Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Inter Island Flight Prices Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Vanuatu
kanyakumarin 09:07 UTC 06 Oct 2010 | Hello! Just booked flights to Vanuatu and now researching the transport options from Efate to Tanna and Santo. Having only 3 weeks, the boat option seems to be to time consuming so that we intend to fly. Arriving in Vanuatu at the 17.11.2010 and leaving at the 9.12.2010 i checked with AIR Vanuatu the following prices:Vila -Tanna 141,60 $,Tanna-Santo 248$,Santo-Vila 160 $ for One way flights during that period. Does someone knows if it is neccesary to book as quickly as possibel those flights? Are there specials offers we could wait for to expect? Is there any kind of Air pass to get lower fares? Is it cheaper to book after arriving in Vila with some local agencies? And last but not least: How would you devide the time for natur experience, snorkelling, a scooter ride, a horse ride, no party scene, and cost effectiv( low budget) having 21 days? Thanks a lot for your help and safe travel! Sandra |
ozziegiraffe 12:25 UTC 06 Oct 2010 | Not sure how quickly those who know Vanuatu well will reply, but I believe Vanuatu is like Solomon Islands, where inter-island planes are small and often overbooked. You need both to book early and get to the airport early, to make sure you don't get "bumped" off the flight. Both luggage and passengers are weighed so that the plane isn't overloaded. | 1
Laszlo 22:41 UTC 06 Oct 2010 | I don't think you will get specials or discounts, the fares are pretty much fixed as there is no competition anyway. No domestic airpass that I know of, either. Tanna and Santo are the two most popular routes used by tourists, so they could be full if you are unlucky, but in my experience, Air Vanuatu was fortunately a much easier and more reliable company to fly on that Solomon Airlines. I'd say maybe 2-3 days in Vila, a week in Tanna, the rest around Santo. | 2
newfie43 23:23 UTC 06 Oct 2010 | I agree with the previous posters about pre- booking the popular routes. We had an agent make a reservation for us for a flight to Tanna but when we went to pay for the tickets found out the reservation was canceled and the flight sold out. Luckily for us our agent advocated on our behalf and we got on the flight - I've always wondered who was bumped!! | 3
kanyakumarin 00:33 UTC 07 Oct 2010 | Thanks all for the quick replies.....will do our booking right now ;-))) Sandra | 4
michal 14:00 UTC 08 Oct 2010 | You will have 20% discount for domestic flights if you have Air Vanuatu ticket for your international flight to Vanuatu. Or 10% discount if you have Air Pacific ticket to Vanuatu. Apart from discount you will also have the luggage allowance of 20 kg per person for domestic flights (normally it is 10 kg). It is usually possible to book the flight between Vila and Santo even on the day of departure. Between Vila and Tanna it is better to book 2-3 days before departure. Mike | 5