Things to Do in Marakei

Cycle the causeway loop

Rent a wobbly one-speed in Rawannawi village and pedal the coral causeway that links the northern islets. Taro pits shimmer like green mirrors on your left while the Pacific glints cobalt on your right. Every few minutes a kid on a homemade scooter made from driftwood will overtake you, laughing. Pause at the stone marker where islanders once buried the first missionary's boots. Coral 'flowers' left by visitors still sprout there.

Sunset drum dance at Tekaman maneaba

Three nights a week the village gathers inside the enormous thatched maneaba, and when the drums start the floorboards thrum against your bare soles. Elders slap hollow coconut logs in sync with younger dancers wearing frigate-bird headdresses. The air fills with the smoky-sweet smell of coconut-husk torches. Visitors are invited to join the final circle shuffle. Calloused hands will grab yours and guide the footwork.

Lagoon drift snorkel at Bukurau passage

Slip into the current at the widest reef passage and let the incoming tide pull you over coral gardens the color of papaya and lime. Giant clams slam shut with a squelch you feel in your ribs. Juvenile reef sharks - curious but harmless - zigzag below like silver darts. Guides float a spare coconut shell as a rest buoy so you can simply drift. Your ears fill with your own breathing and the crackle of feeding parrotfish.

Toddy-cutting lesson with Tinnau

Climb a leaning coconut palm using Tinnau's woven fiber foot strap, legs wrapped around the trunk that smells of warm sap. At the crown you'll slice the flower spathe and watch the first milky drops fall into his plastic jerry-can. Morning's catch will ferment into sour-sweet toddy by sunset. Back on the ground he'll let you sip the fresh juice: mineral, slightly floral, like sugarcane with the green left in.

Overnight kayak to Naubai islet

Paddle a rented fiberglass kayak across the lagoon's inside seam, camping on a motu where hermit crabs outnumber people 500 to 1. The sand is so white it squeaks. At night bioluminescence turns every paddle stroke into a green sparkler. You'll cook reef fish over coconut-husk coals, tasting the slightly tannic smoke that islanders swear cures homesickness.

Rawannawi village - family bungalows where you'll wake to breadfruit falling on the tin roof

Tekuanga guesthouse - simple concrete rooms facing the lagoon, shared mandi wash area fragrant with frangipani

Bukurau causeway - two over-water stilt huts run by the women's group, good for sunrise coffee

Tearinibai homestay - sleeps four, mosquito nets smell faintly of kerosene, grandmother sings hymns while cooking. The nets feel rough but keep the night bugs out. Her voice drifts through the thatch like low tide. Simple. Honest. You'll sleep anyway.

Naubai islet camp - council tent platform, bring own sleeping mat, toilet is the far side of the pandanus clump. Stars blaze overhead. Waves slap the reef. Pack light. Pack right.

Rawata church hall - foam mattresses on floor, donation box, rooster chorus guaranteed at 4 a.m. Earplugs help. So does laughter. The foam is thin but the welcome is thick.