Kioa Island

Kioa lies off the eastern end of Vanua Levu and was bought after the Second World War by people from Vaitupu, who settled it between 1947 and 1962, in what was then the Ellice Islands and is now Tuvalu, using money raised by the community, because their home island could not support its growing population. Their descendants live there still, speaking Tuvaluan, building in Tuvaluan style and keeping their own customs inside Fiji. The island is green, small and reached by boat from Buca Bay.

Highlights

• The Tuvaluan community - a Polynesian settlement with its own language and customs inside Fiji.
• The village - built and organised in Tuvaluan rather than Fijian style.
• The crafts - weaving and carving in Tuvaluan traditions.
• The island - small, green and reached by boat across the strait.

When to go

May to October is the drier season and calmest for the crossing. Boats depend on weather.

Things to know

Visits are arranged with the community rather than turned up to, and the island is not set up for tourism. Accommodation is homestay if anything. Treating a living community as a curiosity is the wrong footing; the visit works when it is invited.

Nearby

Buca Bay is on Vanua Levu opposite, and Rabi is north.

Key facts