North Tarawa is the long, thin northern half of the atoll, separated from crowded South Tarawa by tidal channels and a very different way of life. The villages are small and traditional, the reef is healthier and the lagoon water clearer, and the few visitor lodges run quiet bungalow operations on stilts over the water.
Getting there is half the appeal. The road ends at the causeway to Buota; from there you cross to the next islet by wading at low tide or by hiring a local boatman, and you keep going islet by islet to Abaokoro, Taborio, and beyond. Even a single overnight changes the experience of Kiribati from "crowded urban atoll" to "remote Pacific village," and the snorkelling, fishing, and walking are simply on a different level.