inter-island boats in Vanuatu

Hello,
I am coming to Vanuatu soon and I will look for this information on the spot, but maybe somebody knows what is the current situation with passenger boats in Vanuatu?
Is there any passenger service from Vila to Tanna and from Vila to Santo?
Or are there any regular cargo/passenger boats on these routes?
Thank you,
Mike

I have no really recent info, but in general, boats in Vanuatu have never been really "regular".
Even when foreign-owned, high-speed passenger services with a supposedly fixed schedules started up, they were still subject to delays/changes in schedule - and the service that started during my visit stopped next year, I think.
As for the cargo boats, they just go whenever they feel like, basicaly.
Out of your 2 destinations, there are certainly more boats to Santo than to Tanna, but note that some cargo boats to Santo take up to 3 days, stopping at other islands on the way.

If you can neither be flexible about boat departures nor pay up for flights, you will be in for a lot of frustration and Vanuatu may not be the place for you.
If you can be flexible, just check locally indeed - but make sure you check at the right spots as cargo boats docked at a different area from the passenger one.

When I was there 2 years ago there were 2 boats a week to Tanna, one of which was the Southern Star and cost 4000 vt, about a third of the price of a plane ticket. To Santo there were more boats and they were a little more expensive. All are unreliable and will probably not leave when you expect them to! They are also dirty, overcrowded and have no sleeping space, not for the faint-hearted considering some of them take over 24 hours!

Thank you. I like this kind of travelling.
Mike

Actually the boats I took to and from Tanna were not crowded at all - on the way to Tanna there were just 4 passengers besides me.
The cargo ships to Santo are more crowded as they stop at more islands.

Yeh I'm just speaking from experience of ones between Efate - Malekula - Santo - Pentecost - Ambrym - Efate. I never actually took the Tanna one.

The boats that go to the outer islands mostly leave from the wharf in the centre of Vila beside the market. There is usually a sign put out on the road 2 days before a boat is leaving saying when and where the boat goes. If you want to double check wander on to the boat that is unloading and ask when it leaves. The boats going from Vila are usually less full than those coming in because the main business for them is to bring farm produce into Vila.

The others are right about the quality of service. These boats are irregular and BASIC. If it rains you might get wet. If it is sunny you might get burnt. You will be sharing deck space with mum, dad, the kids, the pigs and the chickens plus a little freight or a truck.

If you want travel that is more regular and upmarket then look for a boat called "Savannah". It leaves for Santo roughly every 5 days from Ifira wharf and only takes 30 hours. Take the bus down Wharf Road and get off when you see the containers all over the place. Ask at the office which is a cream shed inside and to the right of the middle gate. If you come to the cruise ship wharf then you have gone too far - right road though.

Whatever ride you get, it won't be dull.

After a little more homework I can inform everyone that the boat is actually called "Havannah" and only leaves Vila once a month. Nonetheless there are smaller boats leaving Ifira wharf every 3 or 4 days.

Go to the office and ask.

hi,

i have some boat contacts here for some regular ones which goes up the northern islands from vila, and also a couple which goes down, south.
if you are interested i can give them to you.

khemps.