would like to spend a month in the south pacific

hi there
well i was thinking about travelling to vanuatu this comming feb, but im not sure yet what i want to do , have done alot of travelling around the world over the years on my own and with other people but its been awhile since ive been out there on my own .been looking to try and do something a little bit different instead of the normal back packing around would,nt mind doing some volunteer work that involved the sea as i come from a fishing back round and anything got to do with the water keeps me going. its my first time using this forum so im not sure exactly where to post cause even though i,d like to see vanuatu i,d go anywhere in the south pacfic as long as its not full of tourists

any help would be great thanks

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What you're after is easy to find and it's all good-mass tourism is something of a rarity in the South Pacific you have little worry in that regard.

The older posts on this branch are a wealth of information as well.

Last year I was travelling for some months in the Pacific and visited the Cook Islands, Fiji and Vanuatu. All of them have tourists and travellers, but I think Vanuatu had the least amount of tourists as long as you stay away from the main island. Port Vila, the capital, gets lots of big cruise ships with hundreds of passengers that flock into town for a while.

I can recommend the island of Tanna, a 50 min. flight from Vila. There is a volcano there, Yasur, that you can see (on a tour, but no masses of people when I was there) from close up. Eruptions occur all the time, an amazing sight, especially at night. Scary and fascinating. There are also lots of interesting kastom villages you can visit.

Vanuatu is not cheap though, transport and budget accommodation will cost more than on Fiji and the Cooks.

well thanks for the info, when you said accomodation wasent that cheap on vanuatu what sould one expect to pay per nite?

In September 2010 I stayed in Port Vila in Room with a View, which was 4700 Vatu a night for a single with ensuite.

On Tanna I stayed at Sunrise Bungalows (close to the volcano), which was 4600 Vt a night for a huge private bungalow with ensuite. Volcano tour from there was 4450 Vt (entrance and transport).
In Tanna Evergreen it was 4250 Vt for a room with shared facilities. Kalangia Kastom Village tour was 8400 Vatu.
Also stayed at Sunset Bungalows, close to Lenakel, which was 3500 Vt a night for a bungalow with ensuite.
Breakfast is included in all accommodations mentioned. The "bungalows" are very rustic local style houses.

Transport is also expensive. I saw -mostly local- people travelling by pick up truck, but I arranged transport to/from my accommodation, which was 5750 Vt from the airport to Sunrise Bungalows (very nice ride though, over the ash plains and past the volcano).

If you go to Tanna (flight from Vila 22.290 Vt return ticket) bring plenty of cash as there were no ATM's when I was there and the locally owned places (Sunrise and Sunset) only take cash. In Tanna Evergreen they accept credit cards, at a 5% fee.

Although Vanuatu isn't cheap it was totally worth it for me. The people are lovely and it was such an interesting place that I would like to return in order to see more islands than only Efate and Tanna.