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, five families live on it beside their church, and its name, the pandanus of Funa, recalls the chief after whom Funafuti itself is named.

What you'll find

• 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.

What to expect

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.

Key facts