Hiking/trekking in Vanuatu? Does anyone have any good advice/info?

Hello,

i've been trying to find out some information on good hikes/treks in Vanuatu. i haven't been able to find a good comprehensive site with this information OR anything that says Vanuatu isn't the place to go for hikes and longer treks. Does anyone have some info on this or could you point me to some good websites?

my husband and i are looking to go to vanuatu in June and really love to hike (anything from a good few hours to multiple days). Is there another spot in the pacific islands that would be better (i.e. samoa)? help if you can!

thanks in advance...

Vanuatu is a great place for trekking, proviided you are into the DIY, stay-in-villages kind of trekking-style.

The only remotely organized things are climbs up the volcanoes.
Elsewhere, my advice would be getting decent maps from the relevqant government office in Vila, and then just striking out wherever seems promising - with the right frame of mind, you are guaranteed to end up with great, off-beaten-track experiences!

A lot of info here: http://www.positiveearth.org/bungalows/explorer.htm
Click an island and you will find info on bungalows/guesthouses and hiking trails. (see the bottom of each island chapter.)

eflatjan
http://www.pbase.com/bolla49

An alternative would be Solomon Islands. The Exploring Solomons site has lots of options.
Solomon islands is culturally quite similar to Vanuatu, but less familiar to travellers from overseas.
In the last year Virgin's Pacific Blue have started flying there, as well as Solomon Airlines and Skyairworld.

Indeed, I have overlooked that last sentence asking about better options in the Pacific islands!

Well, to me PNG is the unbeatable top trekking destination in the region.
It is so huge (by Pacific standards), has so high mountains, and such a diversity of landscapes and cultures that no other country in the Pacific comes even close to it.
Oh, the richest fauna, too!
But trekking there is not easy by any definition.

If you prefer places where there are hiking trails that are marked and described specifically for hikers, the French islands are the best (and almost only) option.
New Caledonia has some fine trails, even multiple-day ones, while both Tahiti and Moorea have good ones up mountains offering spectacular views.
There are guides published about these trails - in French only.
And of course they are about the most expensive destinations in the Pacific, though trekking must be the cheapest thing you can do in them!

Fiji and Samoa both have islands big enough for some hiking (I did it in both), but I'd rate them less rewarding (for hiking, anyway) than the countries discussed above. OTOH, they are both cheaper than any of the above, should that be a factor to consider!