Where to Stay in Kiribati

The capital's atoll chain runs 30 kilometres from Betio in the west to Bonriki in the east, islets stitched together by causeways laid over shallow reef flats. Almost every formal bed in the country clusters here, small hotels, family guesthouses, a handful of government-linked properties. Betio holds the port and most budget doors, Bairiki hosts the administration, and Bikenibewu fronts the flagship hotel beside the airport.

A five-minute boat ride splits North Tarawa from the crowded capital, and the moment you step off the bow you are in another country. Thatched maneaba line the beach, coconut palms own the horizon, and time stalls. Accommodation is limited to community-run eco-bungalows and village homestays set up through government and aid-backed tourism projects. This is the simplest way to live authentic atoll village life without boarding a multi-day supply ship.

Butaritari and Makin anchor the northern Gilbert chain, soaked by heavier rains and cloaked in greener foliage than their southern cousins. Butaritari pulls the most visitors of any outer island, its dense vegetation, 1943 Battle of Makin sites, and comparatively developed villages make it the easiest outer island to reach. Abaiang, the closest outer atoll to South Tarawa, gives a gentle introduction to outer-island life with a short boat hop from the capital.

Draw a line from Abemama south to Nonouti, Tabiteuea, Beru, Onotoa, Nikunau, Tamana and Arorae and you have Kiribati's stubbornly traditional tail. Abemama still echoes Robert Louis Stevenson's 1889 stay where he wrote chunks of 'In the South Seas'; Tabiteuea stretches longer than any other atoll in the Gilberts. Together they entertain maybe a dozen independent travellers apiece each year.

Three thousand three hundred kilometres east of Tarawa, Kiritimati is the biggest coral atoll on earth by land area and a one-trick pony: salt-water fly-fishing that ranks with the planet's best. Bonefish flats stretch to the horizon, giant trevally prowl, milkfish sprint, and anglers pay premium dollars for the privilege. Lodges and hotels huddle round London village and the lagoon. Expect basic but angler-ready infrastructure.

South of Kiritimati, Fanning (Tabuaeran) and Washington (Teraina) are the Line Islands' afterthoughts. Tabuaeran sees the odd cruise-ship day trip and has a scattering of basic beds; Teraina's claim is Washington Lake, a freshwater anomaly inside a coral atoll, ringed by coconut groves. Together they host fewer than a hundred independent visitors annually.