10 Best Things to Do on Majuro with Kids

A soft adventure for the whole family, WAAN Aelõñ in Majel (Canoes of the Marshall Islands) offers peaceful sailing trips in a unique Marshallese canoe, as well as a free museum.

Step inside the museum to find detailed mock-ups of traditional canoes, along with displays showing how they were crafted using pandanus-woven sails and sennit rope made from coconut fibre. A guide is usually on hand to walk you through the exhibits, though you're equally welcome to explore at your own pace if they're tied up (no pun intended).

Then, take it a step further with a 30-minute traditional canoe sail on the Majuro Lagoon, departing from near the harbour. The sail is peaceful, unhurried and genuinely memorable; up to 12 people can join, though solo visitors are welcome too.

Entry to the museum is completely free. Canoe rides are very affordable. Book ahead by calling to arrange a time, Monday to Friday. Note that rides depend on the tide and wind conditions.

With white sandy shores and shallow lagoon waters, Laura Beach offers an idyllic day trip for families.

This white sand beach curves around a natural point, making it an ever-shifting landscape where the shoreline itself changes over time. Beyond the beach, there's a lot to explore: snorkel out beyond the point, walk across the reef to patchier sections and you'll find coral, surgeonfish, butterflyfish and more among the seagrass.

The site also holds cultural significance as the legendary Bōkjānwūt legend site, and an old domestic plane adds a quirky, photogenic element. Facilities include showers, toilets, picnic areas and shade, so you can make a proper day of it. With all this in mind, there is an entry fee to Laura Beach: US$2 per adult or $1 per child, paid in cash to the custodians at the gate entrance.

Worth noting: after heavy rain, fresh water flows out into the lagoon. It may look cloudy, but it's just freshwater runoff, not pollution. Litter can occasionally be an issue, though custodians generally do their best to keep things tidy.

A paradisical island, yet with all the essential facilities to make a family outing effortless, the Eneko Island day trip is a must-do!

Just a 20-minute boat ride from Majuro, this conservation island sits in a stunning lagoon of aqua blues and greens, ringed by soft white sand.

Day trippers pay a reasonable fee, which includes round-trip boat transfers and the island entry fee, and are free to swim, snorkel on the lagoon side, barbecue, beachcomb and rinse off with the freshwater facilities on shore.

Snorkel gear is available to borrow (though limited to five sets, so first in, best dressed), and the lagoon-facing side of the island is the recommended spot to get in the water.

Do bring your own food and drinks, as there are no shops or cafés on the island, but there are bathrooms. Tickets and boat transfers are arranged through Hotel Robert Reimers. If you'd rather not leave, basic overnight accommodation is also available.

If the kids have been cooped up for too long (and after a flight to Majuro, they probably have), Iakwe Katoj Park is exactly the kind of place you want to find. One of the atoll's tidiest and best-equipped public green spaces, it sits just past the eastern end of the airport runway on the lagoon side, which means you're practically there before your luggage has even arrived.

It's home to one of the island's best children's playgrounds, with plenty of equipment, open grassy areas and shaded picnic spots beneath a scattering of trees.

Steps over the sea wall lead you down onto the flats, where you can take a pleasant walk along the lagoon's edge. The park is notably one of the best-maintained public areas on Majuro.

Behind the park, a series of enormous reservoirs supply much of Majuro's fresh water. On an atoll this narrow, nothing is hidden from view, and spotting that kind of infrastructure up close is one of those quietly fascinating details you don't expect to stumble across in a park.

Take your day out on the Majuro Lagoon to the next level with a private boat charter, allow you to island-hop, snorkel and cruise until your heart's content. One that's ideal for families is Hang Loose with Larry.

Larry Boy and his crew take guests on fully customisable island-hopping excursions, stopping wherever you want to go.

With deep local knowledge of which islands are best for snorkelling, fishing or barbecuing, the crew will point you in the right direction, and if access fees are needed to visit certain islands on the Majuro Lagoon, Larry Boy will contact the locals or island owners on your behalf to sort it all out.

Do pack your own snorkelling gear, as it's not provided on island hopping trips.

Hang Loose also offers sunset cruises and fishing charters if you're looking to mix things up.

Airport Beach Park is one of those rare spots that genuinely surprises you, and it's a brilliant one for families looking for something a little different.

There is a natural saltwater pool carved directly into the reef, deep enough to swim and jump from the surrounding rocks. There's even the odd fish in here too.

As you fly into Majuro Atoll, you'll notice perfectly rectangular cuts in the reef below, originally made for land reclamation. One of these cuts, right at Airport Beach Park, happens to be deep enough to function as a genuinely swimmable pool. There was once a springboard, though on our last visit it was under repair.

It's a fun and wonderfully unusual experience, especially on an island with so little land to speak of. Behind the pool, you'll find sheltered picnic areas and the odd barbecue, popular with locals on weekends.

If you're travelling with kids, Kin Iokwe has you sorted. The rental company offers bicycle and kayak rentals, making it easy to explore Majuro at your own pace. Younger children can hop into a double kayak with a parent, while older kids may be ready to paddle a single kayak on their own.

Hire a solo or two-person kayak, a paddleboard or snorkelling gear (fins, mask and snorkel) and head out wherever you like, though they recommend the lagoon near the Airport or Delap Park are two of the best spots on the atoll for a paddle or an underwater look around.

Back on land, mountain bikes with suspension are available for both adults and children, complete with helmets and safety equipment. Feeling a little more adventurous? Automatic mopeds are also on offer for riders aged 18 and above, with helmets provided and delivery available to your accommodation.

On top of watersports equipment, mopeds can be delivered to you, or you can pick them up directly from the team in the Rairok area. Payment is cash only.

Instead of dragging the kids through handicraft stores, Elefa Handicraft is one that actually holds their attention, even from the fun face-in-hole board that greets you on arrival.

Local ladies craft beautiful jewellery and keepsakes right before your eyes using shells, while coconut fibres and other materials sourced from Majuro and the outer islands.

Earrings and flowers are the most popular items, alongside necklaces, bracelets and magnets, with special pieces from Arno Atoll also available. What makes this place genuinely special is that no two pieces are quite the same.

On Saturdays, you can book a one-hour handicraft workshop where local ladies will teach you to make your own necklace, earrings or bracelet using the same materials they work with daily. Classes are tailored to what you'd like to make, and all materials are supplied.

Book your Saturday class through their Facebook or Instagram pages and drop in any other day (9 am to 5:50 pm, Monday to Friday or 1 pm to 5:30 pm, Saturday) to browse and shop.

Forget the ice cream stop. Make yours quintessentially Marshallese by picking up a bōbshake from Lokoben instead!

Named after the Marshallese word for pandanus, the bōbshake is a modern, drinkable take on one of the Marshall Islands' most culturally significant fruits; and the Marshall Islands is one of the only places in the world where pandanus fruit can actually be eaten.

Beyond the shakes, Lokoben stocks locally made handicrafts, weavings and shells sourced from the outer atolls, Majuro and Arno, making it a solid one-stop shop for authentic souvenirs. Keep an eye out for fun snack finds too, like rosette cookies, which have a habit of disappearing fast.

Lokoben in Majuro is open from 8 am to 8 pm, Monday to Saturday.

Tucked behind a purple house in Rita, there's a real WW2 bunker just sitting there, waiting to be explored. The Japanese Air Raid Shelter is the only intact WW2 bunker on Majuro and, somehow, one of the least-visited historical sites in the Marshall Islands. For little ones with big imaginations, this is about as close to a secret hideout as it gets.

Built during the Pacific build-up to protect Japanese troops from pre-invasion bombardments, this heavily reinforced concrete personnel shelter was part of the defence network around the Djarrit Seaplane Base. It features a central corridor connecting two square observation holes at each end, blast barriers at the steel door entry and an alternate escape door at the back; similar shelters exist at Northfield Air Base in Tinian and Aslito Field in Saipan, but few survive as intact as this one.

The shelter sits on private land, so it's always polite to knock and ask permission before visiting. The owners typically keep it closed to discourage children from playing inside, but show genuine interest and they'll usually open it up for you.

Be aware that WW2-era live ammunition has been found at sites like this across the islands, so look, don't touch.