Cost of Vanuatu

Hello,

My wife and I are planning to travel to Vanuatu, but are a little concerned about the potential costs. We would like to spend time on beaches, snorkel, travel to a few of the outer islands, see one of the volacnoes, do some trekiing. We are good with just a basic bungalow for accomodation as well. Would we be able to get by on 150USD per day (total) including inter-island transportation? or would it be substantially more?

Thanks for any advice!
Ian

Hello,
Vanuatu is not cheap at all. In some places ( like Tanna ), I had to rely on the services provided at the hostel I was staying in and the day excursions offered by them simply because I had no other choice. Well, you can buy some fruits and vegetables in the market but it cannot compensate for a good meal. So actually ,in remote places like Tanna, my expenditures were pretty high. A night accommodation is around 4200-4500 Vatu and a meal was around 4000 vatu . Unfortunately, you cannot go out at night to look for food in such a remote place. A day excursion to see a village show was around 8000 vatu ( Kalangia village- 8400 vatu ; Blue cave tour -8500 vatu ; Magic tour - 4800 vatu, Banyan tree-6000 vatu; Ipai village tour-4830 vatu....) . But that was actually all the fun I was looking for. However, when I went to eat a meal in a very simple eatery, I was charged a local price of only 300 Vatu! Still, I had a chance to do it only because a friend gave me a ride to the nearby town. You cannot go on foot by yourself.
However, when staying in Port Vila it is possible to slash costs down by going to supermarkets and buying canned food,bread and other commodities. Some guesthouses allow you to cook food by yourself. This is undoubtedly much cheaper than eating in restaurants. The same applies to Luganville which also has its own supermarket with enough food commodities to save your budget.
As for trekking, this also costs much. I did a four day trekking ( three nights ) in Santo island. The cost was 35,000 vatu . It was supposed to cost me a bit more but I chose a shorter itinerary since I'm not that fit.
An all-inclusive package overnight-stay tour from Efate to Pentecost island to see the land-diving ceremony cost me 55,000 vatu ( including a return ticket ).
A round -the -island -day tour of Efate cost me 7,500 vatu and a visit the following day to the turtles sanctuary cost me almost the same.
Another cost to be considered is hopping among the islands. I do not know about ferries but since my schedule was really tight I had to use airplanes. I cannot remember the air-ticket fares,though, but you can check by yourself at the Air Vanuatu website.
Summing up, I cannot calculate the average daily costs ( nor do I want to know.....), but it was a bit costly. But it was worth it after all.
I hope the above gives you some clue.

Yes, Vanuatu is expensive.
However, being a bit more adventurous than MM and avoiding organized tours in favor of a DIY approach, I managed to keep costs lower - I averaged $50 per day, traveling alone, and mostly traveling inter-island by boat rather than air.
So I think $150 for a couple is definitely doable, though you will have to keep watching expenses.

A flight from Vila to Tanna was 22.290 vatu (Sept. 2010). Arranged transport on Tanna is expensive. You can risk it hoping that someone will be there to pick you up. I didn't and arranged transport beforehand which was 5750 vatu from the airport on Tanna to (locally run) Sunrise Bungalows.

Sunrise Bungalows was 4600 vatu a night in a huge bungalow with ensuite. You have to buy all meals there as there are no shops around, so bring some snacks and drinking water. I did a volcano tour from there which was 4450 vatu (transport/guide/entrance).

Sunset Bungalows (walking distance to Lenakel) was 3500 vatu a night. Again, expensive transport from one place to the other, but if you have enough time you can wait and flag down a local truck, which is cheaper. Black Magic Cave tour was 1500 vatu entrance, 2000 vatu for transport.

In Vila I stayed at Room with a View. Room with ensuite and cooking facilities 4700 vatu a night, including a great breakfast. Nice upstairs verandah with -indeed- a wonderful view over the bay and free wifi.

Hope this helps. I'm sure you'll have a great time!

As for Tanna, it is not very easy ,if not impossible at all, to access those places mentioned above on your own. You are not allowed just to pop up without being accompanied by a tour guide since the villages you are going to visit are property land. So, actually , I think the expenses in Tanna are not very easy to slash down if you are really interested to take part in all activities.
Almost all people use an organized tour to see Mount Yasur. Although, I heard of one adventurous guy going there on his own pitching his tent and staying there for a while. But that is quite extraordinary.
Since I had only 17 full days to spend in the islands and because I wanted to see as much as possible, I had to use flights. I was told that taking ferries may take up to 48 hours from island to island. Some ship cruises were cancelled due to unexpected reasons.
As for the trek in Santo, that was really the most adventurous part. But again, it is impossible for anyone to do it alone since the way in the jungle is known only to a local guide and because, as mentioned before, the access to the really remote villages needs you to be assisted with somebody who can communicate with the locals in their native tongue and introduce you to them as their visitor.

MM, it is certainly not "impossible" trek in Santo without taking a tour - I know because I've done it myself.
For the harder stretches local guides could be hired in the villages for a tiny fraction of the cost of your tour (maybe 1000-2000 Vt for a day's walk), but Vanuatu being Vanuatu, people actually often offered to accompany me part or all of the way for free as well!
And even in the remotest villages, many people speak Bislama - with so many languages spoken in this country, guides from elsewhere are actually extremely unlikely to speak the villagers' native language themselves.

As for Tanna, the land may well be privately owned, but no villagers I met there ever objected to entering any of their land or villages. To the contrary, they could not have been more welcoming!
I am pretty sure you were fooled on this score by your guides who simply used this argument to push you into taking their pricey tours.
"You are not allowed just to pop up without being accompanied by a tour guide" is just pure guide-nonsense!

Laslo, I have been in Vanuatu such a long time to reveal all details. My time was really short there.
However, if the purpose is just to and see a kastom dancing in a village, then I do not see any advantage to go on foot by yourself. It is really a very long way and in both cases, the consequences are the same. You will see the same kastom dancing.
If somedoy really enjoys to go on foot or is very keen on slashing down expenses, then I should say it is another story. However, I have not heard or seen people who went to see Mount Yasur on their own or just went to see the kastom dancing in Ipai village on foot. And I really think it is too tedious to do it.
There are other treks that can bedone on foot in Vanuatu and I wouldn't dare to do it on my own. In all the countries I was traveling and went to the countryside, I was accompanied by a local. They know the jungle better than us. They were born in this environment and their way to find solutions to sudden problems arising is more intelligent than our way, the 'Whities'.
I think that a responsible advise for any newbie is to encourage him/her to ask the locals' advise and use their services. I would not feel a 'heroe' to do a trek by myself. If anyone would do it by himself/herself I would consider it very irresponsible . The only country I did treks by myself was New Zealand. But this country has tourist infrastructure with well made signposted walking paths and sleeping cabins. The same does not apply to a country like Vanuatu where you really need to have a guide support.
Anyway, I prefer to be fooled and stay alive !
That's my way. Let's not argue about this anymore !

Laslo, I have been in Vanuatu such a long time to reveal all details

I have NOT been in Vanuatu such a long time.....

Let's not argue about this anymore !

It is interesting how someone invariuably suggests this after adding his or her 2 cents' and then wishing to leave them as "the final word".

My intention was not arguing anyway, I simply corrected the VERY misleading and definitely false pieces of "information" you posted above.
If you believe you can only stay alive hiking abroad by paying hundreds of dollars for tour-operators that's perfectly within your rights.
But you should not try and mislead others who may prefer to spend less money and be more adventurous by saying it is the only way to go.
It is definitely NOT - especially in a country as safe and welcoming as Vanuatu.

Tours are of course always the easiest way to go, especially for those with limited time. But they are not necessarily the most rewarding way, and most definitely not the only way.

Although not on an official tour, but with a (private) guide from my accommodation on Tanna, who took me on a couple of walks through the bush. Not only because it's easier, but I would have been totally lost there without him, as I have no sense of direction. But more important, he was genuinely interested in my way of life and I in his. As we walked, we talked and I learned a lot about the lifestyle there and the (medicinal) plants in the bush. He was so proud of the way people live on Tanna, and rightly so. He introduced me to some locals and because of that I could "hang" with the boys, not easy as a female travelling by herself. Sharing my rolling tobacco did help a bit, to be honest.

So I think a (good) guide can contribute to the experience of travelling in places that are unfamiliar in a great way. I felt I got a lot more out of this deal than if I would have done it on my own. And last, but maybe for some not least, he asked for very little money (and was totally shocked when I tipped him).

I am very surprised of your personal attitude to me, Laslo, since I always admired you as a very well known contributor in this website. I still think that different opinions are not the cause of an unpleasant arguement. Each one of us has his own way to look at things. IMH, it is very risky for a westerner to trek alone in the jungle not because some cannibals will eat him/her by chance ( hehe....)but because he/she can slip upon wet ground and break the ankle or because he/she may lose the sense of direction. That is VERY dangerous. The jungle environmet is really fierce.
That is why I think it is very unwise to encourage anyone to adopt the ' do it by yourself ' attitude. Most westerners must be accompanied by a local in such fierce environment as the jungle.
If you succeeded to do it by yourself, Laslo,then I bow to you and really appreciate your courage !
But do not tell me I mislead OP. I gave him full information and good idea of costs in the country.
OP can decide which activities he/she wants to do.
My purpose is not to say the last word ! But I believe that every one has the right to say his opinion and I think that your sarcasm was not in the right place.
After all it is travel forum and we should be happy to share our experiences with others.
Shoot your last word and I can promise you that I won't add any of mine !

Best Regards,
Eli

These were very definitely inaccurate and misleading statements:

"You are not allowed just to pop up without being accompanied by a tour guide since the villages you are going to visit are property land."

"the trek in Santo, that was really the most adventurous part. But again, it is impossible for anyone to do it alone"

Try and post more cautiously in the future, eg making it clear if something is just your own opinion, not necessarily a fact.

Thanks for appreciating my posts, apart from these, I also liked yours.

I will be more or less living on Tanna for about 6 months, so I'm very interested in living costs. From the sounds of it, it will vary quite significantly depending on what you want to buy and where - obviously, meals from resorts will cost much more than what the locals normally eat.. likewise, organized tours and transport will be much more expensive than playing it by ear.

Laszlo, I'd be interested in your opinions as to how much I should be budgeting for basic food and guesthouse/bungalow/village accommodation? I would imagine that fees to landholders would be applicable even if staying in a tent - any idea what this would likely be?

Basic bungalow accommodation aimed at tourists in Vanuatu tends to start around 2000 VT but can be much more. However Tanna has a range of options, many of them underutilized, so I guess if staying long-term you can negotiate something better than the daily rate. As I haven't done so I can only guess, but would be surprised if you didn't get something for no more than 2000 per day - obviously not at the more popular places.
Unlike in Vila or even Santo, cooked meals didn't seem to be sold in Tanna on a regular basis - even Lenakel is just not big and urban enough to create demand, I guess. If you do stay in a bungalow owned by ni-Vans, you could probably arrange meals with them. Bungalows or even local homes are usually too basic to have a kitchen most Westerners could use to cook their own meals.
When camping on Tanna, I was charged nothing. All those landowner-fees are just set up to milk short-term tourists dropping in to gawk at locals and their attractions on whirlwind tours, and if you take the time to actually make friends, you may well be charged nothing either. However if staying/camping longer than a day or two, you should at least give "presents" to your hosts even in that case. That present could be cash or whatever they actually need (not just something silly like pens or postcards of your home country), given tactfully.

Thanks for the advice Laszlo, I have been in contact with operators around the Port Resolution area and what you say seems to ring true.