United States Minor Outlying Islands Travel Guide

The United States Minor Outlying Islands is a grouping of scattered, mostly uninhabited Pacific and Caribbean islands under US jurisdiction, and general tourism is strictly prohibited across most of them, since they function primarily as wildlife refuges or military installations rather than destinations. Any visit at all requires a special permit from the US Fish and Wildlife Service or the US military depending on the specific island, and that permit is the only legitimate route in, there is no separate tourist visa process because there is essentially no tourism to have a process for.

Midway Atoll has been closed to public visitation since tourist access was suspended in 2012 over budget constraints, and as of September 2026, both the refuge itself and the Battle of Midway National Memorial remain closed with no announced reopening date, trips that do happen are tightly controlled and generally arranged for researchers or organized eco-tour groups specifically, not independent travelers. Wake Island is a different case entirely, it remains under US military control with secret military facilities present, making it tightly guarded and a tourist visit simply impossible, not merely restricted.