Trip Planning
The TakeYourBackpack guidebooks are your all-in-one travel companion, featuring the best cities, national parks, hikes, beaches, and unique sites, along with essential tips on when to go, how to get around, exchanging money, and even local phrases to get you started — everything you need for a smooth, unforgettable backpacking adventure.
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Planning a backpacking route through Kiribati can be tricky — you need to balance must-see places, travel times, budget, and how long to stay in each destination. Our free personalized Kiribati itinerary planner creates a route based on your travel style, trip duration, and interests, so you can spend less time researching and more time exploring.
Personal tip: I normally search on good rating for atmosphere (for meeting people) and location (for easy exploring). Cleanliness as a bonus.
Travel Essentials
No vaccinations are mandatory for most travelers to Kiribati, but a yellow fever certificate is required if you arrive from or transit through a country with yellow fever risk. Make sure routine vaccines (MMR, tetanus-diphtheria, polio and seasonal flu) are current, and hepatitis A and typhoid are recommended because of food and water hygiene. Hepatitis B is advised for longer stays. There is no malaria, but dengue occurs, so mosquito protection matters more than any jab.
vaccination requirementsWhen I first started traveling, I often spent part of my first day in a new country hunting for a local SIM card. While this can still be slightly cheaper, it also takes time and planning.
These days, it's much simpler to install an eSIM before leaving home. Once you arrive in Kiribati, you can activate it immediately and have mobile data from the moment you land — which is especially useful for ordering transport or navigating away from busy airports.
There are many providers nowadays, and price differences are usually small. I personally go with
Holafly, as it offers excellent network coverage throughout the country and strong global coverage, so you can manage multiple countries from a single app.
HolaFly eSimCulture & Customs
In Kiribati, the maneaba (community meeting house) is the heart of village life: ask permission before entering, remove your shoes, sit cross-legged on the mats and never stand over seated elders. Do dress modestly, with shoulders and knees covered, particularly in villages and at church, and expect Sundays to be quiet days of worship. Do bring a small gift such as food, tobacco or a few dollars when visiting a village or staying with a family, and accept offered food, since sharing is central to the culture. Don’t touch anyone’s head, don’t pick coconuts or fruit without asking (every tree has an owner), and don’t photograph people without permission. Women should avoid revealing swimwear away from resorts, swimming in shorts and a T-shirt where locals do, and same-sex couples should keep affection private in this conservative society.
Trying traditional food is always a great way to experience the culture. Here are some must-try dishes for Kiribati.
- Babai: giant swamp taro grown in pits dug down to the freshwater lens, taking years to mature. It is grated, mixed with coconut cream or toddy syrup and baked, and it is the prestige dish served at weddings, feasts and maneaba gatherings.
- Raw fish in coconut cream: fresh tuna or reef fish cut into cubes, soaked in lime or lemon juice and finished with coconut cream, onion and chili. Fishing is the backbone of daily life, so this is everyday food and party food alike.
- Te karewe and te kamaimai: fresh coconut sap (karewe) tapped from the flower spathe each morning and evening, and kamaimai, the sap boiled down into a dark, smoky syrup. Kids drink karewe for breakfast and kamaimai sweetens drinks and desserts.
- Te mai (breadfruit): roasted on coals, boiled in coconut cream or sliced into chips. It is one of the few starches that grows well on the atolls, so it fills plates whenever it is in season.
- Te tuae (pandanus paste): pandanus fruit cooked, mashed and sun-dried into dense, toffee-like sheets that keep for months. It was traditional voyage food and still turns up as a snack and gift.
- Grilled tuna and reef fish with rice: whole fish or tuna steaks grilled over coconut husks and served with rice. It is the cheapest filling meal on South Tarawa and shows how central the ocean is to the local diet.
Tap water in Kiribati is not safe to drink, as the shallow groundwater on the atolls is often contaminated and the supply is unreliable. Locals mostly drink collected rainwater and boil it first, but tourists are advised to stick to bottled water from South Tarawa shops or use a good filter or purification tablets, especially on outer islands where bottled water is scarce.
The main language in Kiribati is
Gilbertese. Backpacking is way more rewarding if you know a bit of the local language, so I'd suggest brushing up on the basics just in case your Gilbertese skills have become a bit rusty.
Want to understand locals better?The complete Travel Guide for Kiribati includes 52 essential words and phrases — greetings, thank-yous, ordering food, transport, numbers, and common local expressions you'll actually hear.
Get your local basic phrases 👉
Get the Travel Guide - is an official language of Kiribati and works well in South Tarawa, especially in government offices, banks, hotels and guesthouses around Bairiki and Betio. Younger people and anyone who went to secondary school usually speak it comfortably. On outer islands and among older villagers, Gilbertese (te taetae ni Kiribati) dominates and English can be limited to a few words. Learn “Mauri” (hello) and “Ko rabwa” (thank you), and save a basic Gilbertese phrase list offline, since translation apps rarely cover the language well.
Money & Payments
The local currency of Kiribati is AUD ($).
Kiribati uses the Australian dollar, and cash is king almost everywhere in the country. ATMs are limited to a handful on South Tarawa, mainly ANZ machines in Bairiki, Betio and Bikenibeu, and foreign cards usually incur a withdrawal fee of around A$5 plus your home bank’s charges. Cards are accepted only at a few hotels, larger supermarkets and the Air Kiribati office, while buses, small shops, guesthouses and outer islands are cash only. Outer islands have no ATMs, so withdraw enough Australian dollars on Tarawa for your whole time away. If you bring cash from home, Australian dollars are easiest, with US dollars a second choice for exchange at the ANZ bank in Bairiki, the safest place to change money.
Tipping is not expected in Kiribati and is not part of the local culture, so restaurants, taxis and guesthouses do not add or anticipate a tip. Rounding up a fare or leaving a few dollars for exceptional service is appreciated but may occasionally be politely refused. In villages, a gift for the community or host family is more fitting than a cash tip.
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Over the years, I've learned the importance of packing minimally. It's so much easier to jump on the back of a truck or squeeze yourself into the last spot of a minibus without that supersized backpack. If you're headed to a warm destination, leave your winter jacket at home; for colder regions, opt for thin thermal underlayers. Instead of packing your entire wardrobe, bring just three sets of clothes, as laundry facilities are available everywhere.
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Hi, I’m Johan (Netherlands 🇳🇱), the creator of TakeYourBackpack. Over the past 3 decades, I’ve backpacked through 90+ countries across six continents, gaining extensive experience with independent travel, long-term trips, and overland routes.