Efate Advice

Hi -

We will be coming to Vanuatu in August for a short 6 days. We will need to stay on Efate as we will be taking care of some important family business (but do not have family to ask this kind of advice of -- long story!). I would like to know:

1.Good recommendation for budget Port Villa accom - anybody have opinions about Anabru Pacific Lodge? Others?

2. If we have 3- 4 days to do our own fun thing - what are your recommendations for no-miss sights and activities? (love the water, hiking, cultural tours, wildlife viewing, not so much into thrill sports...What else might help?... we have an 8-yr-old, will be coming from a few weeks cold camping in NZ and we are ex-Hawaii residents).

3. Any surfing? LP is rather vague about this.

4. Is it worth moving to another place, outside of Port Villa if we have time?

Thanks - any advice you have will he helpful!

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>4. Is it worth moving to another place, outside of Port Villa if we have time?<hr></blockquote>Definitely so!
Vila itself makes a good base for exploring Efate, but Efate must be the least interesting main island of Vanuatu.
Unless you are into duty-free shopping and resort-life, that is - though beaches around Efate are OK, too.

The outer islands are definitely much better for hiking/culture.
Air Vanuatu's flights to the outer islands are usually quite reliable and make much more interesting islands like Santo or Tanna easily accessible. I'd recommend considering flying to either of those two for those 3-4 days you have to do your own thing, returning to spend only the last 2-3 in Vila/Efate.

As for wildlife, there is not much besides birds and marine life - like in Hawaii, I guess.

Thanks, Laszlo -

You seem to know quite bit about Vanuatu as I've seen your handle before on this branch -
What about flights to Epi? My edition of LP lists an airline that, according to wikipeida, is defunct. How does one get there?

Would you purchase those kind of inter-island fiights online ahead of time, or are there better deals to be had once you are there? I see about US $560 for three to go round trip to Tanna.

Love those birds and marine animals! We don't have anything dugongs in Hawaii...

We stayed at Kaiviti Motel , its walking distance from the centre of Vila , it has a big pool and is not expensive to stay. Just a basic budget place but we liked it.
there are lots of things to see and do on Efate for a few days .. the Cascades(beautiful waterfalls) , Hideaway Island , great snorkelling , Iririki island resort , great pools anyone can use.
the flights to the other islands are expesive but worth it, the site is www.airvanuatu.com, you can book online but i booked my flight by ringing the office in Brisbane before I left. and if you have international tickets with Air Vanuatu you get a discount on the domestic flights, but not with any other carier.

Air Vanuatu now runs the domestic services, but flights to Epi are scarcer than to Santo or Tanna.
See their domestic schedule to find out if it's doable within your time-frame - VLS and LNB are Epi's air strips. If it is, you won't regret going there for sure, even without the dugongs.
I only stopped at Epi in transit when taking a ship to Ambrym, where I also saw a dugong. Also saw Epi's traditional dances at the Vanuatu Art Festival, and they were one of the best.
I don't think there will be special deals available for domestic flights in Vanuatu (no harm is asking), but if you only do one shortish RT, this shouldn't be a major issue.