The least-visited country on Earth is a quiet paradise

A recent survey from the World Tourism Organisation officially named Kiribati – “Kiribas” to its residents – as the least-visited country on Earth. How little visited, you ask? Of the already meagre 9504 visitors recorded in 2024, less than a third were international tourists.

Given that this is considerably fewer visitors than either Somalia or Iraq attracted, you’d be forgiven for thinking there was something profoundly wrong with this little island – and yet, the greatest danger you’ll encounter here is being struck by a falling coconut, dislodged from one of the palms swaying in gentle Pacific breezes. What keeps people away from its talcum-powder beaches and turquoise lagoons is extreme geographical isolation.

Straddling the Equator, Kiribati’s 33 reef-fringed islands in the central Pacific Ocean are neighboured by the no less obscure Tuvalu and Nauru. Comprising three main island groups – Gilbert, Line and Phoenix – Kiribati sits between Hawaii and Australia, and – perhaps most intriguingly – was a British colony until its independence in 1979.

Just 21 of the islands are inhabited by a total of 130,000 permanent residents, a Micronesian people spread far and wide across the Pacific Ocean. Most visits are to Tarawa in the Gilbert Islands, named after Thomas Gilbert, the master of a British convict-carrying ship travelling to Botany Bay, who happened on this archipelago in 1788 (Gilbertese is one of two official languages spoken here, the other being English). The islands were subsequently declared a British protectorate in 1892, and remained so for close to nine decades.

How do you get there?

“The most straightforward way to reach it is to fly to Nadi in Fiji, and then connect to the main population centre of South Tarawa Island,” says Rhia Steele of tour operator Undiscovered Destinations.

From Nadi, Fiji Airways’ flies twice a week to Tarawa (a journey of three hours).

Certainly not a simple holiday option, by any metric. So, is Kiribati worth all the effort of getting there?

“In my opinion, absolutely,” says Steele, who spent time on the ribbon-like island of Tarawa. “It was quiet and tranquil and very much off-grid, with no communication with the outside world: total bliss. There’s also fascinating Second World War history, a deep traditional culture, and the locals are very welcoming and friendly.”

And though the gentle heat might mean it’s tempting to spend your time exclusively supine in an overwater buia (a bush-style hut, fashioned from coconut wood and thatched pandanus-leaf roofs), there’s plenty for tourists to do here beyond sun worship. You might, for example, explore the coral reef lagoons which fringe Kiribati’s low-lying atolls, and are teeming with tropical fish and ideal for snorkelling, then attend a botaki gathering, a local feast with plenty of dancing where frigatebirds are revered for helping fishermen navigate at sea.

‘It was quiet and tranquil and very much off-grid, with no communication with the outside world: total bliss,’ says Rhia Steele of her time on Tarawa

History buffs, meanwhile, can visit the bunkers and gun emplacements of the once-occupying Japanese, used in 1943’s Battle of Tarawa, or head to Red Beach, where Sherman tank wrecks are visible at low tide (ask for a local lady called Molly Brown, who offers tours).

Further afield, although more difficult to reach, the Phoenix Islands lie at the heart of a huge marine protected area (PIPA) conserving 200 species of coral, and can be explored with the help of several local dive operators offering scuba packages. Meanwhile, surfing is gaining popularity off Fanning Island, and game fishing for bonefish and marlin is considered to be world-class off Kiritimati Island. Visit on Dec 31, and Kiribati’s position just west of the International Date Line means you’ll be one of the first people on Earth to usher in the new year.

Of course, there are complexities to visiting so remote a place – not least the difficulty in booking your hotel in advance. There are several, but their digital presence is limited (type “Kiribati” into Booking.com, and the website produces 34 accommodation options in Brazil), so if you’re uncomfortable with the idea of finding somewhere to stay once on the ground, your best bet is to book with a tour operator.

As holiday destinations go, this one is neither cheap nor simple – but if you’ve the time and the means, it does promise that most elusive of attributes: Kiribati is about as far as you’re ever likely to get from the scourge of overtourism.

Undiscovered Destinations has a 16-day Pacific Islands Explorer tour from $20,695 per person, including all transfers, accommodation and local activities, departing from Brisbane.

The Telegraph, London