Christmas Island is located about 1300 miles south of Hawaii. That's only about a 3-hour flight, but Kiribati bends the dateline to keep all its islands on the same side, so you will arrive a full day later. One of the Line Islands, Christmas is the world's largest coral atoll, a full 45 miles long and between 7 and 25 miles wide, although lagoons make up nearly 2/3 of that area. The island was named after the day in 1777 when Captain James Cook first happened upon it, but it remained uninhabited until the 1950s, when the British chose it as the site for their nuclear weapons development project and induced a small Micronesian work force from the Gilbert Islands to relocate there. Once they'd detonated their H-bomb nearby, however, the British pulled out, leaving behind a few Micronesians and a great deal of debris. Today the island's 4400 residents are citizens of the Republic of Kiribati (pronounced cure-a-BOS).

All year round, daytime highs are in the mid-80's with moderate humidity, while evening lows are typically 72 degrees with a light breeze. Bonefishing, offshore fishing and diving is available year-round on Christmas Island due to the remarkably stable weather. Water temperature ranges from 77-82 degrees year round.

Click here to see a map of Christmas Island