Federated States of Micronesia Driving Advice and Car Hire Info
Driving in Micronesia –
Micronesia drives on the right and as far as I can establish, you can drive on the photo licence of any country, providing the licence is written in Roman alphabet. Drivers from other countries need their own licence plus an international driving permit. Speed limits are 40kmh and 24kmh in built up areas where schools are situated..
Situated some 2500 miles South West of Hawaii and 1800 miles North East of Australia, the Federated States of Micronesia comprise of over 600 islands with a land mass of 700 suare km, with the main centuries of population on four islands – Yap (pop16,000) , Chuuk (55,000) , Pohnpei (35,000) and Kosrae (8,000). The capital is Palikir, located on Pohnpei Island, and the largest town is Weno, located in the Chuuk Atoll. The islands have 240km of roads, of which around 20% are paved, with all villages on the 4 main islands connected by a road system though only roads in main towns are paved.
Micronesia drives on the right-hand side of the road but a lot of the cars are right hand drive, which makes overtaking difficult. You should take great care when overtaking and be aware of other vehicles overtaking when it may not be safe.Traffic is increasing and there can be congestion in the two main towns at peak times. Many roads are in poor condition with potholes, and will worsen after heavy rains. Some roads are surfaced in crushed coral and are very slippery when wet. There is no formal driver training so skills vary and driving style can be unpredictable. Roads outside the towns are often unpaved and unlit and are used by pedestrians, children playing, animals, and potentially drunk drivers, especially on weekends and holidays. You should always exercise extra caution if driving at night.
Although I try and keep the information in the site updated as much as possible, in a rapidly moving world, situations can change daily. Therefore please use the site as an approximate guide, and in conjunction with other resources in order to form your view on driving conditions, roads, safety etc.
Micronesia Car Rental
None of the large multnationalc ompanies operate in Micronesia but there are some local companies who rent self drive cars. Please let me know if you’ve rented a car here.If you are a local car rental company who would like to feature on DriverAbroad.com please check details on our Partnering page or contact us on ADriverAbroad@Outlook.com
