Nauru

The island of Nauru, located in the Southern Pacific, is one of the least visited countries world wide, and the third smallest country (after the Vatican and Monaco), having just 11,000 inhabitants.

For the ordinary tourist, Nauru offers nothing that may attract you: no nice beaches, no fancy hotels, difficult to reach, even requesting a visa which seems to be difficult to obtain.

And yet, for all those intrepid travelers who want to visit all these less traveled places, mastering challenges, this is a place to be.

Once around the island on this ring road are 17 km. This is where the 11,000 inhabitants live

I joined a tour which was arranged by a Canadian company (Adventures Abroad) visiting all these lesser visited islands in the Southern Pacific, island hopping, with Nauru being part of it.

So I was spared the cumbersome visa application - it was arranged by our tour operator. Now I ask myself whether an individual even can get a tourist visa.  Our guide pointed out that in order to receive a visa you need an air ticket, and in order to receive the air ticket from Nauru Airlines, you need a visa. True or not, I don’t know, but when checking the website of the Nauruan government, this visa process apparently starts in sending an email to a person in charge of immigration.

The Menen hotel, one of the 2 hotels on the island. Yes it has WiFi. But pool is empty, not least for lack of tourists

Nauru has 2 hotels, we stayed in the Menen hotel, government owned. Which has no website, no online booking possible, but there is a phone number that you have to call (check Wikivoyage). Our guide mentioned that it is extremely difficult to book rooms in this hotel, because response by phone is very arbitrary. So, when we checked into that hotel, he personally made the reservation for the next tour group, next year, that is.

The Menen Hotel is quite ok - it is the best available one anyhow, although don’t expect luxury. Breakfast was delivered in plastic containers…

The Hotel offered no breakfast, so it was catered. Nothing on a daily base

When we arrived at the airport - flying in from Micronesia - our guide wondered whether we would get the only available bus on the island for our group. If not, we would would be distributed over 5 cars, for the sightseeing tour the following day. And yes, we got the bus.

The Ewa Beach, probably the best you can get in Nauru when you want a beach experience. No amenities

We spent 2 nights in Nauru, arriving one evening, next day sightseeing, continuing to Kiribati the next morning. Only Nauru Airlines serves Nauru (a very reasonable Airline, by the way), and you stay as long on the island until there is the next connection. In my view, one full day in Nauru is enough, and anyhow touristic sites are rather rare.

The ruins of a Japanese prison. When Japanese troops conquered the island in the 2nd world war, all local men were subjected to rigid obedience, and moste were deported to nearby Chuuk island

Another leftover from the Japanese occupation

Most of the time, you will circle the ring road, and of course also visit the depleted phosphate mines in the center of the island - more than 80% of this island is uninhabitable, caused by phosphate mining which nowadays is no longer economically viable. Although, a little bit of mining continues, and we could witness some mining activity.

Still some mining activities are going on

Once the phosphate is gone, this is what remains. Uninhabitable land, covering 80% of Nauru

There are a few more sights that can be visited, like the War Memorial, or the harbour. When we went to the hilltop of Nauru, you can see ruins of the former president's residence. A really good location with a top view, which is now purchased by the Chinese government, to build their embassy up there. Once done, they want to concentrate all Chinese activities in a kind of China village - whether this is accessible by locals or off-limits remains to be seen. China seems to have a strong influence in this country. Thinking positively, there are Chinese restaurants along the ring road, where you can take your lunch.