WE'LL SHOW YOu the best OF
Christmas Island
63% is National Park
Air Temp 23-29 °C
250+ Endemic Species
Water Temp 26-29 °C
Christmas Island Experiences
1500km northwest of the mainland, the stunning tropical paradise of Christmas Island is known as ‘Australia’s Galapagos of the Indian Ocean’ and is Australia’s best-kept secret! Just 16km wide, this tiny green jewel is a surprisingly diverse wonderland of experiences – more than enough to fill a week, which is our recommended stay.
Daily guided tours of Christmas Island are complimentary!
Our knowledgeable, friendly guides will collect you from your ecolodge and take you to the diverse natural wonders of this unique island. Our guides will be able to tell you all about what to do on Christmas Island while you stay. What you’ll see depends on the weather and how long you stay with us.
Plus bookings for 4+ nights also include a snorkel boat tour.
There are so many things to do on Christmas Island, however if certain activities don’t spark your interest, are outside your abilities or you’d rather just relax back in your ecolodge for the day instead, that’s fine too, we’ll drop off lunch, and there’s some beautiful local walks you can do yourself.
Crabs, blowholes & more!
The most famous inhabitants on Christmas Island are our 190 million red crabs which can be found year-round, manicuring the jungle floor. When the rainy season starts however, they embark on one of the largest migrations in the animal kingdom, down to the coast to spawn. The red crab migration is a spectacle Sir David Attenborough rates as one of his top 10 natural wonders on Earth.
Wander tranquil rainforest trails inside the Christmas Island National Park to secluded turtle-nesting beaches, through RAMSAR protected wetlands to pristine jungle waterfalls you can stand under, swimming holes to plunge into and a new boardwalk leads you right between heart-stopping coastal blowhole geysers!
Looking for more things to do on Christmas Island? There are refreshing tidal rock pools, lookouts, underground limestone caves, fascinating research and bird rehabilitation programs and more. One week isn’t long enough and guests sometimes return to experience different seasons.
Christmas Island Diving & Snorkelling
Christmas Island boasts some of the best snorkelling, scuba diving and freediving in the world, with water temperatures remaining a balmy 26-29°C year-round. Underwater diving visibility often exceeds 30 metres even right at the jetty in Flying Fish Cove, where the kaleidoscope of colourful reef fish makes even the Barrier Reef look dull.
Most of the waters surrounding the Island are part of the Christmas Island Marine Park which means spinner dolphins are common, along with turtles, giant trevally, parrot fish, clownfish, tuna, friendly reef sharks, clams, shipwrecks, caves and in the right season, manta rays and even whale sharks.
Swim just 50 metres from Christmas Island’s shore and you realise the island is just the tip of a steep underwater volcano, encircled by some of the longest drop- off dive walls in the world – perfect for freediving.
Snorkelling gear is included with every stay at Swell Lodge, along with a boat trip if you stay 4 or more nights, weather permitting.
It’s the perfect place to learn to snorkel, or learn to freedive even if you (or your kids) have never tried before.
Bird-lovers Paradise
Christmas Island is a bird-watcher’s heaven, home to a rich variety of rare and unusual endemic species, many of which you can see right from Swell Lodge’s balcony – and our guides know where to find the others!
Two of Australia’s rarest raptors live here, the Christmas Island hawk-owl and goshawk, as well as other endemics including the Christmas Island emerald dove, frigatebird, golden bosun with its theatrically long tail, imperial pigeon and white-eye. It’s the only place on Earth where the critically endangered Abbott’s booby nests, and we also have red- footed as well as brown boobies, red-tailed tropicbirds, terns and also an edemic flying fox!
Having evolved without predators and human settlement commencing only130 years ago, the birdlife and other animals are wonderfully relaxed, allowing unforgettably intimate animal encounters. While standing on your balcony watching soaring seabirds, they will often circle back to take a closer look at you. Inquisitive thrushes may follow you through the forest and fluffy booby chicks peer out curiously from coastal rocks. Birdwatching on Christmas Island is truly a once in a lifetime experience!
discover Australia’s best-kept secret
Yes! We Have Vacancy!
Treat yourself to the Swell Lodge experience this year..