Visitors Information

	Passport Required?	Visa Required?	Return Ticket Required?
Full British	Yes	1	Yes
Australian	Yes	Yes	Yes
Canadian	Yes	2	Yes
USA	Yes	Yes	Yes
Other EU	Yes	1	Yes
Japanese	Yes	Yes	Yes

• PASSPORTS: Passport valid for 6 months required by all.
• VISAS: Required by all except the following:

(a) 1. nationals of Denmark, Spain, Sweden and the UK (irrespective of endorsement in passport regarding national status) for stays of up to 28 days. All other EU nationals do require a visa;

(b) 2. nationals of Canada for stays of up to 28 days;

(c) nationals of Antigua & Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana, Cyprus, Fiji, Grenada, Guyana, Hong Kong (SAR), Iceland, India, Jamaica, Kenya, Lesotho, Liechtenstein, Malaysia, Malta, New Zealand, Niue,rway, St Kitts & Nevis, St Lucia, Samoa, San Marino, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, Switzerland, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Tunisia, Tuvalu, Uruguay, Vanuatu and Zimbabwe for up to 28 days;

(d) nationals of Korea (Rep. of) and Nauru for up to 30 days;

(e) nationals of the Philippines for up to 21 days;

(f) nationals of American Samoa, Ecuador, Guam, Marshall Islands, Pacific Islands of Micronesia and Palau for up to 20 days;

(g) transit passengers continuing their journey by the same or first connecting aircraft, provided holding onward or return documentation and not leaving the airport (some nationalities always require a transit visa; enquire at the Consulate).

Note: (a) Nationals of the following countries require permission to enter the country from the Principal Immigration Officer:

Albania, Algeria, Bahrain, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Cambodia, CIS, China (PR), Croatia, Cuba, Czech Republic, Egypt, Estonia, Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Hungary, Iraq, Jordan, Korea (DPR), Kuwait, Laos, Latvia, Lebanon, Libya, Lithuania, Mongolia, Poland, Romania, Saudi Arabia, Slovak Republic, Sudan, Syria, United Arab Emirates, Vietnam, Yemen and Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro). Visa application will take an additional 2 weeks. The nationals of some countries require references along with their visas. Check details with the Consulate (or the Consular section at the Embassy or High Commission). (b) On arrival, visitors may apply for a Visitor's Permit to stay for a maximum of 4 months; a visa, return or onward travel tickets and sufficient funds for the duration of stay are required.

• Types of visa and cost: Tourist and Business: A$40 (single-entry); A$70 multiple-entry). Transit.
• Application to: Consulate or Consular section at the Embassy (see address section).
• Application requirements: (a) Completed application form. (b) Passport. (c) Travel itinerary. (d) Stamped and self-addressed envelope. (e) Appropriate letters from company/sponsors if on business.
• Working days required: Allow 3 weeks for postal applications. An additional 2 weeks is required when permission needs to be obtained from the Principal Immigration Officer in Tarawa.
• Temporary residence: Apply to Office of the President, PO Box 68, Bairiki, Tarawa, Kiribati.

Health risks: Diarrhoeal diseases from unsafe drinking water, conjunctivitis, hookworm
Time: GMT/UTC + 12 hours
Electricity: 240V, 50Hz
Weights & measures: Metric

Money & Costs

Go any time except the wet season, which is November to February. The weather will be hot outside of that period, but not as humid nor subject to as many tropical downpours. See also next weeks weather forcast for Tarawa.

Getting There & Away

Getting Around

Food & Entertainment

Activities & Shopping

Transport

Accommodation

Events

Public Holidays

• Jan 1 New Year's Day. 
• Apr 13-16 Easter. 
• May 9 Health Day. 
• Jul 12 Independence Day. 
• Aug 4 Youth Day.
• Dec 10 Human Rights Day. 
• Dec 25-26 Christmas

Activities

Attractions

• Tarawa: Tarawa is not a single town but a group of islands surrounded by a coral atoll, and apart from the south where causeways link the islets, you'll need a boat to navigate around the main features. The international airport is on Bonriki in the south-east corner, which also hosts the new hospital and fish ponds. The central government offices, Parliament building, President's Office and Residence, central post office, bank, library and archives, and various other official buildings including the Air Kiribati Travel Agency are all on Bairiki Island. Betio Island, probably the most populous in Kiribati, has the port, shipyard and main power station, and it's where you'll go if you need to cool your heels overnight in jail. Betio also has a large number of war relics, after fierce fighting during a major marine assault in November 1943. On Ambo Island the 'greens' of the golf course are rolled sand. Tarawa is one of the most densely populated areas in the Pacific, and it's estimated that by the year 2000 it could have a similar population density to Hong Kong.
• Tabiteuea: You'd be wrong if you thought crusades were confined to the 11th century and the Holy Lands. During the 1880s, a force from the Christian north led by Hawaiian pastors descended on the southerners 'in the name of the Book' and killed about 1000 non-believers (and also grabbed some more land for themselves). The name 'Tabiteuea' means 'chiefs are forbidden', and the society of the islands is egalitarian with no nobility. It is the largest and most populous outer island, and parts of Tabiteuea South are among the most beautiful in Kiribati. Traditional culture remains strong, with traditional dancing, singing, and magic still playing a significant role in people's lives. While Tabiteuea is not geared up for tourists, you could contact the Catholic Mission if you are stuck for a place to sleep. Tabiteuea is about 400km (248mi) from Tarawa, and you can reach it by Air Kiribati from Tarawa, or by Kiribati Shipping Corporation from Tarawa.
• Butaritari: Butaritari is wet and green, with around 4m (157in) of rain a year, and its name roughly means 'smell of the sea' in I-Kiribati. It lies in the northern Gilberts, placing it just over the line in the North Pacific. Described as 'the land that Time picked up but dropped', Butaritari is not far from Tarawa but may seem a world away. One of the main features of the island is the fried breadfruit, a different variety from that found elsewhere in Kiribati. You can get around by canoe to nearby Makin Island via a beautiful passage through the reef. The island is littered with war relics, including downed aircraft. Fierce fighting took place here in 1942 when a group of US Marines slipped in behind Japanese lines in a feint operation designed to draw attention from the main front through the Solomons. Hollywood later immortalised the operation in a film that had little similarity to the real events, appropriately enough called Gung Ho, and starring Ronald Reagan. The main village, and the biggest town outside of Tarawa, is Butaritari, and it has a population of around 2000. Butaritari is about 100km (62mi) north-west of Tarawa, and you can get there by ship from Betio or Tarawa, or by air from Tarawa.
• Abemama: Robert Louis Stevenson dropped by Abemama in 1889 and his wife designed a silly flag for the island (including a shark wearing a crown), which understandably was never used. The British placed the Kingdom of Abemama under their protection in 1892, and Abemamans were lucky enough to have their island declared a Crown Colony in 1911. It nearly became the post war capital, but Tarawa finally won out because of the easier access through its surrounding reef. War relics are still scattered over the island, and several villages are worth visiting, although none are geared up to take tourists. An unusual species of tiny yellow 'barking' frog is found there, most likely introduced from Tuvalu, to keep the mosquito population in check. Abemama is about 80km (50mi) south-west of Tarawa, and you can get there by air or boat from Tarawa.

Off the Beaten Track

• Tabuaeran: The island was uninhabited when Europeans first saw it, but archaeological evidence points to 'local' people - probably Tongans - paying a pre-European visit. The Fanning Island Plantations Ltd Company decided they would own the island during the 19th century, and began exploiting the coconuts growing there for copra. A small and laid back population of a little over 1300 lives there today, and you can snorkel, dive and swim around much of the coast. Tabuaeran is 3130km (1941mi) north-east of Tarawa, and getting there is difficult unless you have your own yacht or can hitch a ride on one.
• Kiritimati (Christmas) Island: Kirimati Island is the largest coral atoll in the world, with more than 100 lakes or ponds dotting the interior that support a huge number of birds. A large bay on the east coast is known as the Bay of Wrecks because so many ships have floundered there. The main settlements are London, Paris and Banana. Extensive coconut plantations support a copra industry, fish farms have been established in some of the lakes and a solar salt producing plant is successfully taking the water out of seawater. The island has facilities for game fishing and a hotel, and there are reportedly no ill effects from the British hydrogen bomb tests held there in the 50s and 60s. Kiritimati has fully half the land mass of Kiribati, and has been considered for development as an alternative economic centre to Tarawa, 3260km to the west. It is linked to Tarawa by air and sea.
• Southern Line Islands: Malden, Starbuck, Vostok, Caroline and Flint are uninhabited, low coral islands that share a similar history. They were discovered by various Europeans, rediscovered by more Europeans and renamed throughout the 19th century, then either mined for phosphate or planted with coconuts - some successfully, others unsuccessfully. All of them except Vostok bear scars of phosphate mining. Stone faced platforms and graves on Malden and Caroline indicate both islands were once inhabited by Polynesians, and British servicemen were stationed on Malden in the 50s and 60s during the British nuclear testing. The best way to get to the islands today is by private yacht, and they lie between 3521km (2183mi) and 4043km (2506mi) south-east of Tarawa
• Banaba: Banaba is west of the Gilbert Group and just south of the equator. The island has been almost entirely destroyed by phosphate mining, which has left a weird landscape of stark coral pinnacles protruding from burning white rock, littered with rusted mining equipment. The population of about 280 lives in a fringe of vegetation that hasn't been mined, hanging on in their homeland despite most of the former population having been settled on Rabi Island in Fiji (where they had to buy their plots of land) at the end of WWII. Islanders still cling fervently to their culture and maintain links with their kinsfolk on Rabi. Banaba is an ecological curiosity - see how mining has trashed a unique island and traditional culture - but because facilities are limited you will need to get approval from the island council before you arrive. While there is no regular passenger service to the island, you may be able to negotiate passage on a yacht. Banaba is 600km (372mi) south-west of Tarawa.

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