Kiribati on an Indian Licence — Same Side, IDP Worth Carrying

Kiribati is about as far off the usual self-drive map as it gets, so the honest version of this page is short — which suits a country where there is very little road to begin with.

Can an Indian licence holder drive here? Yes

You can drive in Kiribati on your Indian licence, and an International Driving Permit is worth carrying as a recognised translation to go with it. Formal requirements for visitors are lightly documented, so the sensible approach is to keep your Indian licence, IDP and passport together and ask your accommodation or any rental contact about local expectations before you get behind the wheel.

The point in your favour: Kiribati drives on the left, exactly like India. There’s no side switch to retrain, no backwards instinct to fight at junctions — one less thing to think about, which matters more in unfamiliar places than people expect.

What driving here really involves

This is atoll driving, not motoring in any usual sense. Most visitors stay on South Tarawa, a thread of islets joined by causeways, where a single main road carries almost all the traffic. Distances are measured in a few kilometres, speeds are very low, and you’ll share the carriageway with people walking, cyclists, motorbikes and dogs far more than with other cars.

Posted speed limits and fine levels aren’t reliably documented for the islands, so the truthful guidance is simple: go slowly and drive to what’s in front of you. There is rarely any reason to hurry, and the hazards are pedestrians and surface condition rather than fast traffic. The general emergency number is 112, and you should not count on consistent mobile coverage.

If you’re piecing together a wider Pacific trip, the Driving Permit Checker will confirm what each leg needs before you travel.