It is accessible both by boat and by air with Air Kiribati and Coral Sun Airways (once a week; Tamana Airport code: TMN).

The Island Council is located at Bakaakaa, the central village of the island and this is also where the rest of the Government facilities are located such as the CB radio for inter-island communication, the hardware store, and the fuel depot.

The schools (Primary and JSS) and the Medical facilities are also located in the same village.

[2][Note 1] In 1606, Spanish explorers became the first Europeans to discover the island.

[5] Tamana in September 1942 was the southernmost island touched by the Japanese occupation of the Gilbert Islands but Japanese troops did not occupy the atoll.