So many questions??? Hope someone can help us out... soon

My husband and I are a planning a trip to Vanuatu in September. We are going to be going to Port Vila, Tanna and Espirtu Santo. We have 12 days and would like to spend most of our time in Tanna and Santo. We were wondering if it would be better to pre- book our accommodations or try our luck when we get there. We are not experienced travellers at all. This is my first big trip, and my husband's second (his first was in Hawaii). I don't need luxury, but I would like to stay somewhere that is (somewhat) clean and has running water. I know September is still part of the high season, and I don't want to end up with nowhere to stay, or have to stay somewhere "nasty" That being said, we would to get the full experience out of our trip. If the opportunity presented itself we would love to stay with some locals or have the freedom to travel to the next island if we wanted to. We are also wondering if anyone knows how difficult it would be to get a flight. Would we be able to book a seat a day or two ahead, or should we book it further in advance? We would love any other advice or tips you can give us on any of our destinations and appreciate any help you can give us. Thanks in advance

I suggest you join TripAdvisor and then post on the Vanuatu forum. This is the link to that forum.

http://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294143-i3827-Vanuatu.html

There are locals, ex-pats and frequent visitors who post on this forum for you'll get lots of advice. There's a very good search feature also, so you'll be able to do lots of your own research from previously answered questions.

Hope this helps.

You'll have no difficulties finding places to stay (with running water) on Santo and Tanna. Away from Vila, Vanuatu is not very busy.
When I was in Vanuatu, booking flights just a day ahead was fine - others may comment on whether this is still the case, especially for Tanna.