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Conservation Area

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Six islets and 33 square kilometres of reef on the western rim of Funafuti, protected since 1999, where green turtles come ashore to nest.

Fly to Conservation Area All of Tuvalu
Arrival
Funafuti International · FUN
To the islets
About 15 km by boat across the lagoon
Private jets
Daylight landings at FUN
Best time
May to October

The city

The far rim of the lagoon.

On the western side of Funafuti atoll, the island council set aside a stretch of reef, lagoon and ocean in December 1999. Locally it is Kogatapu. It covers about a fifth of the lagoon’s coral reef, and fishing is banned inside it. Surveys since have found big groupers and snappers on the reef, a few reef sharks and rays, and the Tuvalu forest gecko on two of the islets.

Getting there means a boat from Fongafale, 15 km across the open lagoon. Tuvalu has no dive shops, so the hotels help arrange the trip and hire out gear. You can walk the islets, snorkel over the bommies and stop for a picnic. The drier months, May to October, also keep you clear of the cyclone season.

  • Fualopa Black noddies breed here in a colony of their own.
  • Tepuka Green turtles nest here, and this is one of two islets where the Tuvalu forest gecko has been found.
  • Vasafua Cyclone Pam stripped its coconut palms and left a bare bar of sand in the lagoon.

Arriving

Fly to Fongafale, cross by boat.

Every visitor lands on Fongafale, the main islet, at Funafuti International. The runway runs for 1,524 metres and has no lighting, so flights come and go by day.

Business & First Class Scheduled flights Fiji Airways flies an ATR 72-600 from Suva three times a week, on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. Business & First fares Private Jet Private aircraft A private jet needs one that can work from a short strip. Customs and immigration meet arrivals, handling is available on the ground, and Jet A-1 is listed among the fuels. Charter a jet
Approximate flying time by midsize jet
  • Nadi 1 h 40
  • Auckland 4 h 30
  • Papeete 4 h 55
  • Sydney 5 h 30
  • Singapore 11 h 10 long-range jet

When to go

May to October.

Highs hold at 31 °C all year and the water is 29 °C or warmer. The wettest months, December to March, bring over 300 mm each. Tuvalu’s met service calls May to October the dry season, and cyclones keep to November to April.

  1. 31° J 360 29°
  2. 31° F 316 29°
  3. 31° M 313 29°
  4. 31° A 249 29°
  5. 31° M 233 29°
  6. 31° J 204 29°
  7. 31° J 233 29°
  8. 31° A 232 29°
  9. 31° S 201 29°
  10. 31° O 239 29°
  11. 31° N 276 30°
  12. 31° D 335 30°
Best months weather2travel.com, long-term averages for Funafuti

Elsewhere in Tuvalu

One more reason to come.

All of Tuvalu

Flying to Conservation Area?

Choose how you arrive.

A Business or First Class seat on a scheduled airline, or an aircraft of your own. Tell us the date and how many are travelling, and we reply with one final price, our margin included.

Business & First Private Jet