Idea's for 10 Day's In Vanuatu

Hi All,

I have enjoyed reading the posts on Vanuatu and have found them most helpful but I am still a little confused by how I should spend my ten day's in Vanuatu. My husband and I have decided that we will visit both Santo and Tanna but this obviously means returning to Port Villa to catch the flights between these islands. So far, we are thinking two nights on Tanna, in the hope that if the weather is poor, as it will likely be in January, that we have an extra night up our sleeve to see the volcano. Visiting a cultural place is also on our list to do but we thought this could be done within the two days? Also, is it better to stay near the volcano in a bungalow or in the town centre? We are thinking perhaps 3 or 4 days on Santo as there seems a lot to do and the Millennium Caves and Riri Riri River trip sound amazing and would take a day each I believe? That leaves 3-4 days on Port Villa. Some days exploring, maybe a day relaxing? We are interested in seeing and experiencing as much of Vanuatu as possible so would love some suggestions on how to best use our time. We also considered Ambrym but think the weather in January may make this trip a little unpredictable. Has anyone else been in early January? What impact did the weather have? Accommodation also seems expensive unless staying in a bungalow but have heard mixed reviews of these from others who have traveled to Vanuatu.

Thanks so much in advance for your help.

I visited in late December and had no problem with the weather.
I think 3 islands are enough for 10 days.
Maybe add another day to Tanna.

h Karen..I just returned from a similar trip to what you are planning...(I had 13 days and flew from OZ to Port Villa, then back to OZ from Santo)...to PV, Tanna and Santo. I had 3 nights in Port Villa, then 5 days/nights on Tanna, then 5 days Santo.
Re: Tanna...you can either stay at the western ocean front places, or bungalows near the volcano...western side has some more 'upmarket' places to stay, but benefit of staying near the volcano is you can see/hear it from your bungalow...and if staying at one of the several places near the entrance, you can walk up to the crater and save car costs. Recommend you stay minimum 2 nights there...and do the crater in late arvo for sunset, and a early morning for sunrise (FAR less tourists up there then) - 3500vatu entrance fee first time, 1750 2nd, 1000 3rd... All the bungalows near to volcano are reasonably basic, mostly with a shared bathroom nearby (often a 'bucket' shower). And yeah you can do the 'culture' trips during the day...anywhere you stay can organise that for you.
I stayed 2 nights at a volcano bungalow then 3 nights at Port Resolution Yatch Club for some good relax.

I'd suggest 1 day less in PV and extra time elsewhere -Tanna, or Santo, unless you really want to do a lot of the 'activities' PV offers (various self drive quad/boat trips and underwater stuff...). Santo I stayed in Luganville 2 nights and then a north-east coast bungalow the last couple nights. Millennium Cave trip is basically a full day (about 6 hours all up, starting from town around 8-8.30am). RiRi River doesn't take too long, it is around 20km from town...if you use a local tour operator they would/could likely combine it with other places for a day trip (eg. Champagne Beach / Nanda Blue Hole / Million $ Point..)...or you could use local transport to get there/hire a taxi there and back/hire a car or scooter and self drive. The starting point for the canoe trips up to the Blue Hole start at the roadside, or you can drive right to the blue hole - quite nice, with a good rope swing from a tree. There is another blue hole about 5-10km further north, then Nanda Blue Hole about 30km from town - also really nice.

Thank you so much for your post :-) It seems an additional day in Tanna would be a very good idea. Can I ask if you would recommend any particular activities to do whilst in Vanuatu or accommodation? Thanks again :-)

Wow, thank you so much for your detailed post. This is incredibly helpful and I think you are right in suggesting less time in Port Villa itself. Can I asked what bungalow you stayed in at Tanna plus was the food provided okay? Did you tend to use local tour operators or hire cars / walk...? It seems expenses can add up very quickly in Vanuatu! We technically will be there for 12 days but I discounted two days due to them really only being travel days to and from NZ. Would you recommend any particular activities to do in Port Villa or just the main ones that are mentioned in LP (e.g. Cascade Falls, Hideaway Island)? Thank you again for your wonderful comments - much appreciated :-)

hi...I didn't do much on Tanna other than the volcano twice, and a short walk to hot springs at Port Resolution...all bungalows offer various activities (many offer the same things) - walk to waterfall, John Frum village (Friday nights), Kustom villages....some offer village dances and/or feasts...but yes everything costs $$ and it adds up quick..EG. for me travelling solo the vehicle transfer from airport to bungalow is 5000 vatu (2500vt each for 2 or more)..from my bungalow to the crater it cost 1000vt each way for a car, plus 1000 for the guide (500vt each if 2 or more)..entrance fee 3500vt. Activities each cost 500-1000 for guide, plus the vehicle cost if one is required...
I pre-arranged most things before I left...booked & paid for my Air Vanuatu domestic flights (note: if flying from Tanna to Santa same day buy it as 1 ticket, even though you stop in PV and change planes it is much cheaper than doing it as 2 tickets), and contacted various bungalows on Tanna re: prices, and booked rooms with them plus transfers. There are quite a few near the volcano and they don't fill up, but easier to book your transfer before..
I stayed at Tanna Lava View bungalows, in a treetop hut about 20mtrs above the ground...nice enough, with a view of the volcano, but it is several km from the volcano entrance by tracks so too far to walk at night. Meals were good - rice and vegetables, plus egg (or chicken if you eat it), fruit afterwards...breakfast is toast with jam and coffee/tea.
Good thing about TLV is they are part of a village, so you can interact more. There are a bunch of bungalows (many offer some sort of tree-house) close to the volcano entrance track so you could walk up to the crater and back..
In Port Villa I stayed at Blue Pango Motel (I try travel 'budget') which was nice enough, ocean front with hammocks and a pool (no sand tho)but a bit far out of town...but public minivans run past regularly. Didn't do any activities in/around PV (was sick the first 1-2 days I arrived), partly due to costs (I have been to plenty of waterfalls /rainforests/cascades over the years, so I don;t need to pay entrance fees just to see them in Vanuatu)...only visited the museum.
Santo - Luganville I stayed at Hibiscus Centre - a really nice place with great friendly helpful hosts...then also stayed at Towoc Bungalows on the north-east coast, near Champagne Beach. At Hibiscus I booked a Millennium Cave trip for the day after, as a few other people were going from there. Then I hired a scooter for 3 days (4000vt per day), first day visited RiRi River Blue Hole, then next day rode up east coast. Spent 2 days just relaxing (easy to do in Vanuatu) & a few swims. On my way back last day I stopped at Nanda Blue Hole (both those blue holes cost 500vt entrance each). About half the people staying at Hibiscus Centre when I was there were there mainly for diving / doing PADI course...
http://vanuatu.travel/ is a really helpful site, if you haven't seen it...lists a lot of budget/bungalow accommodation...if you want I can also suggest a couple other bungalows near the Yasur volcano that sounded good from their emails...?
Happy to help....any Q's just ask...

Thanks so much for your additional comments; these are all super helpful. We, like you, are hoping to have everything booked prior to leaving NZ. We are about to book all of the connecting flights and wondered if you found these to be on time? I think I have read that you need to be at the airport 1 hour prior to your flight and currently our international flight from Christchurch gets in to Port Villa early afternoon but our connecting flight to Tanna leaves 35 minutes later! Our travel agent seems to think this will be fine but we have heard about Island time so are thinking of staying in Port Villa for a night before flying out early the next morning to be safe! Suggestions for the other bungalows would be great :-)

hi...will send details tomorrow of some other bungalows near Yasur...
Re: your flights...35 minutes would be really pushing it...domestic flights I took were pretty well on time...the domestic terminal is right next door to the international...BUT...the line-up for Immigration can take a while...might be better to play it safe and fly to Tanna first thing the next morning...