Getting here
Tuvalu only has one airport - Funafuti (FUN), located on the main atoll of Funafuti! There are flights from both Suva and Nadi in Fiji, though not every day. The Suva flight goes a few times per week, usually Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, while the Nadi flight once per week usually on a Monday. The incoming flight turns straight back around and goes back, and there won’t be another flight for a couple of days, so you have to plan accordingly!
Many countries are visa on arrival in Tuvalu, you just have to fill out a landing card. Always check your visa requirements before booking though!
Know before you go
Money: the currency is the Australian dollar. There are no ATMs in Tuvalu so you must take cash. Nowhere accepts card payment either.
Sundays: absolutely everything is closed on Sundays, including all small stores and all but one restaurant on the island (Filamona, only open at set times for lunch and dinner - see below). You should stock up on water and any snacks you might need on Saturday and you cannot buy them anywhere on Sunday.
Prayer time: every night from 18:45 - 19:00 there is a mandatory down time for prayer. You are not allowed to walk around on the streets during this period - the police will stop you and make you sit on the curb until it is finished. You should not make any sounds either.
Connectivity: internet access is limited in Tuvalu. You can get SIM cards from a store near the airport but it’s not always open - it had closed by the time the Saturday plane from Suva landed and of course isn’t open on Sundays. I didn’t see it open on the Monday morning either. There were no eSIMs for Tuvalu. A couple of the hotels including Filamona have WiFi but don’t bank on it always working The one Airbnb does have good WiFi and you could do basic work from there if you needed to. Essentially though, prepare to be offline for much of this trip.
Accomodation
Tuvalu only has 5ish hotels, so you should book early (I’m talking 3-4 months early!) to avoid being left stranded. You have to email them as there are no booking websites that can facilitate. There is also an Airbnb option (literally just one…) which worked out great for me when all of the hotels were booked up for a conference!
Contact them at filamonalodge92@gmail.com
Contact them at booking@funafutilagoonhotel.tv
Contact them at epenitusi@gmail.com
Contact them at lslodge.tv@gmail.com
Getting around
Pretty much everything in central Funafuti is within walking distance, so you won’t have any issues getting around, though pack water as it is HOT in the middle of the day!
Some hotels may offer to pick you up from the airport on a motor cycle, saving you the 10-15 minute walk in the sun.
Hotels will also often be able to help you arrange to rent a motorbike, if you want to see the entire island. You could theoretically walk this, though it’ll take you a few hours!
Things to do
The main thing to do in Tuvalu is to visit the airport runway. Yes, really! Because the airport is only used for a couple of hours for 4 days of the week, for the rest of the time it becomes a multipurpose recreation area! You’ll find locals hanging out here, kids playing football, having picnics, there’s even a volleyball court that has been constructed at the edge. Going here for sunset is really beautiful, and you can get a taste of Tuvaluan life. It goes without saying that you obviously cannot be here immediately before/during a plane landing/taking off, but they open it back up pretty much as soon as the plan goes wheels up, and there’s security vehicles to makes sure nobody gets in the way of incoming planes.
You can also do a walk of the entire island, which will take you 2-3 hours. There isn’t huge amounts to see, though you may see some old WWII wreaks off the coast, and at least you’ve seen the whole island! Be careful doing so in the middle of the day though, it gets super hot and there is nowhere to stop for shade or water!
Funafuti was a key location for scientists to test Darwin’s theory that coral atolls rest on a volcanic base. Scientists from the Royal Society of London came to Funafuti in the late 1800s to drill down into the ground to find underground volcanoes, eventually drilling to over 1000ft. Results provided evidence, but not proof, of Darwin’s theory (which was later proven). The main borehole from this research, named David’s Drill, after the main scientist Sir T.W. Edgeworth David, is still there and is one of the attractions to see in Funafuti. To be clear - this is a hole in the ground, not a giant drill machine!!
Its not exactly well-marked, but can be found in a side street near the end of the runway, roughly here
The beaches in Funafuti aren’t that great, they’re all coral rather than sand, though walking around the lagoon area is pretty.
You really need to head out to some of the outer islands if you want to enjoy a beach day. There isn’t any real way to book this in advance, given the tourism industry is prettt much non-existent. There is a tourism office in Tuvalu though, it’s not open at weekends but during the week they can help with finding a boat and driver. Head to the main Govermnent of Tuvalu building. You can also ask your hotel (or at Filamona) for some suggestions on arranging a boat as they’ll be able to connect you with locals. Would recommend doing this only as a group though as it’ll be pricey - for solo travellers this just likely isn’t possible!
Afelita is the closet and most well-known island outside of Funafuti, it’s around a 10-15 min boat ride away. There’s a resort there with accommodation - I didn’t have a great experience trying to arrange accommodation with them, the only way to contact them is via facebook messager and they were quite unresponsive at the time so I decided against it, but they could be approached about visiting if you want to get off the main island!
Places to eat
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