Nauru

Travel guide of Nauru

Nauru, formerly known as Pleasant Island, is a tiny single island nation in the Pacific, just below the equator. Nauru's seemingly blessing of high quality phosphate resources ended up in great devastation of the country with two thirds of the land being affected. The economy boom allowing the country to even be the first in the South Pacific to obtain own airways was followed by a terrible fall which is still much visible in Nauru. There were no major investments in tourism made, Nauru offers only few basic accommodations and the most available services for visitors are in the field of game fishing.

Useful information

Land, geography

• a single tiny oval-shaped island in the Pacific with just 21 km² / 8 square miles, only about 42 km south of equator
• Nauru stands alone up to 61 meters above sea level with its nearest neighbor Banaba island 300 km to the east
• in origin Nauru is a phosphate island with the highest grade phosphate in the world only 1 or 2 meters under the soil; mining of the phosphate has left 2/3 of the island's land barren with solid lime pinnacle rocks

Climate & Weather

• Nauru has a tropical climate all year round

Travel season

• for game fishing the best time to travel to Nauru is between late January and November
• at the moment Nauru is a destination suitable for adventurour types of visitors

Government, economy

• the country is officially known as The Republic of Nauru
• Yaren is the capital of Nauru
• Nauru came through economic extremes in the past years

Time zone

• UTC/GMT +12

Currency, payments

• Australian Dollar is used in Nauru (AUD)
• 1 EUR = approx 1,65 AUD / 1 USD = approx 1,40 AUD (2020)
• 1 ATM machine in Nauru allowing most credit / debit cards

Fly to Nauru, airlines

• Nauru is connected with Brisbane (Australia), Nadi (Fiji), Tarawa (Kiribati) and Majuro (Marshall Islands with stopover in Kiribati) by its own Nauru Airlines
• Nauru Airlines (ON) were the first airline to be owned by an island country in the region. In 2020 they celebrate 50 years since the beginning of their operation
• Nauru International Airport (INU) is in Yaren

Transport

• there is no public bus service in Nauru, only by special request and booking
• no taxi services as well
• there is an available car / motorbike / bicycle rental on Nauru, possibly arranged with accommodations

Entry requirements

• a passport valid for 3 months beyond departure is necessary, onward return tickets and confirmed accommodation with local services
• tourist visa is issued on arrival free of charge particularly to citizens of the Commonwealth and when they have sufficient funds for their stay
• we will inform you about updated entry requirements for visitors from your country together with our offer

Travelling since 2020

• Travel world changed in 2020 with the worldwide lockdown. Travel conditions are still being updated, airlines releasing new schedules, hotels and destinations applying new arrangements where necessary. As it is hardly possible to keep all relevant information on our websites up to date, we will inform you about current situation at the time of your request and of your journey.
• If the destination you choose is not yet accessible for travellers from your country, we will recommend a similar available option.

Duty Free

• visitors electronic and personal items are tax free on arrival
• Chinese shops sell various items at a very good price compared to Australia's made in China products

Electricity

• 240 volts, Australian type of standard plugs

Internet, signal coverage

• communication and internet services are provided by Digicel Services, 30 cents per minute and GMS date 2 AUD for 24 hours at 50mb (2019 approx); other data packages and SIM cards available locally.
• CenPac Internet Cafe is open approx 9AM - 11PM and charges approx 2 UAD per hour

Population

• Nauru has a population of about 10.000 people including non-Nauruans of about 1.000 people
• Nauruans are a mix of Polynesian, Melanesian and Micronesian
• the island consists of 12 tribes and each has its own Chief and specific way of clothing; a tribe is inherited from mother's side
• the 12 tribes with their original meaning as described by the government are: Eamwit - snake / eel, slippery, good at lying and copier of styles; Eamwitmwit - cricket / insect, vain beautiful, tidy, with a shrill nose and manners; Eaoru - destroyer, harming plans, jealous type; Eamwidara - dragonfly; Iruwa - stranger, foreigner, intelligent, beautiful and masculine; Eano - straightforward, mad and eager; Iwi - lice (extinct); Irutsi - cannibalism (extinct); Deiboe - small balck fish, moody, cheater, changing behavior any time; Ranibok - object washed ashore; Emea - user of rake, slave, healthy, beautiful hair, cheat in friendship; Emangum - player, actor

Language

• Nauruan is a widely used language, uses few German words and now absorbs also some English slang phrases
• English is the official language, understood across the nation, used in business and government

Religion

• mostly Christian religion with few denominations around the island

Health

• visitors are expected to be healthy on arriva and should be already vaccinated against Hepatitis
• obtaining visa is not conditioned by medical examinations

Tipping

• tipping on Nauru is not encouraged

Dress

• free public dress code, casual, modern
• bathing suits are not recommended to wear in public

Nature

• Nauru has a small variety of bird life including an endangered and endemic Naruan warbler canary
• a coral reef behind sandy shores around the island makes it difficult for ships to land at Nauru at low tide

Ecology

• Nauru is a living example of how a beautiful land can be spoilt quickly with insensitive exploitation of natural resources. Being a phosphate mining world power was only a short time in Nauru' history, but it left behind a land desolated and people massively affected by the fall of the economy following depletion of the phosphates. Now Nauru can serve as an educational model for other places and people, not to repeat its scenario.

Culture & Traditions

• Anabar Frigate bird catching - one of the few traditions still defining Nauru, a traditional sport and a skill competition where a big bird is caught and brought in by a string with a weight attached to one end of it, launched with skill
• Noddy bird hunting - a night activity reserved only for special occasions, showcase of how the birds are lured and caught

Excursions / must see

• Makwa Water Cave - mysterious cave with unusually cold water for a tropical climate; never swim in too far - once the tide comes a person might get lost or drowned...
• Pinnacle Rock Maze hiking - a cluster of high coral rocks in Anabar district, suitable for adventurous hike tours which also the locals like to take
• World War II relics - a litter of pill boxes has been left behind by the Japanese and a few of the war relics are stuck between the pinnacle rocks, having survived the mining

Phosphate mines

• learn about the mining process and see with your own eyes what devastation a phosphate mining has left over 2 thirds of the island
• secondary mining and Rehabilitation process of the land has begun on Nauru in 2005, helping out local economy; the secondary deposits of phosphates have an estimated remaining life of about 30 years

Sports, activities

• the natural settings of Nauru provide for possible activities like game fishing (equatorial fishing) and diving tours
• game fishing is available already only 2 minutes on boat from the shores in the deep blue. Services are offered for up to 4 persons per boat, equipment provided. There is a Nauru Fisheries Authority on the island and conditions suitable for game fishing are all year round, the best between late anuary and November. The caught fish can be either released or prepared as barbecue even on board.
• at the moment there are only a few service providers in Nauru and if at all, the tours are provided by hotels / accommodators
• Nauruans are pretty successful in sports, in the All-time Commonwealth Games medal table they collected 10 Gold being a high number comparing it to the number of inhabitants that Nauru has

Diving

• adventurous divers can set on this "off the beaten track" explorations in Nauru
• coral reef followed by a steep drop to over 300 feet / 9 meters with the bottom floor being still undiscovered

Shopping, souvenirs

• there are few shops in Nauru - Capelle & Parner offering general goods, Eigigu Supermarket with frozen and tin products + local vegetables; a gift shop Elizabeth Garden of good quality; chinese products in China Town; Jeremiah Trading as a merchant and Petrol bowser; second hand clothes suppliers with overseas import...

Food, cuisine

• local foods of Nauru obtainable locally (at least on special occasions) are chicken, pork, Noddy bird, sea foods like fish, octopus, crabs and else
• the other food in Nauru is imported - chicken, meat, beef, pork, vegetables, fruits, rice, pastries and as available from overseas
• fast food spots in Nauru offer chinese cookings and burgers

Special tourism

Accessible Tourism

• for visitors facing any challenges or disabilities we are ready to provide the best available options of transport, accommodation and services following their individual requirements
• let us know your special needs, we are happy to assist in creating a great holiday package fit for you
• however we would not recommend Nauru as a tourist destination for accessible tourism

Interesting facts

• Nauru was the first country in the Pacific to own a jet fleet - this helped to build strong partnerships in the region and connect it with the rest of the world
• Nauru is also the first country in the Pacific to experience extreme economic decline losing all her wealth

Events

• Angam Day - October 26 is celebrated as the day of fulfillment to remember the day when the population of Nauruans reached 1.500; it is a national public holiday, people come together to feast with their communities, compete in traditional sports and play games. A great time to discover local communities.
• Nauru Independence Day - Nauru was the second nation in the Pacific region gaining independence on 31 January 1968 - after Samoa, even before Fiji or Papua New Guinea. The remembering ceremony is accompanied with raising a flag by the guard of honor, a float parade march by local organizations, NGO's and schools. Thanks to its soon independence Nauru was also called as 'the little mouse that roared'. The celebration is accompanied by a Nauru Game fishing competition challenging for new records with the biggest catch, the most variety of catch and the most fish caught
• Nauru Constitution Day - an annual celebration marked with National Athletic Championship between the 5 regions of the island with competitions in distant track races, jumps and throws. The event culminates on May 17th, Nauru's Constitution Day
• Nauru AFL Grand Final - the final competition in the popular sport - Australian Football League; teams of men and women, juniors and seniors; Nauru is quite successful in the Oceania Cup competing with the other nations
• Nauru Olympic Day Run - a popular annual event held in July when half of the main island road gets closed to allow competing athletes to run. A person breaking national record would gain cash money prize of 2.000 AUD (with the amount possibly changing nowadays)

Accommodation

• there are only 2 hotels and 2 other private accommodations in Nauru
• Meneng Hotel was a popular hotel with good standard, Anibare Restaurant and a Reef Bar; the other hotel was ODN Aiwo Hotel; now the only hotel which seems to be operating is Budapest hotel
• at the moment the big hotel is closed and used by Australian government who operates a Nauru Australian Immigration Detention centre (2020)