travelling around vanuatu

Hi,
I'm off to Vanuatu for a week and would like to visit Tanna and Espiritu Santo. I am flying into Efate, is this too ambitious in seven days?
Also is the only way to get between the islands to fly? I seems expensive, are there ferry's/boat options?
Thanks

In theory, you could fly to Tanna for a day-trip (or even a 1 night stay) and then fly to Santo for a stay of 2-3 nights, exploring the attractions near Lugainville in 1 day, hiring a car for a tour of more distant attractions on another.
The other nights might have to be spent in Vila making the connections.

Worth it?
Probably not - it would feel pretty rushed.
I would suggest at least 2 days around Vila instead, and the rest visiting either Tanna or Santo, not both.

Boats take relatively long and are pretty infrequent and somewhat unreliable.
They are certainly cheap and an interesting option for budget travellers with enough time on their hands, but hardly an option on a short holiday like yours.

im like you! i wanted to visit ambrym and tanna within 2 weeks but decided its just too much to do and instead having a week in efate and 8 days on tanna. If you actually sit down and think places you REALLY want to go then its not hard to readjust your itinerary. its probaly the country im 2nd most looking forward to

is it very much off-the-beaten track being in vanuatu or are there stil tourists like fiji?

Sean,

I would say that Efate, especially in and around Vila, is almost as touristy as Fiji, but still a lot more relaxed and outgoingly friendly.

Tanna is actually the 2nd most touristy island in Vanuatu, but most tourists just fly there for rushed day-trips to visit Yasur volcano and a touristy kastom village (usually Yakel), and those who do stay overnight are scattered in a few isloated, fairly low-key resorts.
You could quite easily escape from the other tourists on Tanna by staying at one of the Ni-Vanuatu-owned island bungalows listed here.

The only other island that gets a regular trickle of visitors in Santo, but it's a huge island and almost all stay around the main town, Lugainville.

Pretty much all other islands in Vanuatu would feel "very much off-the-beaten track" - you may not meet ANY other tourists on them!
If this is important for you, consider skipping the week in Efate and go to Ambrym instead.
In 2 weeks you could do Vila, Tanna and Ambrym if you are ready to fly between them.

would i be able to fit in the sights on efate -waterfalls and other stuff, what is there to do? - and visit ambrym and tanna for suitable amounts of time each? i really want to go to ambrym being a soon-to-be geology student but am wary of being a typical palangi and rushing around!

how often do air van fly between tanna and ambrym as if i was to go both i wud go probably efate-tanna-ambrym-efate?

No palangis in Vanuatu - just waetman.
Get this to avoid confusions!

I personally didn't really bother with the sights of touristy Efate away from the Vila area, but you could even "see them all in one day" by taking one of the round-island-tours offered by tour-operators in Vila.

Of course it's up to you to decide where you want to go, but I have no doubt that Tanna and Ambrym are both much more rewarding, both for geological and cultural attractions.
And cheaper, too - it amazed me how cheap some of the SW Ambrym guesthouses listed here are. I only stayed in the North though.

You must fly via Vila.
Ask about special fares for international travellers.

thanks for that. ive decided.....to.......go to ambrym!! do they have discounts for students with an ISIC card like i have?

No ISIC discounts that I know of in Vanuatu - in general, ISIC cards are of VERY limited use in the South Pacific.

No ISIC discounts that I know of in Vanuatu - in general, ISIC cards are of VERY limited use in the South Pacific.

do you have any idea how often there are flights/times to ambrym? its not clear on air vanuatus website!

I think a few times (maybe 3) weekly, but not daily.
But don't take my word for it - check in Vila.
Certainly frequent enough to allow you to visit, but to avoid getting stuck, maybe go there first, to Tanna second, and leave the Efate tour to the end of your trip before flying out.

I did get discount on internal flights with an ISIC card- they took a photocopy of it and then gave us a cheaper fare. This was some time back though so things may have changed. If you have the card already, you may as well take it with you and ask when you book fares there.

Tanna is beautiful. Take your time, stay a while. We had 3 days and it wasn't enough.

Flying is best. Ferry's and boats run on 'ailan time' - so if you have limited time, don't do it.

We flew to Efate last June. Landed and started walking towards Port Vila. Along came a lovely local who offered us a lift. We had booked one night accomodation at a budget motel which was absolutely terrific as we ended up around the pool with the family and a few locals. They told us if we really wanted to experience Vanuatu, just go down the town, ask around for a lift (on the back of a "truck" which was a ute) and the locals will take it from there!
WOW WOW WOW! We ended up on an outer island staying in a beach shack amongst a local village. We ate with the locals, fished, walked, talked, and learnt to love these beautiful people. Our front yard was the sea and each morning we got up, snorkelled in amazing close to shore reefs before wandering into the village where we ate whatever was going. Grapefruit, coconuts for breakfast - yum. All up we stayed on the island a week. Yes, we did pay our way! And yes a year later we regularly send a parcel to the little school there.
Port Vila itself is just full of the tourist traps - exy resorts where you lie around pools