Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Travelling in the South Pacific Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
GiantHoneymoon 18:19 UTC 02 Dec 2011 | Hello everyone, We booked our round the world ticket with stop in Fiji in June 2012. When we are there, we would also like to travel at least to Vanuatu, though. Without the time in Fiji, we have 3 1/2 weeks. Can anyone recommend a special ticket for this area? ( Pacific Pass,..) What is the cheapest way to book the flights? Where should we book it? - At home, in New Zealand or in Fiji itself? 3 1/2 weeks Vanuatu - is that too long? Any suggestions? - Think about our limited budget, though. Thank you very much, pals. Cheers, Bastian and Anna |
countrygirl16 10:02 UTC 05 Dec 2011 | I am not sure about the "special tickets" for the area. We just booked our flights individually. Our schedule was 3 days in Fiji, 2 days in Efate, 4 days in Tanna, 6 days in Santo, 2 days in Efate (again) and 2 days in Fiji (again). In total we had 2 weeks in Vanuatu. If I had it to do over again, I would spend more time in Fiji, Efate, and Tanna, Santo is beautiful, but unless you're going to spend all your time in the water, there is not a ton to do there. My husband and I both absolutely LOVED Tanna. If you are looking for authentic, non- westernized culture, this is the place to go. Most people know it for the Volcano, but it is so much more than that. The people are extremely friendly and always happy. We went to a Kastom Village there and it was the best experience of my life! We stayed on the airport side of the island at a place called "Rocky Ridge Bungalows" It is not too far from the airport (but far enough) It is Ni- Van owned by Tom and Margaret (who live across the "road" in their village) They are both very friendly, helpful and accomodating. Tanna was cheaper than Efate or Santo. Efate was my next favorite place of our trip. The people there are also very friendly, but it is deffinately more westernized. They have regular grocery stores, gas stations, shops and busses and taxi's to get around. We went to Mele Cascades and went into town to look through the handicraft shops. I would have liked to have had more time there so that we could explore a little more of the island. If you are trying to save money, take a bus. They are pretty much the same thing and it will only cost you 200 vatu each to get pretty much anywhere. We stayed at Breakkas Bay Resort while we were there. Buffet breakfast is included and they have a full menu for all 3 meals aswell. They had a Melanesian night on our first stay, which was a nice way to learn a little bit about the culture and have a little taste of what we would be experiencing. The plus side od Santo was the beaches. By far the most beautiful beaches of our entire trip! We stayed at Moyyan- House by the Sea. It was a little pricey, but the Ni-Van staff were exceptional, the bungalows were beautiful and the beach (right outside your door) was absolutely gorgeous! If you are going to Santo and want to spend less, it is doable and (as we found out) you can always go to the beach at Moyyan for the day. The downside of Santo (as I said before) was that there wasn't a ton to do there. There are some tours, but you have to book them the day ahead. We had 3 days of poor weather while we were there so booking ahead was a little difficult. Another downside to where we stayed was that it was fairly secluded if you wanted to just go and do something. They can call cabs for you, but there are no busses. We rented a scooter for a day and drove up the east coast of the island. We went to Lonnoc and Champaign Beach and went to one of the blue holes. The scenery was absolutely breathtaking and if you go to Santo, you MUST go to a blue hole! It is like nothing you have ever seen before! All in all, we LOVED Vanuatu, if we had an extra week and a half there, I would have very gladly taken it! Good luck and safe travels! | 1