Pitcairn
The Pitcairn Islands, officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean.
The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno—are scattered across several hundred kilometres of ocean and have a combined land area of about 47 square kilometres. Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The inhabited islands nearest to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva, 688 km to the west, as well as Easter Island, 1,929 km to the east.
Getting to Pitcairn
The remoteness and ruggedness of Pitcairn's geography, the insularity of its bureaucracy, and the scarcity of its resources conspire to make it a very difficult place to visit. But with enough time, money and flexibility, the Silver Supporter vessel (see below) makes it rather easy to visit Pitcairn. No visa is needed if you intend to stay 14 days or less on Pitcairn and arrive and depart on the same vessel.
Worth seeing
The remains of the Bounty are in Bounty Bay. The ship was deliberately burned and sunk by the mutineers, and it's been well picked over by divers in the meantime, but there's still an allure to seeing (what little is left of) the vessel of the true tale that made "Captain Bligh" and "the Bounty" household names.
Things to do
If the ocean is calm enough, go swimming in St Paul's Pool, a picturesque tidal pool nestled among the seaside rocks in eastern part of Pitcairn. (Swimming in the ocean itself generally isn't safe due to the rocky shoreline.) Sail yourself or perhaps travel with the locals to another of the islands.
Where to eat
There is a small co-operative general store which stocks imported foodstuffs from New Zealand and French Polynesia, mostly ordered by customers in advance. It's open 3 mornings a week for an hour. The local cooking relies heavily on seafood. Deep-fried nanwi (bluefish) is a local favourite, with red snapper, tuna, whitefish, grouper, wahoo and others also being common.
Getting around Pitcairn the local way
- Get inYou can catch a charter vessel from Mangareva.
- Get inYou then catch the airport taxi ferry to Rikitea village on Mangareva (F500 one way).
From Wikivoyage: Pitcairn Islands, CC BY-SA. Not yet checked by us. Last edited 2025-11.
Text adapted from Wikipedia and Wikivoyage, CC BY-SA 4.0. Photograph: Qvidemus (see Commons), Wikimedia Commons.