Your Sanctuary
Guests have the choice of sleeping in the main guesthouse, or one of five 'Gilligan's Island' style private hideaways (pictured here), set in the Robinson Crusoe-esqe compound of A la Belle Etoile.
Each unit is constructed almost entirely of drift-wood timber and other materials collected on the island, and each features a bed protected by mosquito nets.
Comfortable, yet very simple, the rooms at A la Belle Etoile are the perfect metaphor for what a visit to Fanning Island should be: an unforgettable immersion into another world.
Dining
Meals are all-inclusive – with the exception of alcoholic beverages – and typically center around a bounty of fresh seafood prepared by Bruno’s wife, Tabita.
We offer a simple, delicious set-menu for breakfast, lunch, and dinner comprised, whenever possible, of locally sourced organic and sustainable ingredients. We also ship in a few specialty items that are otherwise impossible to get in Kiribati.
FLY FISHING
Here at Fanning Island you can literally be among the first to make a cast in the pristine white sand flats. The flats in the lagoon are composed of smooth, hard white sand that stretch for miles. It's perfect habitat for a variety of Pacific flats species, including bonefish, trevally, parrotfish, napoleon wrasse, and more, and they've never seen an artificial fly.
The average bonefish is 3-5 pounds, while true bonefish monsters of 10-12 pounds have landed. Everyone wading the flats of Fanning has a chance at a true trophy bonefish.
This is a new and developing frontier, we advise that this is a trip best suited for anglers who won’t mind roughing it a bit in order to be among the first fly rodders to experience a place truly on the edge of the world. The fly fishing program here is represented exclusively by The Fly Shop. Please contact The Fly Shop at [email protected], or give them a call at 1-800-669-3474.
SPEAR-FISHING
Head out of the lagoon in a local boat and see if you can pick off a doggie, wahoo, or mahi mahi.
Actually, yeah, bring back a mahi mahi and Tabita will make dinner tonight that will bring tears of joy to your eyes...
DRIFT SNORKELING
Sometimes, it's quite relaxing (for both you and the fish) to be in the water together with no pointy-tipped, dinner-hunting agenda.
Try a snorkel drift dive. It starts just outside of the passage with deep, clear blue water and accelerates as you drift – as if flying – over shallow reefs, sandbars and a kaliedoscope of fishes.
VILLAGE VISIT
Spend part of the day visiting one of the eight villages that comprise the island’s population centers.
Volunteer on one of our community projects or simply share a meal with a local family.
We guarantee it will be a highlight of your trip.
LOBSTER DIVING
In the living pantry that is the Fanning lagoon, there's more than a few shelves stocked with delicious spiny lobsters!
This is grocery shopping island style – Grab a guide and make a contribution to the dinner table!
GEAR FISHING
It's likely that your departure time from the lodge will vary each morning according to the tides and where you'll be fishing.
For those guests interested in fishing the blue water, the sheer dropoff of the reefs surrounding the atoll allows for fantastic fishing, just minutes away from the lodge.
The waters that surround Fanning Island teem with pelagic species, including tuna, wahoo, and the occasional dorado. And popping in the surf line at the reef’s edge can also be very effective in targeting monstrous, powerful Giant Trevally.