DESTINATION FAST FACTS Location: 1250km NE of Sydney (Around 2.5 hours by plane) Capital City: Port Vila  Language:  English, Bislama and more! Currency: Vatu (VT) Climate: December-March warmest months (October-March is cyclone season), January & February are wettest months and very humid.

Vanuatu is a land of cultural diversity and offers so much more than a typical island escape of beautiful beaches, tropical palms and fresh food. This archipelago of 83 islands offers visitors a chance to explore a unique cultural blend of traditional tribal communities that are still intact today, and the influence that still resonates from the French and English naval commission back in 1887.

Geographically diverse, Vanuatu is famous for its accessible volcanoes, beautiful beaches and friendly locals. There are also lesser known sights for you to discover, like a luxury liner that was shipwrecked and now offers a fantastic site for divers to explore, a giant banyan tree the size of a soccer field and remote villages still celebrating life with fascinating cultural ceremonies and dances. Food in Vanuatu is fresh and tasty- from seafood (oysters, lobster, crab, prawns and fish) to fruit, to vegetables and meat (Vanuatu beef is a must-have).

It is believed that Vanuatu was inhabited as early as 2000 BC. The first known European to discover the islands was Portuguese explorer Pedro Fernández de Quirós who believed it to be part of Terra Australis. James Cook visited the islands on his second voyage and named them New Hebrides. Europeans then began settling the islands in the late 18th century. 1960’s the people pressed for self-governance then independence. 30 July 1980 saw full sovereignty granted and a new name for the archipelago of islands, The Republic of Vanuatu.

Efate Island
Efate is home to the capital, Port Vila which offers a huge amount of restaurants and cafes- take it from us, the food is delicious! 5 star dining options are available and there is champagne to match. If you are looking for something a little more relaxed there are plenty of affordable places with special lunches costing around AUD$10. Tapas bars are around there is nothing better than relaxing with self-indulgent nibbles overlooking the harbour. Amazing bakeries are just waiting for you to walk through their doors- visit Au Peche Mignon in the main street, it has decadent sweet pastries, cakes and chocolates.

There are plenty of activity options on Efate – round the island tours, buggy rides, Parliament House, shopping Port Vila style, the Markets, Mele Cascades, Parasailing, scuba diving, snorkelling, golf, horse riding, cultural village tours, abseiling down a waterfall, zorbing, helicopter and sea plane tours, kayaking, the pirate ship, sunset cruise, day cruises, trekking and the list goes on. 

Efate doesn’t have the best beaches around (particularly Port Vila area).  They are mostly crushed coral or a mixture of crushed coral and sand, but coral beaches mean coral waters so the snorkelling is excellent! Our picks: Eratrap, Havannah, Erakor and Breakas beaches are the best. There are some really beautiful spots around Efate and a Round Island Tour is highly recommended to see how different the island can be.  Mele Cascades (waterfalls) is gorgeous and the Coongoola Day Cruise has incredible snorkelling and a stunning little beach. 

Espiritu Santo Island
This outer island is a favourite with our staff. It is quiet, no shops but it makes up for that with its incredible WWII memorabilia and sites. Santo was one of the largest US Force bases in the Pacific. Santo is known for its diving and is home world renown dive sites, including the shipwreck SS President Coolidge- a luxury liner that was converted to a warship in the war. 

Santo is also becoming known as a beach paradise and a soft adventure haven; there are beautiful soft sand beaches out of town and on the private island resorts, and lots of trekking, kayaking, canoeing, caving, horse riding, snorkelling, scuba diving, horse riding, the famous Blue Holes and various different cultural villages. 

The Millenium Cave tour is an amazing day’s trek – exhausting but very rewarding.  Vil Vil Village Tour is a custom village of people from Pentecost, so they specialise in sand drawing – a wonderful art form. Lowematom Village is home to the people of the Banks Islands, and the women perform “river music” where they tell stories with the rhythm of water.

Tanna Island
This island is one of the southern-most islands in Vanuatu and is home to one of world’s most easily accessible live volcanoes- Mt Yasur.  Tanna is exciting, adventurous and very basic!  There is no electricity on the island (the resorts have their own generators for power), so no ATMS – you will need to take cash or credit cards with you (be warned credit card fees are high in Tanna).  Mt Yasur is always active and it’s incredible to see, especially at night time when you can see the lava against the night sky.

Black Magic is still in existence in Tanna and the Black Magic tour is incredible.  There is amazing snorkelling on the island, including a Blue Cave you can go to from White Grass. There are black sand beaches and Port Resolution White Sand Beach, which is also amazing, and there are also hot springs on the island. 

Call us today to make your Pacific Island dream come true and ask us about our holiday offers to Vanuatu.