What I wish I had known about Kosrae before going...

I had planned to spend 4 days on Kosrae, ended up staying twice that time, and would have happily stayed even longer if my schedule had allowed it. How much I enjoyed my stay on Kosrae actually came as a bit of a surprise to me after somewhat expecting the likelihood of becoming bored on what arguably is the quietest of all island states in the FSM.

In many ways I have found Kosrae to be similar to other remote Pacific islands I had visited in the past. Life is slow, often not very well organized, and the island’s beauty is unfortunately all too often marred by waste disposal problems and simply all kind of other issues the inhabitants are struggling with in their daily lives that take precedence over preserving their island’s natural environment. Still, so far Kosrae has mostly remained a quaint and beautiful little island with friendly people and deep-rooted traditions.

Speaking of which, if you find yourself on Kosrae on a Sunday don’t miss out attending the church service of any of the island’s many congregations. Based on people’s recommendations and the fact that it was in walking distance from my hotel I decided to go to Lelu Church on Lelu peninsula. It’s the biggest church on Kosrae. At most churches there are services both in the morning as well as in the afternoon, so ask around when they start at the place you have decided to visit. I am anything but religious, and the sermons are given in Kosraen language, yet I really enjoyed the experience. To me the singing was the best part. It’s also interesting to see devout Kosraens dress up in their Sunday’s best. In church women and men are seated separated by the aisle. Be conscious of where people of the same sex are seated before taking your seat.

Having had made up my mind to travel to several FSM islands I decided to try for a home stay on at least one of them. (Observant TT readers may remember my posts asking for suggestions on how to organize this). I initially contacted the tourist office on Kosrae by email, yet didn’t receive any reply. After trying a few times and also unsuccessfully attempting to reach someone by calling the tourist office’s phone number I wrote to the tourist office on Pohnpei to ask for advice. They apparently managed to wake Kosrae’s tourist office up and they eventually replied to my original emails, confirming that a home stay was certainly possible and I should consider it a done deal. They promised to get back to me as soon as they had any details pertaining to my request. After not hearing from them for several weeks, and with my date of arrival to Kosrae rapidly approaching, I contacted them again to ask for news. No reply. I tried a few more times but without any luck. Eventually I decided to simply fly to Kosrae and see if there’s anyone waiting for me at the airport. Of course there was no one…

My contingency plan was to stay at Treelodge Resort which (based on reviews on Tripadvisor etc) seemed to be the best liked and most popular place to stay. I also briefly considered the Kosrae Village Resort, but eventually decided against it because it’s a little more expensive than the Treelodge, and by my standards not as conveniently located. Luck had it that a representative of the Treelodge happened to be at the airport to pick up other guests so I could tag along. Fortunately there was one available room left at the Treelodge, and now it was mine.

The Treelodge is run by the amiable couple Mark (American) and Maria (Italian). They are great hosts and go to great lengths to make people comfortable. I had long talks with Maria about life on the island, and funnily so we shared our frustration about the local tourist office. When she had first arrived to Kosrae many years ago she was also hoping to do a home stay, and just like in my case found herself completely ignored after first having received all kinds of promises from the tourist office. Hence it seems as if while home stays may be a theoretical option, you apparently need to be incredibly patient, persistent, and/or lucky to actually be able to do one. Good luck if you decide to try, and drop me a PM telling me how it went!

I paid 85$ for a single room at the Treelodge, which seems adequate considering how much wear and tear everything is suffering due to the high humidity and salty air. Also electricity is ridiculously expensive on Kosrae, as well as the other islands in the FSM. The room was clean, comfortable, and the entire staff helpful and friendly. The Treelodge’s restaurant “Bully’s” is located at the end of a boardwalk in the back of the resort, by the water and surrounded by mangroves. It’s a very pleasant spot which seems to be the most popular hangout place for expats on the island as well. I met some very interesting and colorful characters who I enjoyed having many good conversations with. The food is solid, and there are specials served every day of the week. (Note: I did enjoy a very nice breakfast as well as dinner at the Kosrae Village Resort as well. Based on what I had as well as the opinion of the people I was with their food is probably the best on the island, and not overpriced either. No matter where you end up staying on Kosrae (and the Village Resort IS actually a very good option) I do recommend you to have at least one meal there. I also had a chance to meet and chat with one of the owners, Bruce, who was very friendly, helpful, and accommodating. His wife was not on the island while I was there, but she was the only one who attempted to answer my home stay related questions on this forum before my arrival to Kosrae, for which I am very grateful. She’ll probably read this eventually, so I’d like to give my sincere thanks for her help once again.)

One nice thing about places as remote and visited only by a small number of tourists as Kosrae is the fact that you tend to bond quickly with whoever else is there. Maybe I was just lucky but I ended up having a fantastic time socializing with many of the other guests who were staying at the Treelodge, as well as many of the expats who came by for a meal or mingle with other expats or the guests.

Activities: Riding a bicycle is pleasant. I had thought about renting a car one or the other day but ended up always taking the bicycle or hitchhiking. It’s very easy, and distances are not too significant, if not very short to the very far end of the road on either side of the island. Be aware that there are some aggressive dogs around the island which are likely to come after you. Together with the bicycle I was handed a stick to fend those off, if need be. For the most part the dogs already back off if you only do as much as raise your stick in a threatening way, but a couple of times I actually had to smack them over the head when they got too close.

(There are two shared taxis cruising the island’s perimeter road. I used a taxi once and paid 2$ to go half around the island.)

Scuba diving is a great option obviously. I went out for a couple of dives at Hiroshi Point and honestly have to say that in 13 years of scuba diving I saw what probably were the most beautiful hard corals I have ever come across anywhere. Deep-sea fishing is an option too. One day of the week the Treelodge runs a Sunset Cruise for 15$ per person, which includes snacks and drinks. It’s a great opportunity to mingle with other guests and expats, and often sail crews who anchor in Kosrae’s sheltered bay join as well, sharing interesting stories about their round-the-world cruises. Highly recommended!

Kayaking is nice and easy! Swimming and snorkeling can be done off shore in many places around the island, just take note of what the tide’s doing. You can ask your hotel/lodge to hook you up with locals to take you on hikes around the island, or spear fishing. A half-day excursion that I found VERY worthwhile was taking a guided boat trip to a beautiful Terminalia forest on the north-west side of the island. It’s only accessible by boat during high tide. This trip is ideally combined with a visit to remote Walung Village. It’s the most traditional settlement on Kosrae and extremely friendly towards visitors. Expect to be offered coconuts and bananas by villagers while you are visiting. Given a chance to visit Kosrae again I’d like to spend a night at Walung. The visit to the forest and to Walung can be organized through your hotel. It’s around 20$ to the forest and another 20$ on top to Walung. The guides I went with were involved in an NGO aiming to protect the forest and proved to be very knowledgeable. Beware of going with random locals who may offer to take you on the same trip, as officially they are not authorized to enter the forest without the NGO staff. Also, some of my co-guests at the Treelodge ended going with some locals guys who were drinking heavily all along the way, which is probably not the safest way to travel on a speedboat. (Alcohol abuse IS a big problem on many islands in the FSM)

Internet can be accessed in Tofol’s (the island’s capital) only internet café. Its opening hours are erratic, but the connection is reasonably fast (by island standards). That is if the internet is working at all, and often it simply isn’t. You can also access the WIFI at the Treelodge’s office if you are a guest at the resort.

Supplies are available at village shops, but there’s not much of a selection. Watch the expiry date on perishable goods. Sunscreen was impossible to get anywhere (I had forgotten my bottle on Hawaii) except at the resorts’ shops.

So why did I end up staying 8 instead of 4 days? Actually my stay became involuntarily extended, which turned out to be a stroke of luck with hindsight. The plane arriving from Kwajalein couldn’t land at Kosrae on the day I was supposed to leave. It overflew the island and went straight to Pohnpei, stranding everybody who was supposed to leave Kosrae that day for another 3 nights. The official reason was a rainstorm near the island. The real reason (as later learned from expats working on resurfacing the airport’s runway) was that at the time of the scheduled arrival of the aircraft there was an island-wide electricity power cut, and the emergency diesel generator at the airport also failed to provide back-up energy. Welcome to Kosrae!

great post.

Great indeed.

The Nautilius- still owned by the Aussie guy? And still serves the wonderful limeade? My it has been so many years!

Have enjoyed reading your various reports - now looking forward to your views on Palau as it is the only place I have been to.

or Yap

I have enjoyed reading your article,althought i can't say much about your experience because i haven't seen that island in so many years.The one thing i can say is that the people are ususally nice to tourists or outsiders.I'm originally from Kosrae,but been away so long that it's interesting reading what people experienced whether it's good or bad.I have to say though,i would love to be back there any time.Next time if there is any,hopefully you will be more aware!!!