"The Holy Grail of the travellers" Pitcairn Island by jorgejuansanchez

Pitcairn Island Travel Guide: 18 reviews and 24 photos

The Maxim Gorkiy before heading to Pitcairn

the most difficult to visit inhabited island

I have just returned from Pitcairn island and I am so happy!!!
I arrived there through the ship Maxim Gorkiy. Very often the ships just go around the island, some Pitcairn natives then get on board the cruises to sell souvenirs (reproductions of the Bounty, stamps, T shirts, wooden statues, honey, etc.).
But the day we got there the waters were more or less OK and we were given 3 hours time to visit the island. No much, but better than nothing. We used the local boats of the natives, since they know much better the treacherous waters sorrounding Pitcairn.
I had time to visit Adams tomb (together with his wife's and his daughter's), Christian cave, the school, Town Hall, museum (entrance fee 2 US dollars), the Seventh Day Adventist Church, and the nature in general.
The total population is about 50 people. All the Pitcairn natives migrated to Norfolk island, in Australia, in 1856, but about 40 returned to Pitcairn. Recently there have been reported children sexual abuses, but I did not talk about this with the locals. They were all nice with me, very old in general, and only saw 3 children of a same mother in the port. It seems that there live only 7 minors presently in the island.
There is no asphalt in the island and the people walk or take a motocycle with four wheels. To get from the pier, called Bounty Bay until Adamstown, you need to climb hard up through a kind of road. The island is small but very green and beautiful with many endemic plants. The locals do not lock their houses, scattered around the tiny island, that is why sometimes the tourists have pilfered spoons and other daily life items from the houses, simple items but very valuable for them since there are no shops to buy more, and for that reason many times tourists have been refused to disembark in the island, even when the waters were calm.
Apart from our cruise ship, Maxim Gorki, I saw in the bay another one, from England, called Saga Rose, which tourists also could reach the shores of the island. Next day I learnt in Tuamotu that the cruise Europe, following us, could not disembark.
From November 2005 until March 2006 there was an army ship from U.K., which gave us permission to go to the island. In fact you have to pay to visit it, but it was the cruise company who paid, no the tourists. If you want to have a stamp in your passport, they charge you 5 US dollars.
Pitcairn, owing to its impenetrability, is considered by many travellers as the Holy Grail, even more difficulty to land there than to Tristan de Cunha or Tokelau.

In Callao, Peru, before travelling to Pitcairn is.

taking a walk in Callao before leaving to Pitcairn

I sailed the 7th of february 2006 from Callao (near Lima) and arrived to Eastern island five days later. But... oh, bad news! The captain did not risk to disembark people because the bad weather. Then, we just navigated around the island. People were really angry.
But, as we say in Spanish: NO HAY MAL QUE POR BIEN NO VENGA. And thus, when we reached Pitcairn the captain could not refuse to disembark in a programmated scheduled island for the second time (otherwise there would have been a second mutiny of the Bounty!) and in spite of having the waters still more treacherous than in Eastern island, 80 or so of the pasengers managed to reach Pitcairn in the local boats (I was the first because I waited before the gate for hours!).
Indeed, after having traveled to Pitcairn you feel that you have been in a very special place.

Food was gorgeous on board!

having a generous midnight dinner on deck

In Pitcairn there are plenty of fruits, such as banana, mango, coconuts, etc. They also fish and have chickens and some agricultural products. I saw selling milk from Chile (probably bought in the neighbouring Eastern island).

On board the ship Maxim Gorkiy we could choose four restaurants to have breakfast, lunch, merienda, dinner and midnight dinner. In two of them, the Crimea and the Odessa, Russian and Ukranian beautiful waitresses served food, while in the other two ones there was self service. Usually the food was German taste, but some days were devoted to Polinesia, to Russia, to Italy, etc., and we could try gastronomic specialities from those countries. You could eat as much as you wanted. Wine, juices, coffee and tee were included and very often we were given champagne and vodka. Nasdarovia!

Pros and Cons

Pros:Pitcairn island is an icon for a traveller
Cons:frequent bad weather prevents you from landing
In a nutshell:Pitcairn is an island to remember forever

Last visit to Pitcairn Island: Feb 2006
Intro Updated Feb 27, 2006
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Reviews (5)

I am in a banquet in my ship to Pitcairn - Pitcairn Island

Only by boat Transportation (1)

Apart from cruises, which is not a sure system to get to Pitcairn, you can get there from Auckland in the regular... more travel advice

map of Pitcairn with the cave and grave - Pitcairn Island

Adams grave Off The Beaten Path (1)

Usually the tourists do not have much time in Pitcairn and just go the the main (and only) square to buy fruits and... more travel advice

The museum and some tourists - Pitcairn Island

Pitcairn museum Things to Do (1)

This museum exhibits maps and artifacts of the island. It is small and was inaugurated in August 2005. The entrance fee... more travel advice

Pitcairn souvenirs Shopping (1)

Even if you do not visit the island, the locals will go to your cruise to sell you souvenirs. The accept every currency,... more travel advice

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Comments (9)

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islandboy1 Jul 12, 2009 at 6:08 PM

Since 2006 Pacific Expeditions has run one, two and three week voyages to Pitcairn from January to April every year (see www.pacific-expeditions.com)
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atufft Mar 2, 2008 at 12:01 PM

Very interesting report on your visit to this remote island.
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hunterV Mar 2, 2008 at 11:02 AM

Hello, Jorge! Great page about that faraway place, thanks!
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Ekahau Nov 16, 2006 at 3:59 AM

Jorge my kind of traveler so glad you made it to this place and Tuva as well wow -- next Tristan da Cunha
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giampiero6 Oct 16, 2006 at 11:16 AM

Wow. Very cool! You do seem to like the remote spots...Great!
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Cristian_Uluru Sep 9, 2006 at 11:53 PM

Interesting page and place!
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kid-keith Jun 1, 2006 at 8:27 AM

you have some really great pages, i will have a look at some at another time. take care
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victorwkf May 11, 2006 at 3:01 AM

This is really one of the last frontiers! Thanks for sharing :)
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nomada Apr 8, 2006 at 6:35 AM

Jorge, no se donde contactar para viajar en el M. Gorki. Su webpage en aleman no esta nada clara... yo tambien estoy soñando con la proxima vuelta al mundo !!! Por cierto... llama a Carlos. Un abrazo