A Complete 5-Day Plan for Nauru

This five-day loop suits travelers who want to see every corner of Nauru without hurrying, from the phosphate country of the west to the Japanese wartime sites of the south. The pace is relaxed, because the whole island is only 21 square kilometers and the ring road runs about 19 kilometers. That leaves you free to split the trip between two bases and cover each half properly. Nauru has no public transport network worth planning around, so you will be walking, hitching short hops along the ring road and renting a car or scooter for one or two days.

Days 1-2: Denigomodu and the North

Start on the western side in Denigomodu, the district next to the old phosphate works at Aiwo. This is where the island’s industrial story is easiest to read: rusting cantilevers over the reef, worker housing and the shops that the expat and Chinese-Nauruan community run. Spend the first afternoon walking the coast road and getting your bearings.

On day two, head north along the ring road to Ewa, one of the quietest … read more 👉

This five-day loop suits travelers who want to see every corner of Nauru without hurrying, from the phosphate country of the west to the Japanese wartime sites of the south. The pace is relaxed, because the whole island is only 21 square kilometers and the ring road runs about 19 kilometers. That leaves you free to split the trip between two bases and cover each half properly. Nauru has no public transport network worth planning around, so you will be walking, hitching short hops along the ring road and renting a car or scooter for one or two days.

Days 1-2: Denigomodu and the North

Start on the western side in Denigomodu, the district next to the old phosphate works at Aiwo. This is where the island’s industrial story is easiest to read: rusting cantilevers over the reef, worker housing and the shops that the expat and Chinese-Nauruan community run. Spend the first afternoon walking the coast road and getting your bearings.

On day two, head north along the ring road to Ewa, one of the quietest districts on the island. There is little to do here beyond walking the shoreline and watching fishermen on the reef flat, and that is the point. It shows you Nauru at its most residential, away from government offices and the airport. In the afternoon, climb inland to Command Ridge, the highest ground on the island at around 65 meters. The Command Ridge WWII Relics include rusting Japanese guns and a concrete bunker left from the 1942 to 1945 occupation, with views across the mined-out limestone pinnacles of Topside. Add a short stop at Nauru’s Lighthouse on the way back down.

Day 3: Buada Lagoon Beach and the Move South

Use your transfer day to cut through the middle of the island instead of following the coast. Buada Lagoon Beach sits on the edge of the only inland body of water on Nauru, a landlocked brackish lagoon ringed by coconut palms and family gardens. It is the greenest spot on the island and a sharp contrast to the gray pinnacles you saw from the ridge. Linger for lunch, then drop down to the south coast and check into your base near Yaren.

Days 4-5: Yaren, Moqua Well and Anibare Bay

Yaren holds Parliament and the government offices, set directly across from the airport runway the Japanese built during the war. Start at the Nauru Museum for context on the island’s phosphate boom and bust, then walk to Moqua Well, a freshwater underground lake inside the Moqua Caves that once supplied much of the island’s drinking water. Spend the rest of the day on Nauru‘s Historic Sites Trail, linking coastal pillboxes, war memorials and the remains of the occupation along the southern shore.

Save your last day for the east coast. The Anibare Bay Trail follows the curve of the bay, the most photographed stretch of shoreline on Nauru, and ends at Anibare Beach. The white sand is backed by coral pinnacles, and the reef drops off sharply, so swim only near high tide and stay close to shore. Pack your own water and snacks, since shade and shops are scarce on this side.

If you time it with a low tide, walk out onto the exposed reef flat at Anabar in the northeast, where rock pools fill with small fish and almost nobody else goes.