The Atolls and Diving

Beyond the crowded capital, the Marshall Islands are a scattering of remote, pristine coral atolls across a vast expanse of the central Pacific, offering some of the most unspoilt island scenery and finest diving anywhere. Atolls like Arno, Mili and the beautiful Bikini and Rongelap enclose dazzling turquoise lagoons ringed by deserted white-sand islets and swaying palms, the very image of the castaway Pacific dream. The surrounding reefs, remote and little-dived, are gloriously healthy and alive, teeming with grey reef sharks, vast schools of fish, coral gardens and, at spectacular sites, dramatic drop-offs and channels, making the Marshalls a remote and rewarding paradise for adventurous divers and lovers of untouched islands.

The landscape

• The turquoise lagoons - the dazzling atoll lagoons and islets.
• The deserted islands - the empty white-sand palm islets.
• The reef diving - the healthy reefs, sharks and fish.
• The drop-offs and channels - the dramatic dive sites.

When to go

December to April tends to offer the calmest conditions and best diving visibility, though the Marshalls can be visited year-round in their warm waters; the outer atolls are reached by small flights and boats from Majuro, and reward adventurous travellers and divers with pristine, uncrowded reefs and islands. Conditions and access to the remote atolls vary.

Good to know

The Marshall Islands are extremely remote and undeveloped, reached by long flights and, for the outer atolls, further small flights and boats, with very basic facilities, so they suit adventurous, self-reliant travellers and divers rather than those seeking comfort or easy logistics; the nation also faces acute threats from rising seas. For the reward of some of the most pristine, uncrowded atolls and healthiest reefs in the Pacific, in glorious castaway isolation, though, the Marshalls are a genuine and remarkable paradise.

Nearby

The capital Majuro and the atoll of Bikini are within the archipelago.