Things to do in Kiritimati
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Kiritimati
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Drier, clearer trade wind window and the best sight fishing light, clearest around August to October. Book furthest ahead.
Warmer and more humid shoulder into the wetter spell, fishing continues with more cloud. New Year travellers arrive for late December.
Warmest, wettest spell, typically wettest around April, with more shortened boat and fishing days. El Nino years can be far wetter.
What's on
- Kiribati Independence Day 12 July
National day marking independence in 1979, marked in Kiritimati with village celebrations, church, sport and community gatherings.
- New Year 1 January
Kiritimati at UTC+14 is the first inhabited place in the world to enter the new year.
Best things to do in Kiritimati
Cook Island
A protected lagoon islet with dense nesting seabirds, visited by boat only with current sanctuary permission.
Bay of Wrecks
A wild surf coast named for its shipwrecks, viewed from shore on a rough road half day from Banana.
Aeon Point
The easternmost point, named for the SS Aeon wrecked here in 1908, at the far end of the Bay of Wrecks.
London Village
The main village and port, heart of a circuit taking in Tabwakea, Banana, Poland and the Paris ruins.
Paris Peninsula
The far lagoon shore with the Paris ruins and backcountry quiet, reached by boat with a guide and a tide plan.
Where to stay in Kiritimati
London and Tabwakea
lodge weeks, boats, the port
The north west lagoon shore with London port and Tabwakea village, holding the densest cluster of fishing lodges.
Banana and the airport road
an ocean side lodge, arrivals
Banana village near Cassidy airport, closest to arrival and the Bay of Wrecks road, with ocean side lodges.
Poland
getting away from the lodge circuit
Across the lagoon to the south west, village quiet with its Catholic church, needing transfers and meals planned ahead.
Think twice about
- Ocean side beaches and the Bay of Wrecks coast
Surf and dangerous currents with no lifeguards. View from shore, never swim on the ocean side.
- Hypersaline inner lagoons
Hot, salty back lagoons unsuitable for swimming, despite sitting inside the lagoon system on the map.
- Closed sanctuary islets
Breeding seabird islets can be permit only or fully closed in season. Do not land without current Wildlife Conservation Unit permission.
- Reef passes
Channels and passes run with strong current out to sea. Never swim or snorkel a pass.
Best restaurants in Kiritimati
Ikari House
Full board lodge dining in a lagoon side maneaba, with fresh sashimi and seafood when the day boats do well.
Christmas Island Lodge
Small house dining for about twelve anglers by the ocean surf, fresh fish first and imported staples second.
Captain Cook Hotel
The hotel dining room near Banana, the closest meal to a walk in option, to be confirmed through your lodge first.
Bistro de Myrko
The independent restaurant in Poland village, worth a full lagoon crossing day if confirmed open for your dates.
Sand Beach Restaurant
A small beach restaurant in Banana for simple fish and rice plates, to confirm on arrival and visit at lunch.
Outdoor things to do in Kiritimati
Lagoon flats fly fishing for bonefish
Walk and wade flats fishing for bonefish with a local guide across hundreds of square kilometres of white sand flats.
Giant trevally and bluewater fishing
Guided giant trevally hunting on the flats edges and bluewater for tuna and wahoo beyond the reef, by lodge boat.
Snorkelling the ocean reef and lagoon edges
Boat snorkelling on ocean reef edges and lagoon coral heads with reef fish, turtles and rays, guided by current condition.
Scuba diving
Thin, arrange ahead diving on reef walls with reef sharks, bringing your own gear and confirming a named divemaster first.
Motu Upua
A lagoon islet seabird colony for sooty terns, petrels and the endemic Christmas Island warbler, viewed with a guide.
Best hotels in Kiritimati
Ikari House
The best documented fishing lodge, twelve air conditioned ensuite rooms in London with full board and fast boats.
Christmas Island Lodge
A small ocean side lodge of coral stone bungalows near Banana, hosting about twelve anglers with full board.
The Villages Hotel
A lagoon front lodge in Tabwakea with modern bungalows, sold as the value guided lodge to verify for 2026/27.
Sunset Horizon Fishing Lodge
A smaller London fishing lodge with a restaurant and bar, a simpler base for anglers with their own guide plans.
Captain Cook Hotel
The historic small hotel near Banana and the airport, the non lodge option to confirm direct before relying on it.
Lagoon View Resort
The budget small hotel on the Tabwakea and London road, eight rooms for independent travellers arranging boats day by day.
Is Kiritimati expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | A$190 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | A$650 a person |
| Splurge | A$1,050 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Cook Island: weeks ahead
- Paris Peninsula: weeks ahead
- Lagoon flats fly fishing for bonefish: months ahead
- Giant trevally and bluewater fishing: months ahead
- Snorkelling the ocean reef and lagoon edges: weeks ahead
- Scuba diving: months ahead
- Motu Upua: weeks ahead
- Ikari House: months ahead
- Book the Fiji Airways flight first, then the lodge week that matches it, months ahead for May to October.
- Confirm fishing licence, boat fuel, guide ratio and transfers in writing in every lodge package.
- Confirm sanctuary permits, diving and Poland transfers for your exact week before travel.
Is Kiritimati safe?
- Medical evacuation is the plan for anything serious, by air over hours and sometimes days. Insurance covering evacuation is essential.
- Extreme UV, heat and dehydration on white flats. Hat, long sleeves, reef boots and enforced water breaks are equipment.
- Never wade the flats alone, never swim a reef pass, and clean coral cuts immediately and seriously.
Kiritimati travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Confusing this Kiritimati with the Australian Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean when searching flights or hotels.
- Arriving without Australian dollar cash, medicines or tackle and expecting to buy them on the island that week.
- Planning to swim in the lagoon or on the ocean side without asking locally that day.
Getting around Kiritimati: public transport and more
- One Fiji Airways loop a week, FJ822 and FJ823, Wednesday is flight day and lodge weeks run Wednesday to Wednesday.
- Lodges include Cassidy airport transfers and boat transport to the flats. Independent travel needs a driver hired through your stay.
- Distances are deceptive and roads east of Banana are rough and slow. Plan east side days as half or full days.
Who Kiritimati suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Great |
| Couples | Good |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Kiritimati your trip
Swearby drafts the days from places people swear by. Swap any stop, then invite the crew by text, even friends without the app. Vote on dates, track costs as you go, and everyone gets one number at the end.
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