There are many places in my voyages that I look forward to visiting. Some are famous for their scenery, like Zakynthos in Greece, and others for a specific experience I had imagined for years, like staying at Tabon Te Keekee in Kiribati. But there have been very few places in my travels that stood out so strongly in dreams, curiosity, and passion, then lived up to those expectations and somehow went beyond them. Tuvalu is one of those places.

Back in 2018, I was only at the very beginning of what would become my Pacific Islands voyage, long before it grew into a storytelling mission and nonprofit called One Ocean, One People. In those earlier days of simply voyaging before the deeper mission had fully taken shape, Tuvalu went from being a number one dream destination into one of the greatest experiences I had ever had in my travels. It also became one of my favorite places after I left, and that has never really changed.

Now, at the time of writing this in 2026, I know I will be returning to Fiji in a few months, and just like Kiribati, Tuvalu is once again back on the horizon. That alone has stirred up everything I loved about my week there in 2018 and all the reasons Tuvalu became a place I have continued to feel drawn toward ever since.

Why Tuvalu Left A Place in My Heart

Arriving into Tuvalu gave me a real sense of joy, partly because of the surreal reality that I had finally landed in one of my dream nations, but also because it was my very first true atoll experience. The equatorial Pacific heat hit me immediately, and I was adjusting to being on the narrow strip of land that is Funafuti, but even in those first moments there was a feeling that I had stepped into somewhere very special.

Some places take little time to get fully immersed in, and Tuvalu felt like one of them. I felt connection and broke the ice in just my first full day on Funafuti. What started as anticipation quickly became affection, and then something even more lasting than that.

The People May Be Shy at First, but They Do Open Up

Socially, one of the first things I noticed was a level of shyness among some of the people I tried to speak with. At first, that stood out to me and I will be honest, it felt lonley. But after a day of settling in and adjusting, things began to open up. Once that one door opened, they really opened.

Because Funafuti is such a small island, it did not take long before I felt like I was being welcomed into one large community. I found myself invited to picnics, boat rides, umu feasts, church, social gatherings, and even joined a moped scooter ride across the island as a kind of introduction. That is one of the initial things that made Tuvalu so memorable to me. What may begin quietly can turn into a deep feeling of connection once you are really there and present with people.

The Culture of Tuvalu Is Incredibly Beautiful

Whenever I say a culture is beautiful, I know that can sound vague or even cliché. But some things are felt first and explained second, and Tuvalu was one of those places for me. The culture really is beautiful. It is vibrant, colorful, deeply Polynesian, and it surrounds you like the air you breath there.

That was one of the biggest reasons Tuvalu left such a strong impression on me. The culture did not feel like something tucked away in certain moments only. It felt present in the day to day, in the music, in the people, in the gatherings, and in the life of the island itself.

The Fatele and Tuvalu Dance Culture

This is where I have to specifically mention the fatele, which to this day remains one of my favorite cultural dance traditions in all of the Pacific.

The rhythm of the pokihi, the hymns of the men and women singing in unison, and the way it builds from a slower pace into something faster and more alive before reaching completion all left a real mark on my soul. I had the blessing of being able to join in at the Vaitupu maneapa, and experiences like that are exactly why Tuvalu became so much more than just another island stop in my travels. And I am not even talking about the traditional wear adorned by both the men and women. The fau, tiki’s and colored patterns around the waist representing villages.

In many ways, Tuvalu also became a bridge into another place that later became a dream destination for me, Tokelau, often considered the sister island of Tuvalu with nearly identical identities, culture, dance, and even language. Years later, when I finally made it to Tokelau, I could feel, see, and hear the parallels between the two island worlds, and that connection only deepened my appreciation for what I had first encountered in Tuvalu.

Real Strength and Resilience in an Ever-changing World

As beautiful as Tuvalu is, it is impossible to speak honestly about it without acknowledging the harder realities too. Tuvalu is widely known in global headlines for the threat of rising sea levels and the possibility of parts of the nation being lost beneath the ocean in the future. From what I observed in that one week there, and from what I have seen since through more recent efforts to reclaim land and support seawalls on some of the outer islands, that reality is not abstract.

It is real.

But I do not want this section to be centered only on hardship. What I want to recognize here is the strength and resilience of the people of Tuvalu. There is something deeply moving about seeing how community life continues, how people carry on, and how they make the best they can of day-to-day life despite the realities they face year after year with changing shorelines and seas. That resilience is part of what made me admire the Tuvalu spirit so much.

The Mystery of the “Real” Tuvalu

One thing I have heard not only in Tuvalu, but also in Kiribati and the Marshall Islands, is that the main island often functions as a hub for the wider archipelago gathered into one place. In other words, the fuller island experience often lies out in the outer islands. That felt especially true in Tuvalu.

Back in 2018, I did not have the chance to voyage to the outer islands the way I had hoped. My onward travel to Nauru came with strict visa requirements, bureaucracy, and timing issues that did not go the way I wanted. Because of that, my time in Tuvalu was limited to Funafuti.

That unfinished part of the experience is one of the very things that draws me back even more.

From everything I have understood and from what people shared, the fuller Tuvalu experience stretches outward beyond Funafuti into the nation’s other islands and atolls: Nanumea, Nanumaga, Niutao, Nui, Vaitupu, Nukufetau, Nukulaelae, and Niulakita. I was able to feel the beauty of Tuvalu through Funafuti alone, but there is still more of Tuvalu that I have yet to know for myself, and I think that mystery is part of what keeps the country so alive in my heart.

My Fascination With Coral Atolls Began Here

This may sound a little nerdy, but one of the things that drew me so strongly to Tuvalu was the coral atoll itself.

Tuvalu was home to my very first true coral atoll experience, and that had long fascinated me before I ever arrived. To finally be there in person, standing inside that dream while also experiencing the beauty of the culture, connecting with the people, and beginning to understand the vulnerability of atoll life in the face of climate change gave the place a kind of gravity I had not felt before.

Tuvalu helped me appreciate both the beauty and the tension of life on an atoll in the central Pacific. It was not only a dream destination. It was a place that taught me something.

Why Tuvalu Keeps Pulling Me Back

As I write this at the end of April 2026, I am just a few months out from arriving in ‘Uvea mo Futuna and then Fiji shortly after. In my mind, the Tuvalu chapter begins stirring again even before I get there. In a way, it even begins through Kioa in Fiji – an island with a community of Tuvaluans, which I see as a kind of outlier Pacific bridge into what may come next. Note, Kioa lies next to Rabi, and island of Banaba Island Descendants and blend of Kiribati and Fiji culture in one.

This is what makes this feel less like a simple return and more like the reopening of a chapter to Tuvalu. When I eventually make my way back to Tuvalu, I already know it will be both an arrival and a continuation – an emotional one. And I can say ahead of time, with full honesty, that Tuvalu will more than likely remain one of my favorite countries and destinations in the world. It earned that place years ago, and everything I remember about it has only made that clearer with time.

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