Pitcairn Islands: Getting there & around

Mangareva in French Polynesia is probably the best place to try your luck to pick up passage on a passing yacht. The standard fare from Auckland to Pitcairn is around US$1000.00 one way per person, though there are no longer any regular carriers. For schedules of Panama Canal-Auckland cargo ships that will take passengers, contact the British Consulate-General in Auckland, New Zealand, or shipping companies; schedules are posted on the Pitcairn Islands Study Centre website (http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn). The 5300km/3293mi journey from New Zealand to Pitcairn takes about seven days. Alternatively, very occasional ships do the 30-hour journey to Pitcairn from Mangareva (French Polynesia).

Getting off the island requires waiting until a ship comes by - it can be a long wait. Passenger ship is the only other way to get there; two passenger ships visit infrequently. Landings on Pitcairn are notoriously difficult so vessels usually do not anchor; they simply pause to transfer cargo or passengers to the Pitcairn longboats. Every year, about a dozen cruise ships call at Pitcairn. Like cargo vessels, they anchor well off shore and, seas permitting, passengers are ferried to Bounty Bay onboard the ship's rubber inflatable or its tender, or alternatively onboard the Pitcairn longboats. For details on which ships are due when, see the Pitcairn Islands Study Centre website (http://library.puc.edu/pitcairn). If you're intending to visit, be warned that it's not unknown to travel to the island and then be unable to set foot on land because of rough seas.

Tin , Tub and Moss are three longboats used for transport between Bounty Bay and boats anchored offshore, or the occasional trip to Oeno and Henderson. Three- and four-wheeled fat-tyred motorcycles, or ATVs, are the usual means of transport around the island. The roughly 6km (3.7mi) of dirt roads turn into famously sticky mud when it rains.