Some info on Majuro&Marshall Islands needed

Hello, everyone!

I have tried to find any information possible on blogs and traveler sites, then checked with Google Maps and Marshall Islands Visitor Authority, then exchanged couple of emails with hotel stuff but still have some unclear issues on our visit there. I get the notion that the Pacific Islands work on their own time and pace but some of the attitude is just plain unprofessional. So, couple of questions:

1) Accommodation. Wondering between Long Island/Hotel Remiers and the backpackers place. Has anyone any clue whether Long Island Hotel has its own transport to the city or how much should cost to get to it by a taxi? If it is within 2-3km distance it is pretty walkable. Has backpackers answer to the email provided at the MIVA website? Does Long Island Hotel have transport to Laura or does the bus to there from Hotel Remiers stops there? (I know I can ask them but they still have not replied for over a week to an email asking whether they offer weekly rates)
How regular the bus is to there?

2) Eneko Island: I have answer from Remiers saying the fee to get there is 25.00 USD. Is it per person or per trip? Does the boat wait you for couple of hours or the whole trip is just like tour where you have couple of minutes to take pictures and then go back? (I know I might ask them but their response to my emails gets shorter and shorter and more incomplete by any other email)

3) Arno Atoll: Any information on how to get there? It says it is 45km away from Majuro Atoll but is there any regular boat to get there - any schedule would be helpful - or how much should a chartered one cost? Is there any formalities to be done in advance such as aksing for permission to visit or any similar?

So thanks in advance to anyone who might help us.

Cheers,
mumoko

I cannot answer your questions, but I have had the same thoughts and ideas about Eneko or Arno. Arno looks quite interesting, but as you have found out, it is not so easy to find out how to get there. Reimers gave me a an e-mail address of Francis Reimers who operate the Arno B&B, but the mailbox was closed. The visit marshall islands website gave me another address - take a look at: http://www.visitmarshallislands.com/Marshall-Islands-Accommodations-Places-Stay.aspx
- it didn't work either - but there are 4 phonenumbers, so one or more of them might work :-)
We decided for an overnight stay at Eneko instead, since it also looked nice, and by accident I found out that a friend of mine had been there. I cannot say if the fee is per person, but the nightly rate from Reimers website looks ok.

Erik

Flame Tree Backpackers answered my e-mail to journal@ntamar.net pretty fast. They have a free airport transfer from the airport. Back to the airport I took a taxi for 5$ although the locals pay less. The manager Isaac Marau is very friendly and can arrange anything including boat trips. The restaurant there is good.

Hi Mumoko,

This information may be too late for you but I've just spent a year living in the Marshall Islands so should be fairly up to date...

1) The Backpackers place is Flame Tree right? Flame Tree is basically a loud bar with some rooms so not the ideal place to stay but if you're scrapped for cash, it's probably your cheapest option. Long Island Hotel is in Rairok, not in town but near town.Taxis are either $1 or 50 cents to go anywhere - but taxis are communal so drivers will stop until the taxi is full up. this means it may take you longer to get somewhere than you might want! I wouldn't walk from Rairok to town because the dogs are vicious and depending on the time of year it may be very hot. The Laura bus is basically a van with no signs or marking to show that it's a bus. there are several Laura buses. there are no stops apart from the stop at RRE Tide Table and Laura so you basically hail it down anywhere on the island to get on - the only problem is that there's no way of knowing it's a bus unless you recognise it! some families have similar looking vans and some churches do too. The Laura bus has no schedule, I'd say one normally comes every hour or so, sometimes more frequent, sometimes less, sometimes it stops running at around 7/8 pm, sometimes not! Not sure if Long Island Hotel has transport, they might have a van but it wouldn't be on any kind of schedule.

2) Eneko is $25 per person, you need to request when you want to go (from Tide Table restaurant/RRE hotel) and they schedule anytime to suit you. there is accomodation that you can stay in on Eneko and you can also camp, I think camping is $10 per person per night and the accommodation is $40/$50 for a twin room. there's also a kitchen on Eneko. you can choose to stay overnight and be picked up the next day, or just stay for the day - it's really up to you. the easiest way to organise this is by walking into Tide Table and just asking at reception.

3) Boats go to Arno every Monday, Wednesday and Friday at around 11:00 (and return on the same days I think) and I can't remember how much it costs but it 's not much (maybe $10-20?). they're often late and very packed, you will get wet and maybe sea sick! the boat ride lasts about an hour and half. again to go to Arno, you can just ask at Tide Table and they'll give you the info, or go down to Shoreline (5 mins walk from Tide Table) and ask someone hanging around there. I think chartering a boat is maybe $200.

it's very difficult to organise things from outside the RMI, and email communication is still quite new and not used that much, so I would say a lot of this stuff you really need to be there to organise. don't stress about it now, you can figure it out when there! it's not an unprofessional attitude per se, it's just very difficult to give detailed info via email and email's not that normal a communication form. face to face you will find people are much more helpful and you can get things organised. things will run late, and you will have to wait around! i would say that the RMI is not really geared towards tourists and there isn't actually that much to do as a visitor, although it is a very unique and beautiful place - how long are you going for and what are your plans?

oh yeah, it should cost $2 for the Laura bus to go anywhere. taxi to the airport should be $3 from town but you may get charged $5. if you try to get a taxi at night from say Ajeltake/Laura to town you may get charged around $20, this is a bit ridiculous and a local would not get charged this much BUT fuel prices are very high and it does cost similar to actually make this journey, so if you have a large budget, bear that in mind.

if you want to get around the whole island and not spend all your time waiting on public transport, consider renting a car. you used to be able to rent a golf cart which was amazing, but I don't know if you can anymore. the Laura bus stops all the time, to get fuel, for passengers to buy rice, swap money, buy some snacks for the ride etc - it's not a fast way to get somewhere but it is a very Marshallese way to jambo (travel aimlessly, it's all about the jambo, not the destination) so definitely worth the experience. at night there are sometimes drunk men on the bus so not that comfortable being a girl on it alone.

yes, there's a BnB in Arno - again you book it via Tide Table when you get there

We went there a couple of weeks ago, and we were practically the only tourist at Majuro. We had a wonderful stay at Eneko - I would say one of the highlights of our trip. The facilities are basic, but the island and corals are amazing.
Link to travelblog article
I even think we only paid 40$ for a room for the whole family.
I'm not sure if the RRE bus was 5 or 10$ - but it is round trip, and everything we organized through the RRE worked out great.

Wow what great information on the Marshalls. We never hear from anyone who has been there. And now that I've acquired some more Continental miles it looks like I'll be visiting Micronesia again.

Is Eneko a deserted island or...?

Any opportunities for camping on deserted islets?

What is the current domestic airlines situation?

Thanks!

ajeltakelikatu

Thank you very much for your input. Since posting my questions, I was able to get together from different places some of the info but I was waiting to finish my travel and then to post with what I really experienced.

Can you give some more info on the boats to Arno - why they will make us seasick or wet. How they look like?

As to the email communication I just got a response to an email of mine from two months ago. So ouchy if I was in hurry.

Edited by: mumoko Forgot smt

@silvanocat. Eneko has some Marshallese people living there who are caretakers for the island. there's also 3 Bag Island in Majuro Lagoon which you can also stay on - not sure if it's camping or accomodation. another great island to visit is Enemanit, great snorkelling and diving there, it's used mostly for picnics but maybe you could organise to stay over night? I think you organise Enemanit through Tide Table, not sure about 3 bag. at low tide you can walk out from Rita across multiple islands (including Ejit where Bikinians are living) and walk all the way to Eneko or Enemanit (takes a couple of hours) BUT you really have to check out the tide times first and time it right and the current is extremely strong and dangerous between ocean and lagoon when it's coming in so be careful if you do this. depending on how far you go and how you time it you might have to stay overnight before you walk back.

Air Marshall Islands are not particularly reliable - planes are often breaking down and I think that's because they do have high standards and do very thorough checks on the planes. But it does mean flights are frequently cancelled and postponed. Common routes are Majuro - Ailinglaplap - Kwajalein - Wotje (think that's the right order but I could be wrong) and Majuro - Kili - Jaluit (again, not sure if order is correct or if missed a flight). think both these routes go two times a week. There are also flights sometimes to Utrik, Namu, Namdrik, Aur and more but they're less frequent. I would say that if you have a limited time there you certainly can't guarantee that your flight will come and go on the days you want it to - one volunteer's dad came to visit him on Aur and the plane broke and didn't come for several weeks so he was stuck there! there's a big plane (umm not sure how many seats, maybe 16 or so?) and a small plane (7 seater I think) which are both pretty small, and some islands can only have the small plane land there due to the runways.

@mumoko. no problem! most people have never heard of the rmi so happy to provide advice.

http://a8.sphotos.ak.fbcdn.net/hphotos-ak-ash4/199304_109278549152725_100002117405353_91910_621650_n.jpg
this photo is a typical boat between Arno and Majuro, so it's quite small as far as boats go but actually a big boat for this route.

http://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=109278719152708&set=a.109278535819393.18059.100002117405353&theater sorry don't know if this link will work. maybe this one will: http://cache4.asset-cache.net/xc/91933726.jpg?v=1&c=IWSAsset&k=2&d=A7B69CF049AC9005B882BA87A735CB060D5B298BC2A60096C8D4587443C92E3A
DO NOT go in a boat this size!

Basically there can be big waves between Majuro and Arno (usually just when leaving Maj, not in the open ocean) especially around December/January but possible any time of the year so you usually get wet, you're not provided with lifejackets etc so it's a decision you have to make in terms of safety. I'm not saying it's dangerous and you shouldn't do it, most of the time it's fine BUT there have been incidents in the past and only recently is the RMI starting to reconsider boat safety and maybe come up with some regulations. lots of people get seasick, I didn't get seasick but many people do, most just take some kind of medication before they get on the boat and that prevents it. I guess if you're already prone to being seasick, then you probably will be. just make sure you put any electronics, cameras etc in zip lock bags and have your belongings sorted out in terms of stuff getting wet.

ajeltakelikatu

Thanks for the pics and the information once again. First two of the pictures I could open but the third unfortunately not, but overall I get the idea of what the boats operate between two atolls. Indeed, they are not exactly safety first oriented. On place, we will decide what to do.