Tours and Local Guides in Nauru
The short version
Nauru has no commercial tour agencies and no ticketed attractions. Nobody runs a hop-on bus, and tour portals carry no Nauru products. Anything you do as a “tour” is a private arrangement with a local driver or guide, made in person and paid in Australian dollars cash.
Finding a driver
Start at the front desk of Menen Hotel, or ask at Capelle & Partner in Ewa, which runs a supermarket, a department store, a cafe and car hire. A driver with a four-wheel-drive vehicle will take you around the interior and the coast. Settle three things up front: where you are going, how long you will be out and what it costs.
What a half-day takes in
- Command Ridge, with its Japanese anti-aircraft guns and the communications bunker you can enter with a torch.
- The phosphate hoppers and old rail tracks across the mined plateau.
- Buada Lagoon and the road around it.
- The caves and underground lake at Moqua Well in Yaren.
You can fit all four into a single outing because the island is only 21 square kilometres.
Why Topside needs local knowledge
Topside is an unmapped patchwork of working quarry, conveyor belts and dirt tracks. A rental car can get lost or stuck in the loose phosphate gravel. A guide knows which tracks are safe. Take closed shoes, a hat and plenty of water, because the plateau has no shade and the UV is very high.
Guided visits to wartime sites
Many gun emplacements and bunkers lie in thick scrub in Anetan, Ijuw and Aiwo. Visits can be arranged through local contacts. Pack long trousers for thorny undergrowth, sturdy footwear and a good torch. These are relics of the Japanese occupation from 1942 to 1945, so treat them with respect and take nothing away.
Free sights you can do alone
You do not need a guide for the ring road, which is public. The road around Buada Lagoon is open too, though the shore is private residential land, so stay on the road. The lagoon is not for swimming. Anibare Bay is a public beach with strong surf and rip currents, so stay out of the open water.
Practical points
- A visa is needed before travel, with no visa on arrival.
- Passport validity should run at least three months past arrival.
- The only ATM is at Menen Hotel and is often out of cash, and cards are not accepted.
- Hotels take bookings by email or phone, not through online sites.
Booking and sources
Tour portals may add Nauru listings, so you can check GetYourGuide . For the wartime guns, see Pacific Wrecks . Entry advice is on the UK government page for Nauru .
Read more: Day trips in Nauru and Sightseeing in Nauru .