Why go
- External territory of Australia.
- Served by Christmas Island International Airport (XCH).
History
Christmas Island, officially the Territory of Christmas Island, is an Australian external territory in the Indian Ocean comprising the island of the same name. It is about 350 kilometres south of Java and Sumatra and about 1,550 km north-west of the closest point on the Australian mainland. It has an area of 135 square kilometres (52 sq mi). Christmas Island's geographic isolation and history of minimal human disturbance has led to a high level of endemism among its flora and fauna, which is of interest to scientists and naturalists. The territory derives its name from its discovery on Christmas Day 1643 by Captain William Mynors.
Airports
✈ Airlines & flight paths — 1 airline, 2 direct destinations
- Virgin Australia VA (Embraer 190, 737-800) · 2 routes: Cocos Keeling Island, Perth
Routes and aircraft from OpenFlights (open data; a point-in-time snapshot). * = codeshare. Linked destinations open their own guidebook. Flight numbers are not in the open data — they come from the airline or a paid schedule feed.
Where things are
Photographs
credit: Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons · See source page
When to go
The warmer, longer-day half of the southern-hemisphere year.
Milder and quieter, with better value.
The southern winter — check local conditions before travelling.
Getting there & around
Getting there. The nearest airport on record is Christmas Island International Airport (XCH). Check rail and road links from the tourism sources below. By air: XCH has direct flights to 2 destinations on 1 airline (incl. Cocos Keeling Island, Perth).
Getting around. Use the map above to orient yourself; nearby hotels, attractions and places to eat are listed from the live Ultimate data for Christmas Island. Local transit details will be added as the guide is expanded.