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Vanuatu Travel Gallery

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Vanuatu Travel Guide


Port Vila & Efate Island
Port Vila, the capital of Vanuatu, is a small seaside town spread along a peninsula on the south east corner of Efate Island, the central island of Vanuatu. With a population of around 60,000 people, half of which are transient going back and forth between their indigenous islands for short term work, Port Vila is a hub of commerce and trade. Port Vila also has a fantastic natural harbour making it a popular port of call for yachts. The downtown area is set alongside the waterfront with several excellent French influenced restaurants overlooking the water and lively bars. The 24-hr market is one of the livliest in the South Pacific and extends to pleasnt park and handicraft market. Apart from banks, chinese supermarkets, a few boutique shops, a small museum and the offshore Iririki Island Resort, there's not much to keep holidaymakers here for long.

The protected Erakor Lagoon on Port Vila's western flank is the main resort area with a couple of nice beach resorts and island retreats. Sailing in the lagoon is pleasant and there's a few lovely boutique beach resorts with some surfing breaks on the point of the peninsula, about ten minutes drive from downtown.

The south coast of Efate Island has several beautiful white sand beaches with upmarket boutique resorts aimed at couples. The north coast of the island is more traditional with several offshore islands offering day trips. West Efate has tropical mountains and the Cascades Waterfall, the main sightseeing attraction around the island. On the outskirts of Port Vila is Mele Bay, a long black sand beach backed by mountaijns with the country's premier 18-hole golf course. Hideaway island, a popular day outing, lies within Mele Bay and has some of the country's best snorkelling as well as scuba diving sites on the nearby outer reef. Although Efate Island is less traditional than the neighbouring offshore islands, the commercially run Ekasup village centre gives an excellent insight into traditional culture with re-constructed buildings, craft demonstrations and culturasl dances.


Espiritu Santo
Espiritu Santo Island, lying some 270km to the north of Port Vila, is the largest island in Vanuatu. Pekoa Airport, on the outskirts of Luganville Town, is the country's second international airport with direct flights from Australia - tourists visit to enjoy scuba diving, rainforest hikes and island retreats.

The majority of tourists who visit Espiritu Santo are drawn to the superb scuba diving off Luganville. Apart from excellent coral formations on the reefs surrounding Bokissa and the offshore island, the main attraction is the wreck dive SS President Coolidge, a 200-metre long passenger vessel which sank in the Segond Channel off Luganville in 1942 when it was transferring soldiers and supplies during WW11 as the Japanese thretened to invade the islands. Luganville was hurredly set up as an American base and an airfield set up for missions to attack the Japanese force in the Solomon Islands - several fighter planes crashed in the vicinity and can be visited. When WW11 came to an end, the Americans deliberately wrecked their military supplies by dumping them into the sea at Million Dollar point to prevent the British salvaging them for free.

Much of Espiritu Santo is inaccessable covered by rugged mountains and dense rainfotrest. The only road travels from Luganville on the spouth coast up the east coast of the island passing several nice beaches including the most beautiful in Vanuatu, Champagne Beach. There's no accommodation here although there are simple bungalows close by - Cruise Ships usually call in when visiting Vanuatu.


Tanna Island
Tanna Island is home to the world's most accessible volcano - Mt Yassur and almost all tourists arrive to visit this spectacular scene. The volcano is located on the east coast, about a 2-hr drive along a dirt trail from White Grass Airstrip. Tanna Island is a 40-minute flight south of Port Vila making it possible to visit on a day trip from the capital, although the volcano is best seen at dusk when the fiery explosions become all the more visible against a darkening sky thus making an overnight stay beneficial.

Most of the scenery on Tanna is dominated by its volcanic activity. There are only a couple of resorts on the island, both on the west coast which has black volcanic sand beaches and some excellent snorkelling reefs and cabes. There's also several excellent cultural villages to explore on day outings. several traditional bungalows operated by locals can be found on the east coast with a handful of jungle lodges close to the Volcano National Park entrance.


Other Islands
Vanuatu boasts a rich and diverse Melanesian culture which in many of the islands remains as it has done for hundreds of years. Malakula, between Efate and espiritu santo, has the largest indigenous poulation making it a good island to experience traditional culture. The most fascinating islands though are Pentecost, famous for its land divers who perform this fascinatintg ritual between April and June each year; the impressive costume dances of tamtam sculptures of Ambryn Island; and the "big" and "smol" Nambas and the unusual Cargo Cults of Tanna Island.


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