Table of contents
Culture and History / Travel to Tarawa, visa requirements / By air / By boat / Get around / Tarawa attractions and sightseeing / City tours / Shopping, Tarawa souvenirs / Good restaurants and cheap meals / Tarawa nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs. / Hotels, youth hostels, lodging / Get outTarawa is an atoll in the central Pacific Ocean, and the location of the capital of Kiribati.
Culture and History
Tarawa was the site of the Battle of Tarawa, one of the most brutal battles in the Pacific Theatre during WWII. It was previously the capital of the former British colony of the Gilbert and Ellice Islands.
For a full understanding of this atoll you should pick up a book called "The Sex Lives of Cannibals" by J Maarten Troost. This is a very informative insight to the everyday life on Tarawa. (The title is only catchy as there was nothing naughty inside the book.)
Travel to Tarawa - Visa Requirements
By air
Tarawa airport, Bonriki International Airport(IATA: TRW), is on South Tarawa.
- Air Pacific with a 737 aircraft operates flights from Suva on Tuesdays and Thursdays.
By boat
Supply boats leave Fiji every now and then. No use giving schedules or details here, because there are none. Just ask around in Suva, Nadi or Lautoka harbours. Captains usually accept hitchhikers for a small fee. Prepare for the worst: no comfort, bad food. And for the best: great company, Polynesian and Micronesian hospitality, adventure. Private Yachts cruising the Pacific sometimes also take passengers. Ask around in yacht clubs, marinas, slipways. Good luck! There's just one way to travel (and it's not by plane...)
Tours and Getting around Tarawa
Tarawa tourist attractions and sightseeing
Tarawa city tours
Tarawa souvenirs and shopping
South Tarawa has a few international ATM's through the Bank of Kiribati.
Tarawa Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive
Tarawa nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs
Tarawa cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging
- Otintaai Hotel, ☎ (696) 28084. This government run hotel is the best and most pricey in Kiribati. However, it is at most a three-star hotel, and some people only give it two stars.
- Mary's Motel, Bairiki, ☎ (686) 22227(valetapu88@gmail.com, fax: (686) 21362). .A small private motel on Bairiki next to the causeway to Betio. Clean Rooms with hot water. Restaurant on-site and Wifi Internet
Get out
This page was last edited by Duncan Evans. Based on work by David and Jani Patokallio, Wikitravel user(s) Hot Coffee, MMKK, Episteme, Dawnview and Pashley and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license
