U.S. Department of Energy's Atmospheric Radiation Measurement Program · Public domainNauru
“Twenty-one square kilometres, once the richest country per head on earth, now mined out.”
Nauru is 21 square kilometres, the third-smallest country in the world and the smallest republic, and in the 1970s it had among the highest GDP per capita on earth. That wealth came from phosphate — fossilised seabird guano — strip-mined for a century until roughly 80% of the island was reduced to a plateau of jagged limestone pinnacles that cannot be farmed or built on. The money was largely lost to bad investments, and the country has since depended on aid and on hosting an Australian offshore immigration processing centre.
There is no tourism industry to speak of — a handful of hotel rooms, one road around the coast, and perhaps a couple of hundred leisure visitors a year. What is there: Command Ridge with Japanese guns from the Second World War, Buada Lagoon inland, the Anibare Bay coast, and one of the more unvarnished demonstrations anywhere of what resource extraction does to a place. It is a serious and sobering visit rather than a holiday.
Highlights
The Topside
The mined-out interior plateau — a landscape of coral limestone pinnacles left standing after the phosphate between them was removed. Rehabilitation efforts have made little impact on the scale of it.
Command Ridge
The island's highest point at 65 metres, with Japanese anti-aircraft guns and a communications bunker left from the wartime occupation, and a view over the whole country.
Anibare Bay
The best beach on the island on the eastern shore, with white sand and coral outcrops — though the currents and reef make swimming limited to the harbour and a few sheltered spots.
Buada Lagoon
A brackish inland lake in the only fertile depression on the island, surrounded by palms and the closest thing Nauru has to a green interior.
Entry requirements for Nauru
Checking your passport…
We don't hold entry details for this passport group yet.
Before you fly
The detail
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Health
- No malaria. Medical facilities are very limited and the country has among the world's highest rates of diabetes and obesity, which strains them further. Evacuation to Australia for anything serious, and insurance must cover it.
- Money
- Australian dollar. Cash only in practice — card acceptance is minimal and ATMs unreliable for foreign cards. Bring Australian dollars in cash for the whole visit.
When to go
BestMay–Oct.
Dry season opens — steady trades and less humidity.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
What it costs
A day in Nauru
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $194
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
No tourist season exists. Hotel demand comes from the processing centre contractors, aid workers and officials, and pricing does not move.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — reported prices and operator quotes (2025–2026) · confidence low
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Yaren and the south
The de facto capital district, the parliament, the airport and the wartime relics along the coast.
Anibare
The eastern bay, the harbour, the best beach and most of the visitor accommodation.
The Topside
The mined interior plateau of limestone pinnacles, Command Ridge and the phosphate workings.
Buada
The inland lagoon and the only fertile part of the island, ringed by palms and gardens.
The north coast
Anabar and Ewa districts, coral pinnacles at the shoreline and the quietest part of the ring road.
Practical guide
Getting there
Nauru International is served by Nauru Airlines from Brisbane, Nadi and, on some rotations, Tarawa, Honiara and Majuro. There is no other way in. Schedules are thin and a cancellation means several days.
Getting around
One road circles the island in about half an hour. A few hire cars exist; hotels arrange transport. Everything is within walking or short driving distance of everything else.
Money & costs
Australian dollar. Cash only in practice — card acceptance is minimal and ATMs unreliable for foreign cards. Bring Australian dollars in cash for the whole visit.
Safety
Low crime. The hazards are the mined interior, where the pinnacle field is genuinely dangerous to walk across, and the reef and currents on most of the coast. Do not photograph government buildings or anything connected with the processing centre.
Health
No malaria. Medical facilities are very limited and the country has among the world's highest rates of diabetes and obesity, which strains them further. Evacuation to Australia for anything serious, and insurance must cover it.
SIM & internet
Digicel Nauru; a submarine cable landed in 2023 and improved things considerably. Coverage across the island, which is small enough that it is not difficult.
Driving
Nineteen kilometres of coastal road and a few tracks up to the Topside. Traffic is minimal. The airport runway crosses the island beside the road and traffic stops for the twice-weekly landings.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Before you go
NauruFrequently asked questions
Can I actually visit?
Yes, but you need a visa arranged in advance — there is no visa on arrival for most nationalities — and accommodation confirmed, because there are very few rooms. Nauru Airlines flies from Brisbane and Nadi a few times a week. Applications ask why you are coming, and journalists have historically had difficulty.
What about the processing centre?
Australia has operated an offshore immigration processing arrangement on Nauru since 2001, on and off, and it has been a major source of national revenue and of international criticism. It is a sensitive subject, access is restricted, and photographing anything associated with it is unwise.
How long do I need?
Two or three days covers everything — the island road is 19 kilometres and takes half an hour to drive. The flight schedule usually dictates a stay of three or four days, which is more than enough time to see the island and think about what it shows.