Christmas Island: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Christmas Island feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 20 written places.
A three-culture village of under 2,000 people - Chinese, Malay and Australian - where every passing car waves.
✓ Considered polite
- Steer around red crabs on the road - locals treat squashing one as a serious offence
- Wave back - drivers here greet every car they pass
- Visit the Chinese temples quietly - visitors are welcome at these working places of worship
- Book rooms and hire cars well ahead for crab season - the island simply sells out
✗ Better avoided
- Drive when migration road closures are posted - crab shells also puncture tyres
- Pick up or pose with the crabs - watch from the purpose-built crab bridges instead
- Wear beachwear around the Kampong and its mosque at Flying Fish Cove
- Expect late-night dining - kitchens close early and some days entirely
Worth knowing
- Australian dollars, with EFTPOS widely accepted and one bank branch on the island
- Flights arrive from Perth only a couple of days a week and fill fast
- The island is duty-free - perfume and alcohol cost less than on the mainland
- The red crab migration runs roughly October to January, with roads closing at short notice
Plugs and voltage: not in Wikipedia's «Mains electricity by country» table - shown as for Australia, whose grid it uses; check locally.
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Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.