The South Pacific: full of rich war history, native culture, tropical beaches, amazing sea life, thousands of islands jutting out of the clear turquoise water and pure beauty. My challenge was to choose which island nation to visit along my journey since I wasn’t going to visit all of them. I asked many people which island I should visit and I would get the typical responses: Fiji, Samoa, Cook Islands (US Territory), New Caledonia (French Territory), Tahiti (French Territory). And nestled in between Fiji and New Caledonia was Vanuatu, an island nation comprised of more than 100 islands.
My objectives for my visit to the South Pacific was to learn how to scuba since I would be traveling to many other great scuba sites and to visit beautiful, tropical beaches. During my recent cruise to Antarctica, my roommate mentioned a dive company on Santo Island, Allan Power Dive Company, in Vanuatu was outstanding. And then later during my overnight cruise to Doubtful Sound in New Zealand, one of the deckhands told me that his mother was a travel agent and that she sends many people to Santo Island for holiday. My journey has been about learning from others and not necessarily following the guidebook for all of my destination answers. Since a couple people spoke highly of Santo Island, Vanuatu, and it was easy to get to from Sydney, Vanuatu was my South Pacific destination!
Port Vila is the capital city of Vanuatu and is located on the island of Efate. Many cruise ships stop at this port during their South Pacific cruises. My Air Vanuatu flight from Sydney arrived late at night into Port Vila and I had an early morning flight to Santo so I stayed at a hotel near the airport called the Airline Business Hotel. Don’t stay at this place! One of the most disgusting hotel experiences I have ever had. I felt like I was in a jail cell with only a small louvered window on one side and spiders everywhere. The floor was dirty with dust and the hot, damp air didn’t move. Needless to say I slept with the lights on and one eye open sweating all night.
Local buses are easy to flag down along main routes and are cheap. They will take you anywhere you want to go for 150 Vatu which is about USD $1.50. Taxis, like most things in Vanuatu, are very expensive. I took the bus back to the airport to catch my early morning flight to Santo. The domestic terminal was a couple counters and a small waiting area. There was no security. When they called our flight everyone passed through the door and the gentleman checked our ticket and we were off to Santo!
Santo Island
Espiritu Santo, or Santo for short, is the largest island in Vanuatu. But 95% of the island is uninhabited. The island’s main city is Luganville which is where our flight landed. In World War II, Luganville was the largest US military airstrip and base in the South Pacific. So the place has a lot of great history. The town itself has one road through the center with scattered shops on both sides. Empty taxis and local pickup trucks with local villagers in the back bay filled the street.
These are my top recommendations for visiting Santo Island:
1. Dive SS President Coolidge – Allan Power Dive Company
This is the largest, most accessible wrecks in the world. You can walk from the shore and arrive at the sunken bow in minutes. The bow is in about 15 meters of water. The ship’s history and how the ship sank from friendly mines in the bay is worth learning before you go. Dive with Allan Power Dive Company. They have the most experience with the ship and was the company that found the only missing person since the ship sank years later.
Check out my post on “Learning How to Scuba Dive”
2. Snorkel Million Dollar Point
The US military offloaded military materials into the bay very close to the Coolidge site so no one would be able to use them after the war. So today, you can see jeeps and artillery parts scattered across the bottom of about 5 meters of water. You can snorkel the area and see everything up close.
3. Stay near Champagne beach
Champagne Beach has been said to be one of the most beautiful beaches in the South Pacific. With perfect white sand, a gently sloping angle into the water, no coral to hurt your feet and an overall crescent shape, this beach is one I have dreamed of! And since it is about a 45 minute bus ride north of Luganville, very few people attend. And I saw large turtles swimming in the late afternoon. Some local village boys and I had the beach to ourselves for the day! There is a 500 Vatu fee to see the beach (USD $5.00) but certainly worth it.
Check out this video that shows the beauty of the beach.
Also, there are several places/bungalows to stay at nearby Lunnoc Beach and Port Orly. I stayed at Lunnoc Beach Lodge which was run by the nearby village and had amazing hospitality! Snorkeling is also amazing around here! Try some local kava at one of the many kava bars on the trip north from Luganville.
4. Visit Nanto Blue Hole
The Blue Hole is a deep lagoon with crystal clear, blue water where you can swim. It is connected to the sea and has beautiful fish swimming around. You can see the bottom 15 meters down. Of course like most things in Vanuatu, there is a 500 Vatu fee to see the Blue Hole which is USD $5.00. The Blue Hole is on the way to Champagne Beach so worth a stop.
5. Take the Millennium Cave Tour
For the more adventurous traveler, go on the Millennium Cave Tour that will take you floating through a cave and canyoning over rocks through a river. It is an all day excursion from Luganville and you can also pay extra to stay overnight in a traditional Vanuatu village nearby to see how the locals live. Part of the road to the cave is an old WWII runway!
Santo Lodging
For lodging in Santo, I stayed at Hotel Santo which was right across from the Allan Power Dive Company location to make it easy for me to take my 4-day diving course. It was a decent accommodation. Some rooms had aircon but mine only had a fan which was enough to keep me slightly cool at night. The climate is very hot and humid and my body was trying to adjust to the climate the entire visit.
Tanna Island
After talking to many people while in Santo, many people said I should go see the volcano on Tanna Island. I heard the volcano erupts every 3-5 minutes and it is very accessible. I had never heard of this experience before and I wanted to go. I visited the local Air Vanuatu office and they gave me a 20% discount on my flight to Tanna since I used Air Vanuatu for my international flight into Vanuatu. After spending a week in Santo, I flew to Tanna via Port Vila!
Tanna Island was devastated by cyclone Pam in 2015 and destroyed pretty much everything. The island is mostly rebuilt now but it lacks any type of modern amenities that westerners are used to having. So be prepared for a rustic visit.
Mount Yasur is certainly the main attraction on Tanna Island and is why most people travel to this remote island. The volcano is the longest, continuously erupting volcano in the world.
Check out my blog for Tanna Island and Mt. Yasur for further information.
And also near the volcano is Resolution Point which is a white sand beach with great coral to snorkel around! Hire a driver and do this as a day trip!
Efate Island – Port Vila
My stay in Port Vila was limited to a couple nights after my visit to Tanna Island. I stayed at the at the Travellers Budget Motel which was about a 15 minute walk from the town center. After many nights with no air conditioning and sweating while sleeping, I was so thankful to have a room with air conditioning. All of my clothes and belongings were damp from the moisture in the air so it was nice to dry everything out.
I used Port Vila as a time to find Wi-Fi, catch up on writing, and to plan my next couple destinations. The hotel told me that the coffee shop named “Number One” along the harbor is a nice spot to work. I looked all around in the heat of the day and couldn’t find the spot. I stopped at the local bank and they told me where it was. I had passed it many times but the name was “Nambawan”! I laughed the entire walk to the outdoor café. The internet was very poor there so I found my way to Chantilly’s on the Bay to work for the rest of the afternoon.
Overall, Vanuatu was an incredible destination. Stunning remote beaches, active volcanos, World War II history, great diving, excellent snorkeling, friendly people and traditional culture. Be prepared to spend some money and be prepared for the humid air. Try to stay in a traditional bungalow a couple nights to experience how the locals live. And try the kava!
Have you visited Vanuatu? It would be great to hear about your experience. Feel free to share your favorite spots below in the comments section.
