Funafala

Down Funafuti's lagoon from the capital islet's runway strip, Funafala keeps the atoll's traditional register: a handful of families on a palm islet of thatch shelters and church bell, lagoon shallows in bath-warm bands, and the visiting arrangement - day trips or simple overnights hosted with island courtesy - that grants the Tuvalu the brochures cannot: kerosene evenings, reef-flat walks, the boat's wake as the day's loudest event. Arrangements run through Vaiaku's contacts; the crossing tours the lagoon's islet string en route; and the return finds the capital's modesty suddenly metropolitan. The islet sits toward the southern end of the lagoon rim and a few families keep gardens on it.

What you actually see

• The thatch islet - traditional register down-lagoon.
• The warm shallows - bath-band swimming off the sand.
• The hosted overnight - kerosene evenings by courtesy.
• The lagoon crossing - the islet string toured en route.

When to go

May to October with the trades; arrangements ahead through Vaiaku - the boats and hosts set the days.

Honest expectations

Comforts are mat-and-net simple by definition - the point entirely; carry water margins and the courtesy of guests.

Nearby

Vaiaku's strip and the conservation islets across the lagoon.