Boarding an empty flight in Kiribati, I’m very excited to travel to the world’s least visited country, Nauru. Unknown by many, it is a tiny island nation in the middle of the Pacific Ocean, with a population of only 12000 people and less than 200 tourists per year.
It has a weird history, once the world’s richest country, in the 60s, thanks to its phosphate reserves that for a brief period gave it the highest per capita GDP in the world. Now, with all those reserves largely exhausted, it became one of the world’s poorest countries, heavily dependent on Australia as its major source of financial support.
In 2001 Nauru signed an agreement with Australia to accommodate refugees (mostly from Iraq and Afghanistan) on the island, in return for millions of dollars in aid.
Nauru also detains a record for the world’s fattest country, with 71 % of its residents being obese! I have no clue why, but I can guarantee when you walk around Nauru everyone is just so fat!
Where is Nauru?
Tiny island nation of just 21 sq km in the middle of the Pacific. About 3000 km northeast of Australia and only 40km away from the Equator.
Landing in Nauru
I finally made it to the least visited country in the world. Every passenger of the plane leaves the aircraft but they are just on a layover before heading to Brisbane. Me and my friend Andrea are the only 2 people at the immigration, holding our visas and stoked to step inside Nauru.
It is such a small country that everyone knows with each other. When the guy from our Airbnb doesn’t show up at the airport pick up, the immigration officer (who went to work that day only for us) offers us a free ride to our place! Besides, there are no taxis or buses on the island, so hitchhiking is the only way to move if you don’t have a car!
How can you travel to Nauru?
It’s the world’s least visited country, so do not expect to be cheap to get there. You can only reach it by plane and only one airline flies there: Nauru Airlines. It operates a twice a week flight from Brisbane and it has some flights from Kiribati and the Marshall Islands as well. Check the website and be ready for last minute changes, as flights get often cancelled or rescheduled.
How to get a Visa for travelling to Nauru?
You need a Visa to travel to Nauru. It is not an easy one! Information is scarcely available online and the government website says nothing about it. It took me 2 months to get the contact of the responsible person at the immigration who could process my application. Here is the application process, step by step:
- 1- Send an email address to Rajeev Keerthiyil, the Director of Immigration: rajeevnauruimmigration@gmail.com
I was quite lucky that he replied within a week, but I heard other travellers waiting almost a month. Alternatively you could try these other 2 email addresses:
rajeev.keerthiyil@naurugov.nr – visa@naurugov.nr
- 2- After you will need to wait for an answer and when someone finally replies they will send you the Visa application form that you’ll need to fill together with other information about yourself and your travel plans:
– Filled visa application form
– Copy of passport biopage
– Travel tickets/Itinerary towards & return from Nauru. Also provide copies of itinerary/ticket if you are visiting other pacific Islands/countries apart from Nauru
– Hotel booking confirmation
– Document to prove your current employment/occupation
- 3- Wait for them to review your application and then they will send you the bank details for the payment of the visa fee: 50 AUD for one month single entry Visa.
- 4- Wait again for them to receive the money, review the whole application and finally send you the Visa.
Yeah, now you are ready to travel to Nauru!
Where to stay in Nauru?
A very important part of your Visa application is to find a place to stay in Nauru and it is not that easy. There is one hotel , The Menen Hotel, which is quite big and nice, with a restaurant and a bar for the weekend, but I couldn’t find a way to book it online.
I stayed at the only place I found on the internet, an Airbnb called Meneng 1, host by Squire. It worked and the stay was pleasant.
Travel to Nauru: What to do there?
Honestly, not a whole lot! It is such a tiny island in the middle of the Pacific. Here is a list of the best 10 things to do in Nauru:
- Rent a car and drive the 30 km circular road. There are not proper car rentals on the island so I managed to get the car for a day from the Airbnb’s owner, with the promise of a full tank the next day.
- Check out the Parliament Building and Nauru Museum, with free entry and some interesting pictures to show the history of the country.
- Drive to Buada Lagoon.
- Visit the World War 2 relics at Command Ridge, Nauru’s highest point.
- Go to Capelle and Partner, Nauru’s main and oldest supermarket. Grab some food and talk to the locals there.
- Drive nearby the refugee center. They won’t let you in but it is interesting to just have a look from the outside. Every refugee attempting to illegally enter Australia, gets sent to Nauru for ‘processing’, which essentially means living in detention centres here in Nauru for years before Australia works out a plan. Read more about the refugee center here.
- Swim in the ocean and enjoy the sunset in the Pacific.
- Check out Anibore Harbour where locals are always swimming.
- Party at Menen Hotel on the weekend.
2 more days to travel in Nauru, for free!
After 2 days on the island we are scheduleds to leave to the Marshall Islands. However, just 5 minutes after take-off the Capitan makes a turnaround and announces that the plane has some issue and we are doing an emergency landing back in Nauru.
Apparently something is broken and a piece needs to be sent off from Australia, the day after. So we get extra 2 days to travel in Nauru, with free accommodation and food, all paid by Nauru Airlines! Yeah! Probably the best thing for a backpacker travelling on a budget!
Each of us get assigned a single room at Menen Hotel. We eat a great pizza at Nauru’s most famous restaurant and lucky for us it is Saturday night, so we can check out the party at the bar of Menen Hotel. There are many Aussies and Kiwis working in Nauru at the refugee center, and they all come down for drinks at Menen on Saturdays. A good time is guaranteed!
Street dogs in Nauru
There are many street dogs in Nauru and they are a threat for people walking around. Differently than dogs in Tuvalu, the ones in Nauru seem to be vicious and aggressive and it is not uncommon to see people with scratches and bends for some dogs bites.
Be cautious to street dogs when you travel to Nauru, and always walk around with a stick to protect yourself!
Hitchhiking in Nauru
Other than that, the country is completely safe and if you don’t have a car you can always hitchhike to move around, locals will be happy to give you a ride.
The next day we hitchhike to the airport ready to catch a flight to the Marshall Islands, next stop of my South Pacific trip to visit some of the world’s most remote and unreachable destinations!
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Incredible points. Solid arguments. Keep up the good work. Cornelle Lannie Bertha