Day Trips and Half-Day Outings on Nauru

October 31, 2026

There are no day trips away from Nauru. The island is a single 21 square kilometre raised atoll with no neighbouring islands, no cays and no offshore islets, and there are no ferries or domestic flights. The alternative is a half-day outing by road from your hotel, and the island is small enough that two or three of these fill a stay.

Why nothing leaves the island

The nearest land is Banaba, in Kiribati, about 300 km east-southeast across open ocean. Banaba has no scheduled passenger ferry and no tourist entry facilities. The next closest islands are the Gilbert Islands around Tarawa, more than 700 km away. Nauru Airlines is the only passenger carrier and flies a few times a week, so a weekend trip from abroad is not possible either. A visit means staying between flight rotations, which is why most stays run three nights or longer.

Outing one: Command Ridge and Topside

This is the best use of a morning. Command Ridge, 65 m above sea level, is the highest point on the island and holds Japanese anti-aircraft guns and a communications bunker that you can enter with a torch. From there the road drops into Topside, the mined plateau of limestone pinnacles. Go with a local driver, because the dirt tracks are unmarked. Wear closed shoes, carry plenty of water and start early, since there is no shade and the UV is very high.

Outing two: Buada Lagoon and Moqua Well

Buada Lagoon sits in a low basin in the south-west, ringed by coconut palms, breadfruit and tamanu trees. A road runs around it, so you can walk or drive the edge. The shore is private residential land and the water is not for swimming. Moqua Well is a small underground lake in Yaren, near Parliament House and the airport, and was a drinking-water source during the war. Swimming is not recommended there, and if you explore the caves, enter at your own risk, do not go alone and expect mud after rain.

Outing three: an afternoon on the east coast

Anibare Bay is a curve of white coral sand more than 2 km long, backed by dark limestone and palms. It is the island’s most scenic beach, but heavy surf and rip currents make the open water dangerous and there are no lifeguards. Walk the sand, then stop at Anibare Boat Harbour, a fishing harbour built in 2000, where local people swim inside the basin. Ask locally before you go in. Menen Hotel sits on the cliff above the bay.

Getting between stops

The paved ring road is about 19 km around, so any outing is a short hop. Driving is on the left. Arrange a car through your accommodation or Capelle & Partner in Ewa, and carry Australian dollars, because cards are not accepted and the single ATM at Menen Hotel is often empty. A visa is needed before you travel.

Booking

Tours are arranged on the island rather than online, but you can search Viator for any new listings. Check entry rules on the UK government page for Nauru and flight days at Nauru Airlines .

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