Oceania > 🇹🇰Tokelau
Should You Hire a Car in Tokelau? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in Tokelau (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in Tokelau - i.e. is a car better value than using public transport? We'll weigh up both questions and give you a response generated by Chat GPT, together with our own curated opinion before finally giving a yes or no verdict at the end.
Tokelau (a dependency of New Zealand) is one of the world’s most remote territories, and because of that, the question “Should you rent a car in Tokelau?” has a wonderfully simple answer: there are no cars to rent at all. In fact, Tokelau has almost no cars full stop. Life here moves at walking pace, both figuratively and literally.
🛳️ How you get there
You reach Tokelau only by a multi-day government supply ship from Samoa. No flights exist. Because arrivals and departures depend on sea conditions and schedules change often, independent travel already requires patience, flexibility, and a taste for adventure.
🏝️ Getting around Tokelau
Once you arrive, you’ll find that each of the three atolls — Fakaofo, Nukunonu, and Atafu — is small enough to walk across in well under an hour. Consequently:
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Walking is the main way to travel. 👣
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Bicycles are sometimes used, although availability varies. 🚲
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Motorbikes exist but remain rare and usually belong to local residents.
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No public transport operates because it simply isn’t needed.
Because everything sits within such short distances, driving would actually make daily life less convenient, not more.
🧭 Do you need a car in Tokelau?
No — you couldn’t rent one even if you wanted to, and you genuinely don’t need one. The atolls feel like large villages surrounded by ocean; walking lets you enjoy the setting, meet locals, and slow down to Tokelau’s famously peaceful rhythm.
🌺 What to do without a car
Even without vehicles, there’s plenty to enjoy:
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Lagoon swimming
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Snorkelling over coral gardens 🐠
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Traditional craft demonstrations
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Village walks and cultural visits
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Stargazing, thanks to minimal light pollution ✨
Because everything lies close together, you can explore freely without worrying about transport.
🧳 Conclusion — Should you rent a car in Tokelau?
👉 No — and you’ll love the fact that you can’t.
Tokelau offers the rare chance to experience a place with zero traffic, zero rush, and zero need for anything motorised. Walking is all you need, and it perfectly matches the slow, calm pace of island life. 🌺🌊
