Vanuatu questions

Hello everyone!

Im heading over to Vanuatu at the start of september, spending a few nights on Efate, then flying to Tanna to see a friend who has invited me to stay with him at his village. So i'll be spending up to two weeks on Tanna, then i'll have a week which i've not completely decided where i'll go (probably Santo). Vanuatu would be my first holiday alone, and my second country to visit! So i'm definatly not an experienced traveller.

My main concerns are, i read often rural places like Tanna, there are no ways to get out money, so would i be getting out two weeks worth in Villa before i fly to Tanna? Also that i dont have a pre-set time on Tanna yet, so would booking a flight back to Efate (or to Santo) be a problem once i reach Tanna?
While staying with my friend im not too worried about spending, but how much will i be looking at for accommodation and activities on Tanna and Santo? (i dont plan on anything too touristy, just taking in the culture and sights)
Also should i book in advance things like transport or is it possible to just turn up and ask around? I'm not really one to plan ahead, and time is on my side!

I'd also like to take presents to my friends family and village, i read basic clothing is great?

Any suggestions on how to spend a few days on Efate, and things to definatly check out on Tanna would be appreciated!! Apologies if my post is a bit of a .. ramble? Alex :)

Do take enough cash with you!

Booking your flight in Tanna should of course be possible.

There are very few "sights" as such in Vanuatu.
In Tanna, paying ones include the volcano and the most touristy traditional villages, which charged around $20 when I was there (may have gone up) while in Santo a few designated forest reserves, and beaches (like Champaigne Beach and the Million-Dollar Point) charged for entry, all of them being under $10 back then.
Unless you want to dive, you shouldn't really plan to spend much on "activities", either.

Costs of accommodation vary a lot, from ca $20 upwards.

As for presents, food that has to be bought with cash like sugar and cooking oil may also be appreciated. And maybe some kava, for cultural reasons.

I never booked anything in advance in Vanuatu.

Basic clothing like T-shirts, especially from where you live, is a popular gift, as are baseball caps. Pens and pencils for school children go over well, too. But I agree with Laszlo - take store-bought food from the main town to your friend's village.

Think about the little things - tea bags, rice, curry powder, sugar, pepper, cooking oil, garlic, dried chillies. If it is a family then children's clothes are good. Maybe a few packets of fish hooks, sinkers and some hand lines. Some balls of twine. Rat proof food containers are good. D cell batteries. Maybe food you can't get on Tanna such as apples, pears or broccoli. Sets of colored pencils and some pads of plain paper. Soap. Cheap watch. Cheap reading glasses.

Many choices.

My village in Solomon Islands love sharing my instant coffee, as long as they have plenty of sugar. the children like milo.

I've just been to Tanna for 4 days.

I stayed in a bungalow (Banyan Castle) which is about 2-3 km from the volcano. It was a back to basics type accomm - no electricity, cold water etc. but was a really welcoming place to stay. It was about AU$35 a night. or $55 for a treehouse bungalow where you had a perfect view of the volcano erupting! If you want to go up to the volcano you will pay for a guide, entrance fees and a truck to get you there - will cost at least AU$55. (Banyan Castle was walkable distance 45 min to the top of the volcano, but the truck ride over to the accommodation was AU $25 each way).. something to keep in mind that transport is expensive!

You don't need to book activities/tours/things to do for each island, and the plane rides over to Tanna/Vila were only 2/3 full, so you could probably turn up at the airport or just book the day before?

For the four days we did lots of things - horse riding on the ash plains, volcano trips, visit to the big Banyan Tree etc. and for all food and activities I spent about $400 AU - but I did LOTS of stuff! You can limit what you do and just go snorkelling every day if you wish!

I'd bring some things for one of the local schools - things like pencils, textas or chalk are desperately needed.

For Efate - you could do a round the island tour (whirlwind, but you see a lot), go to Nguna island on the Northern side of Efate. You can pay 1500VT ($16AU) and spend the day at Irirki resort. You then use the entrance fee on food (really reasonably priced) and you get to use all their facilities and go snorkelling around the island too...

Santo is good if you want to dive, but it's very similar to Port Vila in that it's pretty run down with cracked buildings etc. Other islands I'd recommend to go to would be Pentecost, Ambrym or Malekula (although they only speak French and Bislama here!). Whilst not as 'city-ish' I found the ni-Vans to be very friendly and it's really easy to travel around by yourself (I was 18 at the time).

I hope some of this helped!