Oceania > 🇺🇲The US Minor Outlying Islands
Should You Hire a Car in The US Minor Outlying Islands? This can be broken down into two similar questions - do you need a car in The US Minor Outlying Islands (in other words, will your holiday be ruined without one), and is it worth hiring a car in The US Minor Outlying Islands - 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.
The U.S. Minor Outlying Islands 🏝️ are a scattered collection of tiny, remote atolls and wildlife refuges spread across the Pacific and the Caribbean. They include places like Wake Island, Johnston Atoll, Midway Atoll, Palmyra Atoll, and Kingman Reef, among others. Because these islands have no tourism industry, no public transport, and no rental services, should you rent a car in the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands becomes an easy question — you cannot visit them at all as a regular traveller.
Accessibility ✈️🚫
Most of these islands are:
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Closed to the public,
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Used for military, research, or conservation,
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Accessible only by special permit or charter, usually for scientific work.
No commercial flights operate. No ferries run. And no private visits are allowed.
Local Transport (If You Could Go) 🛻
Even if a visitor somehow arrived under official authorisation, the islands are so small that movement happens by foot, bicycle, or small utility vehicles driven by staff. Therefore, renting a car would make no sense.
The Only Exception — Midway Atoll (Historical)
Midway once allowed limited eco-tourism. People travelled by organised tours and moved around on foot or guided shuttles. Even then, car rental never existed. The programme ended years ago and has not restarted.
Verdict 🚫🚗
You cannot rent a car, and you cannot visit the U.S. Minor Outlying Islands as a tourist.
They remain protected, isolated, and reserved for government and scientific use only. 🌺
