Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands are an autonomous oversea territory of the United Kingdom. The islands comprise the Henderson Island, the Ducie Island, the Oeno Island, the Sandy Island, and Pitcairn located in the South Pacific. The only populated place and the capital city is Adamstown on the Pitcairn Island.

The climate on the islands is maritime sub-tropical. The temperature in winter (from June to August) is +18 °C and in summer (from December to February), the temperature is about +25 °C. The tourists come to the islands all the year round.

The official language is English, however, local people speak a combination of Old English and Polynesian. This mix formed their own language – Pitkern. All the people on the island are the members of the Seventh Day Adventist Church.

The Pitcairn Islands are unique because they preserved the nature untouched. The only populated island is Pitcairn which is not the biggest island, by the way. On all the rest islands, the tourists will see the unspoiled nature. The tourists live in the houses of the local people as there are no hotels. This is a good option for the ecological tourists.

If you like to spend time by the sea, take a trip to the Henderson Island. You will enjoy wild white sandy beaches.

Diving is fantastic here. The variety of sea animals amazes even the biologists who still discover new animals and plants in these places.

Anyone can go fishing with the instructor.

There are very picturesque hiking routes on the Pitcairn Island.

Get in

By Plane

There are no flights to the Pitcairn Islands. The tourists have to take a flight to Tahiti first and then to the Gambier Island. From the Gambier Island, they will have to travel by sea.

By Sea

You can reach the Pitcairn Island by one of the cruise ships. It is a convenient variant, if a tourist wants to visit several places and has plenty of time. Those who like boat trips can get to one of the Pitcairn islands by yacht.

A ship MV Claymore II arrives at these distant islands in February, March, May, June, August, September, November, and December. It departs from the Mangareva Island.

Visa

The travellers can visit and stay on the Pitcairn islands for 14 days visa-free. If you want to stay on the islands for a long time, it is necessary to obtain a visa three months prior to the anticipated date of your arrival.

You should apply to the Pitcairn Island Immigration online. The time for processing the documents is from two weeks to three months.

Customs

One can import foreign and national currency without any restrictions. The export is limited to 5.000 New Zealand dollars (NZD).

The tourists can bring in the following goods duty-free:

• a small amount of alcohol and tobacco;
• perfume for personal use;
• personal belongings.

It is prohibited to import:

• honey and bees;
• plants, fruits, and seeds;
• wood and wooden goods;
• food.

The tourists must be aware that they are not allowed to export:

• animals and plants;
• bones, skins, shells, corals, birds’ feathers and products from them;
• items having artistic or historical value.

Cuisine

The cuisine of the Pitcairn Islands combined the European and the New Zealand cooking traditions. The staple food here is seafood. There are no restaurants on the islands and the only eatery works one day a week.

The foodies should try goat meat. The locals prefer to grill the meat and serve it with vegetables.

Try roasted chicken and chicken kebab cooked according to the traditional recipe.

Chicken, fish, and beans soups are popular on the islands. There is a great variety of seafood dishes: grilled lobsters, fish, and clams. The locals prefer Sashimi. Do not leave the islands without trying grilled shark steaks or tuna steaks with lemon juice.

For a dessert, treat yourself to fruit cakes and local exotic fruits. The most favourite desserts of the locals resemble porridge. It is prepared from sugar cane and the leaves of local plants. We recommend trying honey, which is served to the British Queen.

The most popular non-alcoholic drinks are fruit juices and tea.

Alcoholic juices are not produced on the island and there is not a great choice of them here.

Money

The official currency is the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) which is equal to 100 cents. In circulation are the bank notes 5, 10, 20, 50, and 100 dollars, 10, 20, and 50 cent coins and 1 and 2 dollar coins. US dollars, Euro, sterling pounds and French Pacific Francs are accepted on the Pitcairn Islands.

There are no banks or ATMs on the island. Credit cards and traveller’s checks are not accepted here.

In Adamstown, you will not be able to cash traveller’s checks. The tourists can exchange the currency and withdraw money from their card account in the local Treasury. We recommend the tourists having enough cash.

Details of interest

Sightseeing on the Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands and the waters surrounding them are a big ocean reserve. The uninhabited Henderson Island is inscribed in the UNESCO World Heritage List as one of the examples of the unspoiled coral atolls. The travellers who decide to take a trip to the Henderson Island will enjoy an amazing beauty of the virgin sandy beaches, limestone rocks, and forests. The island is a habitat for several unique species of birds. If you like the monuments of civilisation, it will be interesting for you to visit a famous cave where the remains of ancient humans and some primaeval tools of trade were found. On the rocks close to the cave, you can see some petroglyphs.

In 2015 the British Government announced the waters surrounding the Pitcairn Islands a maritime reserve. The scientists came to the conclusion that the coral reefs in these places were less affected by human beings and the biological value of the ecosystem is very high. The diversity of sea animals here will amaze even the most experienced divers.

There are several main sights on the Pitcairn Islands which are of a great touristic interest.

• The Saint Paul’s Pool. The tide flow penetrates the rocks forming a pool with the crystal clean water.
• The Pitcairn Island Museum stores an exposition telling the tourists about the history of Europeans settlement on the island. Those were the people in rebellion from the British ship “Bounty” in 1790. Virtually all the people living on the island today are their offspring.
• The anchor and the cannon from the ship “Bounty”.
• The lovers of hiking can study a famous island cave.

Souvenirs on the Pitcairn Islands

On the Pitcairn Island the tourists can buy:

• wooden shark and turtle figurines made from the tree Thespesia populnea or Cordia subcordate growing on the Henderson Island;
• honey;
• wooden vases and jewellery boxes;
• wooden copies of the “Bounty” ship;
• woven baskets;
• honey and coconut handmade soap;
• coconut creams and oils.