Not to miss

Tabiteuea

You'd be wrong if you thought crusades were confined to the 11th-century Holy Lands. During the 1880s, a force from the Christian north led by Hawaiian pastors descended on the southerners 'in the name of the Book' and killed about 1000 non-believers (and also grabbed some more land for themselves).

The name 'Tabiteuea' means 'chiefs are forbidden', and the society of the islands is egalitarian with no nobility to get in the way. It is the largest and most populous outer island, and parts of Tabiteuea South are among the most beautiful in Kiribati.

Traditional culture remains strong, with traditional dancing, singing, and magic still playing a significant role in people's lives. While Tabiteuea is not geared up for tourists, you could contact the Catholic Mission if you are stuck for a place to sleep. Tabiteuea is about 400km (248mi) from Tarawa, and you can reach it by Air Kiribati from Tarawa, or by Kiribati Shipping Corporation from Tarawa.

Banaba

Banaba is west of the Gilbert Group and just south of the equator. The island has been almost entirely destroyed by phosphate mining, which has left a weird landscape of stark coral pinnacles protruding from burning white rock, littered with rusted mining equipment.

Around 280 people live in a fringe of vegetation that hasn't been mined, hanging on in their homeland despite most of the former population having been settled (they had to buy their land) in Fiji at the end of WWII. The Islanders cling fervently to their culture and their kinsfolk on Rabi in Fiji.

Banaba is an ecological curiosity - see how mining has trashed a unique island and traditional culture - but because facilities are limited you will need to get approval from the island council before you arrive. While there is no regular passenger service to the island, you may be able to negotiate passage on a yacht. Banaba is 600km (372mi) southwest of Tarawa.

Butaritari

One of the Outer Gilbert Islands, Butaritari is Kiribati's greenest island, with breadfruit, coconut, pandanus and other fruit-bearing trees flourishing on its rich soils. Butaritari also has a sobering WWII history, as the lopsided wreckage of a Japanese seaplane near Butaritari village attests.

Abaiang

Abaiang (the name means 'north land') is the most easily accessed of the outer islands, but it still offers a typically remote experience. Small children shout a timid mauri to an I-Matang (white person) and women can be seen weaving thatch or salting clams to send to Tarawa. You can cycle up to the Catholic church, which has rainbow-coloured window frames.

Abemama

Abemama, which still has a 'royal family', nearly became the Gilbert Islands' post-war capital, but Tarawa finally won out because of the easier access through its surrounding reef.

An unusual species of tiny yellow 'barking' frog is found here, most likely introduced from Tuvalu to keep the mosquito population in check.

Robert Louis Stevenson dropped by Abemama in 1889 and his wife designed a silly flag for the island (including a shark wearing a crown), which understandably was never used. The British placed the Kingdom of Abemama under their protection in 1892, and it was declared a Crown Colony in 1911.