Help!-Vat-Vaka(Yoan's place),Nguna Island,off Efate,Vanuatu;Good or bad??!!

Hi All

I'm off to stay at Vat-Vaka and do turtle tagging on May 31.I met the owner at Port Vila today and he wanted payment upfront,and although polite and pleasant,was fairly insistant!99% of me thinks it will be fine,he's a good guy and he just needs the money.But 1% sees the bells ringing big-time.Please tell me if you have met Yoan and your impressions of him and Vat-Vaka.(I am sure it will be fine,but was just surprised that he wanted full payment upfront!)Thankyou,Martin

Hi Martin,

You could offer to pay a deposit of -say- 10% and pay the rest on arrival; in cash, no ATM's on Nguna, at least when I was there in Oct. 2010. It's not a developed island, to say the least. They probably want to make sure that you will come.

I didn't stay at Vat Vaka, but at Juboes and getting there was a bit of a drag. I was supposed to be picked up from my accomm. in Vila, but the truck was a no show on the day and after a couple of calls they told me they'd pick me up the next day, which they did. I tried to arrange turtle tagging as well and the owner said he'd try to arrange that (for Vt 5000). The boys of the village first had to catch one in order for me to tag it, which they apparently couldn't, so no tagging for me. Hopefully you have more luck!

Thankyou so much Lilau!
I'm sure it will be ok.Interesting to hear that they couldn't tag a turtles for you;I've seen on web that there is supposedly probably 1 or 2 tagers per village,but I guess that doesn't always relate to Vanuatu life necessarily;Cheers,Martin

Hi!!! How was your experience in Nguna? Did you made the full payment upfront? Any recommendations about that guest house?
We are going there in November but we are still not sure about where we are going to stay in Nguna.

Thanks a lot and happy travels!!!!

@Martin

Thanks for the update and sorry to hear the tagging was not in the cards for you either! Apparently it's not so easy to arrange it on Nguna....
I read your story on Pentecost in another post; glad to hear your stay there was a good one. I only made it to Tanna, which was brilliant too. Lovely people and enough activities to keep me occupied for a week.

@jota_dany
I stayed at Juboes, which was very basic, but the people were lovely. They came over to make my meals on the spot. Local food and it was hot too! The room itself was OK with a good bed; no electricity but a gas lamp. The kitchen was next door, so mice and cockroaches were running in and out of the kitchen. In a room next to the kitchen was a western style toilet, but it was placed wrong, so my knees were against the wall and behind me was plenty of room; flush with a bucket of water. Shower was bucket style, with rainwater from a big tank.
All in all very rustic and the most basic accommodation I had in Vanuatu.

Sorry to hear about your experience Martin, that sucks! We spent a week on Nguna and Pele Islands in June while visiting a friend who was volunteering and also found the communities to be lovely. We stayed at the Guesthouse in the village of Unakap (I can't remember it's name but it is the only one!) The rooms were clean and the owners, Lepiko and John, were really nice and spoke great English. We did not try any turtle tagging but did hike up to the extinct volcano with guide Tatu which was a great day. Amazing views and we learned a lot about Ni-Vanuatu culture.

On Pele we stayed at Simao bungalows, a really cute bungalow right on the beach owned by Mark and Miriam (you can contact them on 6785686685 or 6786913763 I think). It was very basic (no power, bucket shower) but I have rarely felt so well looked after. We were welcomed with fresh coconuts and leis, the food was delicious, and Mark showed us best spot for an early morning snorkel.

Safe travels!