Boat from Efate to Tanna

soksabai13:23 UTC01 Sep 2010

Is there a regular boat/ferry from Efate to Tanna? How often does it go? How long does it take? How much does it cost? How gruesome or pleasant are the conditions?

We have lived and travelled extensively in SE asia but have not experience of the pacific

Any advice would be welcome.

Have done the search of the forum and the latest information seems to be a 2 years old.

Laszlo22:43 UTC02 Sep 2010

ASFAIK there is still no regular boat so old info should still be valid.

Cargo boats get you there overnight, and you sleep on a somewhat dirty deck.
There are no schedules for these, but there should be at least one every week.
The fare is about half the price of flying.

uncle_sav10:29 UTC03 Sep 2010

Ships to Tanna leave from one of two wharves:

(i) the one in the middle of the main street, wait till you see a ship being loaded and then ask where it is going.
(ii) the one beside the cruise ship wharf, grab a bus heading right to left along the main street as you face the harbour and say "Ifira Wharf". The fare is 150. Get out when you see the containers all over the road and go in the middle of the three gates. Ask at the office which is the yellow building on the right just inside the gate.

The ship will take 30 - 40 hours. You have to take your own food.

soksabai12:54 UTC07 Sep 2010

Thanks for your advice. If it was just me I could deal with the uncertainty but doubt that my teenagers are up for it - sadly!

uncle_sav05:34 UTC08 Sep 2010

You could always just take the next ship to wherever it is going and fly back. A ship leaves Vila for somewhere roughly every 3 days. Two flights a week back to Vila is typical for the smaller airports and Santo has two a day.

If Tanna is a must then maybe you should talk to these guys.

http://www.unity-airlines.com/

Boat from Efate to Tanna Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Vanuatu
soksabai13:23 UTC01 Sep 2010	Is there a regular boat/ferry from Efate to Tanna? How often does it go? How long does it take? How much does it cost? How gruesome or pleasant are the conditions? We have lived and travelled extensively in SE asia but have not experience of the pacific Any advice would be welcome. Have done the search of the forum and the latest information seems to be a 2 years old.
Laszlo22:43 UTC02 Sep 2010	ASFAIK there is still no regular boat so old info should still be valid. Cargo boats get you there overnight, and you sleep on a somewhat dirty deck. There are no schedules for these, but there should be at least one every week. The fare is about half the price of flying.	1
uncle_sav10:29 UTC03 Sep 2010	Ships to Tanna leave from one of two wharves: (i) the one in the middle of the main street, wait till you see a ship being loaded and then ask where it is going. (ii) the one beside the cruise ship wharf, grab a bus heading right to left along the main street as you face the harbour and say "Ifira Wharf". The fare is 150. Get out when you see the containers all over the road and go in the middle of the three gates. Ask at the office which is the yellow building on the right just inside the gate. The ship will take 30 - 40 hours. You have to take your own food.	2
soksabai12:54 UTC07 Sep 2010	Thanks for your advice. If it was just me I could deal with the uncertainty but doubt that my teenagers are up for it - sadly!	3
uncle_sav05:34 UTC08 Sep 2010	You could always just take the next ship to wherever it is going and fly back. A ship leaves Vila for somewhere roughly every 3 days. Two flights a week back to Vila is typical for the smaller airports and Santo has two a day. If Tanna is a must then maybe you should talk to these guys. http://www.unity-airlines.com/	4