material of mokwan.

Bwiro

Breadfruit fermented and baked underground, to keep it between harvests. Recooked to eat.

Mokwan

Dried pandanus paste that keeps, the old voyaging food of Ailuk, Likiep and Mejit.

Iu

The crunchy core of a sprouted coconut, sweeter than heart of palm. Plain or with lime.

Jekaro

Sweet sap tapped from the coconut flower stalk. Boiled into syrup or left to ferment.

Barulep

Coconut crab, its sweet meat often likened to lobster. Roasted, or boiled in coconut milk.

Sashimi

Raw sliced fish, everyday food. Fish intake is often put at 240 pounds a head a year.

Smoked fish

Sold at the Majuro market with taro chips and cooked breadfruit. Buy some for the boat.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning a Marshall Islands trip, from the entry rules to the Bikini booking.

Currency

US dollar

The Marshall Islands issues no currency of its own and runs on the US dollar. Carry cash for the shared taxis, the market and the airport departure fee, which is collected in dollar notes.

Language

Marshallese and English

Both are official. Marshallese is what people speak to each other; English carries government, business, the hotels and the airlines. Iakwe is the greeting.

Emergency

911

Hospitals are on Delap in Majuro and on Ebeye. Outer atolls have dispensaries only, and serious cases are flown out, usually to the US. Insure for medical evacuation.

Visa

None for US citizens, on arrival for many

US, Micronesian and Palauan citizens need none. Pacific Forum states, Canada, the EU, the UK and Japan get a visa on arrival. Bring six months' validity, an onward ticket and the exit fee in cash.

Health

Proof of measles vaccination

Visitors from six months old, born in or after 1957, must show measles vaccination given two weeks before arrival or be refused. Carry proof. Yellow fever proof only if arriving from a risk country.

Getting there

Majuro, from Honolulu, Guam or Brisbane

Amata Kabua International Airport on Majuro is the gateway. United’s Island Hopper links Honolulu and Guam, and Nauru Airlines links Tarawa, Nauru and Brisbane. Routes change: check with the airlines.

Getting around

Shared taxis, domestic flights, boats

Shared taxis run Majuro’s main road and stop anywhere; agree the fare first. A bus goes to Laura except on Sundays. Air Marshall Islands flies to the outer atolls, and lagoon trips are by boat.

Kwajalein

An Army base, visitors stay on Ebeye

Kwajalein Island is a US Army base with controlled access and its own hospital. The Marshallese town, hotels and Bikini liveaboard departures are on Ebeye next door.

Diving Bikini

Liveaboard only, technical divers

No land-based diving. The Pacific Master sails from Kwajalein for up to 18 divers, May to October. You need TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression or PADI Tec 45, and 2026 sold out. Book first.

Safety

Normal precautions

The US and Canada rate it Level 1, normal precautions. Petty theft and break-ins are the everyday risk. Plan around medical care more than crime.

Tipping

Not customary

Taxis, shops and the market do not expect it. On a liveaboard, crew gratuities follow the operator’s booking terms.

Marshall Islands travel FAQ

Can you dive Bikini Atoll?+

Yes, if you are a technical diver and you book early. The Bikini council opened the atoll to divers in 1996 and ran its own dive operation until 2008, when unreliable flights and fuel costs closed it, and access has been by liveaboard ever since. Today that means Master Liveaboards’ Pacific Master, sailing from Ebeye on Kwajalein under a concession from the Bikini local government, for up to 18 divers a trip in a season it sets between May and October. The minimum certification is TDI Advanced Nitrox and Decompression Procedures, PADI Tec 45 or an equivalent, because the ships sunk in the 1946 tests, the carrier USS Saratoga and the battleship Nagato among them, are decompression dives. There is no day trip, no land-based alternative and no hotel to base yourself in. Most 2026 departures sold out, so the boat is the first thing to book.

Do you need a visa for the Marshall Islands?+

Not if you hold a US passport: American citizens enter without a visa under the Compact of Free Association, as do citizens of Micronesia and Palau. Citizens of the Pacific Islands Forum countries, including Australia and New Zealand, and of Canada, the European Union, the UK, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and the Philippines are issued a visitor visa on arrival; Australia’s travel advice puts it at 30 days, extendable through the Division of Immigration. Other nationalities apply before flying. Everyone needs a passport valid for six months, an onward or return ticket, the departure fee in US dollar cash and, under the current entry guidance, proof of measles vaccination.

How do you get to the Marshall Islands?+

By air into Amata Kabua International Airport on Majuro. United’s Island Hopper connects Majuro with Honolulu in one direction and Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk and Guam in the other, which makes Honolulu and Guam the two usual gateways. Nauru Airlines links Majuro with Tarawa, Nauru and Brisbane, and with Pohnpei and Koror. Inside the country, Air Marshall Islands runs the domestic network to the outer atolls. Schedules in this part of the Pacific change, so check them with the airlines directly and leave slack at both ends.

When is the best time to visit the Marshall Islands?+

For Majuro and the lagoon, January to March. The drier season runs from mid-December to late April, the trade winds are steady, and February is the driest month. From late April to mid-December the weather is wetter, with the autumn the hottest and rainiest part of the year and November the wettest month. Bikini works to its own calendar: the only liveaboard runs there in a season between May and October, when the lagoon is calm, so a diving trip lands in the wetter half by design.

Is the Marshall Islands safe to visit?+

Yes. The United States rates it at Level 1, exercise normal precautions, and Canada’s advice is the same. Petty theft and break-ins happen, so lock up and keep the passport secure. The thing to plan around is medical care: Majuro and Ebeye have the only hospitals, the outer atolls have dispensaries, and a serious case is evacuated, usually to the United States. Buy insurance that covers evacuation before you fly, bring the prescriptions you need, and carry proof of measles vaccination, which the entry guidance asks for.

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