Detour #331: Criss-Crossing Christmas Island, Australia
Photo Shutterstock
You’ll find a different kind of white Christmas on a drive around this namesake outpost where sandy beaches replace snow.
It was Christmas Day in 1643 when Captain William Mynors first spotted this dreamy island in the Indian Ocean. Today, despite being some 840 nautical miles north of the mainland, it’s governed by Australia and reachable by air from Perth.
Landing at the airport you’d be wise to ensure your rental car has four-wheel-drive if you want to fully explore this isolated isle. It’s a little bigger than Jersey at 135 square kilometres, but much more sparsely populated, with only around 2,000 permanent residents and the roads vary between quality tarmac and rutted track.
The pace of island life is slow and that’s how to drive it as well, as you thread through dense rainforest, occasionally opening to reveal limestone cliffs that drop straight into an ocean so blue it feels like the work of AI. Take it easy and pull over without a plan, let the island dictate the speed.
Head east from Flying Fish Cove and the road climbs gently, the air cooling as the forest thickens. Palms give way to towering rainforest giants. This is red crab country. Even outside migration season – when the roads can be closed —you’ll spot them everywhere as tiny flashes of movement at the roadside, a reminder that on Christmas Island, humans are the invasive species. At points the crabs get their own bridges across the roads, but they don’t always use them, so you’ll need to always keep an eye out for crustaceans.
The island’s interior is a network of short drives and shorter walks. Park up near one of the many trailheads and step into the forest or down to a beach. Drive, park and walk. Then repeat.
As you continue south, the jungle thins and the coast asserts itself. Lookouts appear without ceremony—no grand signage, just a gravel pull-off and a view that stops you cold. Blowholes thunder below the cliffs, the sound carrying up through the limestone. The sea breeze pushes against the car when you open the door, heavy with salt and sun.
The west coast feels more raw, more exposed. The road hugs the island’s edge, and you get the sense that beyond the guardrail there’s nothing but ocean all the way to Africa. Beaches here are often pocket-sized and uncompromising—steep access tracks, strong currents, no lifeguards.
Back in Flying Fish Cove, Chinese temples sit beside Malay mosques, their colors vivid against the green hills. A detour past old phosphate infrastructure hints at the island’s layered past—industry carved into paradise, now slowly being reclaimed by vines and rust.
A road trip around Christmas Island can be done in a day, but like any festivity it’s better to stretch it out. Repeat roads. Revisit lookouts at different times. This is a place where the journey isn’t about covering ground – it’s about circling back, noticing more, and letting a small island leave an unexpectedly large imprint.
ROADBOOK
CLASS: Island Life
NAME: Christmas Island
ROUTE: Flying Fish Cove to Flying Fish Cove
COUNTRY: Australia
Distance: 40 Miles
You’ll find a different kind of white Christmas on a drive around this namesake outpost where sandy beaches replace snow.