Diving & Travel Guide to Rongelap Atoll

About Rongelap Atoll

Rongelap Atoll is one of the most remote and least-dived atolls in the Marshall Islands, lying north of Bikini and slowly recovering from the legacy of Cold War nuclear-test contamination. Its outer-reef wall is pristine, built on healthy hard corals and patrolled by abundant reef sharks, giant trevally and dogtooth tuna, with visibility that rewards the effort of getting there. The calm, clear lagoon holds macro life, giant clams and turtle nesting areas, and the atoll is rarely dived, offering a true expedition experience. Infrastructure is minimal and diving is almost entirely expedition-style from a self-sufficient liveaboard, but for those who make the journey the reefs feel wonderfully untouched and full of life.

Highlights

• ✓Rongelap Wall: a pristine outer-reef drop-off with reef sharks, giant trevally and dogtooth tuna.
• ✓Rongelap Lagoon: clear, calm waters with macro life, giant clams and turtle nesting areas.

Getting There

Rongelap is reached only by expedition liveaboard or charter from Majuro, a long ocean crossing. The atoll is extremely remote, sparsely populated and rarely dived, so divers travel self-sufficiently with full support and decompression capability.