White sandy beaches in Port Villa or Tanna?

Sorry, cross-posting in Vanuatu specific thread... still getting the hang of the new(ish) TT!...

I'm planning our family trip this September to Vanuatu, and hubby wants nothing more than a relaxed spot with white sandy beaches and good snorkelling.

We love the look of Hideaway Resort (bungalows on the beach - fabulous! And we don't need a 5 star place) but research tells me the 'beaches' are in fact coral. Presumably not very nice for our little ones (or us) to walk on, and sand castles would be out of the question! It also looks as though our next possible spot, the White Grass Ocean Resort, also has nothing in the way of a beach.

Do we have to go to Santo to find a resort with white sandy beaches, or can anyone recommend a resort on Efate or Tanna that fits this requirement? We plan to mix our holiday up between higher end resorts and more basic casual places, so any recommendations at all would be really appreciated!

Or, are these coral islands by definition, and I'm looking in vain?!

Thanks!

We had a day trip to Hideaway and are glad we did not book to stay.Try Breaka's Beach resort for up market. If you plan to stay and move around you can check places out while you are there.

White Grass does not have white sandy beach, but has great snorkelling. The beaches I saw on Tanna were either coral or had black sand.

PC3, why were you glad you didn't stay at Hideaway?
Erakor Island resort (an island off Port Vila) looks like a tropical paradise and it had a somewhat sandy beach (doesn't compare to Qld beaches though).

Yeh Yeh

Perhaps it was the day, the place seemed drab and run down, snokelling wasn't the best

PC3, thanks for the info. I had seen Hideaway from afar and thought it would be a good place to stay next time. Perhaps not.

I have just come back from Vanuatu... and went to Efate, Santo and Tanna with 2 kids aged 4 and almost 2.

Tanna - White Grass is nice and has a pool, but has no white sandy beach. We stayed at Evergreen, also no beach and no pool but much less $$. I believe the only swimming beach on Tanna might be near Port Resolution on the east coast but for my money being close to airport after flying with kids was handy. Evergreen is one of the better places however still has generator power only a few hours a day and the mossie nets did have some holes.... Take tape, mossie repellent and things to do with kids without electricity... Frankly Tanna was quite hard work with kids but the volcano was superb.. not that you take little ones up there. with the right shoes my little kids could walk on the coral a bit and look at the fish.
Efate - again in downtown Pt Vila it seems white sandy beaches are in short supply. I think there might have been one at a couple of the resorts, Iriki perhaps, and certainly there are pools at the bigger ones, although the water was quite cold in comparison to the beach! I stayed at Lagoon Beach Resort Apartments, which are 5-10 mins from town, by very frequent minibus. These are 2 bedroom self contained apartments with pool and man made beach on the lagoon. My kids loved playing in the sand and splashing in the water and there was a playground and kayaks. Its not as posh as some, but gets good reviews and I would recommend it, its clean and new.
As for Santo, Champagne Beach is superb but the closest you can stay is Lonnoc Beach Bungalows although I think they have their own great beach, and these places are more than an hour from the airport/town. In Luganville itself, the one that says it has the 'only swimming beach' is Beachfront Resorts... which were middle range and fine. I believe there new restaurant and pool might be finished by Sept. BUT that said it is a free ferry across to Aore Resort, which you are free to visit even if you are not staying there as long as you buy lunch, and there is great fish to look at and some sandy beach.. still probably need shoes if going too far out. good luck, it's all lovely anyway.