TRAVEL
TIPS
| Driving |
TBA |
| Currency |
(AUD)
Australian Dollar |
| Electrical |
TBA |
| Telephones |
Country
Code 688, City Code, Funafuti 20+3D, Nui 23+3D, Nanumea 26+3D |
Climate
Hot, tropical climate with very little seasonal variation;
average temperature 30 degrees Celsius; heavy rainfall, averaging
approximately 353.5 centimetres per year; and, very occasionally
subject to hurricanes - severe cyclones struck in 1894, 1972 and
1990. The wettest season is November to February. See the Tuvalu
weather page for current up-todate weather information and a sattelite
view.
Communications
and Transport
Radio Tuvalu is the only local radio station. It broadcasts 40
hours per week, in English and Tuvaluan. The government publishes
the only newspaper, Tuvalu Echoes. It is available by subscription
from the Broadcasting and Information Division on Funafuti.
Funafuti Atoll has a regular telephone
service, and there are connections to all the outer islands through
the Post Offices. As of early 1999, there were about 700 subscribers.
A telephone directory has been published. Communications with
the outer islands is also available by radiophone. Direct Internet
is not yet available in Tuvalu, but is expected to be established
sometime in 1999. The domain suffix is "TV", which has
potential resale value.
The main roads of Funafuti are the
only paved ones in Tuvalu, done in the mid 1990's. There are a
few private cars, and some owned by the government. A small number
of trucks, tractors, and emergency vehicles travel on roads consisting
of crushed coral. A minibus and a taxi run between the government
centre at Vaiaku and the deep-sea wharf at the north end of Fongafale
islet on Funafuti Atoll. The most popular method of individual
transport is the bicycle, followed by small motorcycles. There
is one passenger/cargo vessel based at Funafuti, the M. V. Nivaga.
It provides inter-island transport throughout the island group,
along with occasional visits to Fiji, Kiribati and Tokelau.
There
are regular air services from Funafuti International Airport to
Tarawa, Kiribati and Suva, Fiji. The runway on Funafuti was black-topped
in 1995, previously consisting of grass coveredcrushed coral.
Public
Holidays
New Year's Day : 1 January
Commonwealth Day :11 March
Gospel Day :13 May
Bomb Day : 23 April - Commemorates the bombing of Funafuti by
Japan during WWII
Queen's Birthday: 2nd Saturday in June
National Children's Day : 5 August
Independence Day or Tuvalu Day : 1 October
Prince of Wales' Birthday : 11 November
Christmas Day : 25 December
Boxing Day : 26 December
Good Friday to Easter:
1999 : April 2 - 5
2000 : April 21 - 24
2001 : Apr13 - 16
