City: Vanuatu
Top Things to do in Vanuatu
Things to do in Vanuatu, Vanuatu: The Best Sights & Landmarks
Vanuatu (English: /ˌvɑːnuˈɑːtuː/ ( listen) VAH-noo-AH-too or /vænˈwɑːtuː/ van-WAH-too; Bislama, French IPA: [vanuatu]), officially the Republic of Vanuatu (French: République de Vanuatu, Bislama: Ripablik blong Vanuatu), is a Pacific island nation located in the South Pacific Ocean. The archipelago, which is of volcanic origin, is 1,750 kilometres (1,090 mi) east of northern Australia, 540 kilometres (340 mi) northeast of New Caledonia, east of New Guinea, southeast of the Solomon Islands, and west of Fiji.
Restaurants in Vanuatu
1. SS President Coolidge
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 383 reviews
Reviewed By S897LVdavidp - Honiara, Solomon Islands
Dived with Coral Quays Resort, they've got an awesome dive operation and setup, the equipment and guides are all top-notch, and safety is their first priority. The wreck itself - wow! So much to explore, I did 23 dives in one trip, and still didn't see most of it! Highlights were the night dive with the flashlight fish, and Tom's magical mystery tour down the back end of the wreck. I'll be back there again as soon as I can!
2. Magical Water Music Experience
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 78 reviews
Reviewed By SKSJSS
This is a must do - Sandy is very informative and very passionate about keeping their island culture alive and it was so wonderful to interact with the ladies, children and men of the village. The ladies made us feel so welcome and easily communicated their history and day to day life with us
3. Freshwater Plantation
Overall Ratings
5.0 based on 113 reviews
A unique interpretive experience of a working cocoa plantation incorporating the Aore Island Bat Cave on the 300 acre property in the Segund Channel. Just a short boat ride from Santo mainland and a few minutes out of Luganville, Freshwater welcomes guests to stay on the plantation (see www.freshwater.vu for details) or visit for the day to relax, swim and snorkel and dine in our restaurant. Daily guided tours of the plantation are conducted every day in the morning and afternoon and suitable for all ages, and fitness levels. We are open for breakfast, lunch and dinner and host events such as Thirsty Thursday happy hours and Sunday afternoon buffet with live entertainment. Don't miss this highly recommended day out during your visit to Santo.
Reviewed By sue_marieUk - York, United Kingdom
From the beginning (catching the free ferry from St Michel Landing) to finishing with lunch, snorkelling and the ferry back this was a wonderful trip. Jack was my excellent guide and he pointed out various plants, insects, fruits and trees, plus told some local folklore tales as we walked around the plantation. I personally loved everything about the bat cave but it might not suit everyone and you can easily miss out this part of the walk if you don’t like the thought of all the batS overhead and cockroaches underfoot! Lunch after the tour was superb and great value. I had the Tuluk entree followed by Death by Chocolate - both dishes were by far the best food I’ve had since coming to Vanuatu ten days ago. For the tour, my advice is to wear sturdy shoes if you have them, and take drinking water. Put some mozzie spray on before setting off. Hand sanitiser might be good, although it’s provided at the bat cave. After lunch, I went snorkelling in the crystal clear water and saw the most beautiful fish without ever getting out of my depth. Take reef shoes. Magical. I can’t recommend the Freshwater Plantation enough!
4. Million Dollar Point
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 78 reviews
This incredible dive site was created when Americans dumped millions of dollars worth of equipment at the end of the war.
Reviewed By lucas315 - Wellington, New Zealand
This is such a cool experience, just pop into the water (start swimming right away or wear water shoes) and see boats, forklifts, and other stuff from the end of WWII dumped right off the beach. It was 500 Vatu pp, and there were bathrooms and picnic tables. Although just a 5 minute walk along the beach to the right is Million Dollar Resort- where there is free access to the beach, a restaurant, and beautiful bungalow accommodation.
5. Yakel Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 53 reviews
Reviewed By greg_wanders - Auckland Central, New Zealand
I think the interaction at Yakel would compete with one of the top experiences in Vanuatu, keeping in mind you can also stand at the rim of an active Volcano. On our second day in Tanna we booked a day tour to Yakel village through are accommodation at Whitegrass. There is practically no other way to get there. It was 8000Vatu for the day tour, 1 hr drive from the airport. The small village of 800 people deep in the forests of central Tanna is home to one of the last tribal societies of the South Pacific where the ''Kastom'' way of life is still alive and thriving. Kastom is a pidgin word (Bislama/English) used to refer to traditional culture including religion, economics, art and magic in Melanesia. In cultures where language is unwritten, oral traditions of the kastom way of life, have been faithfully passed down from generation to generation. Charlie, one of the few members of the tribe to speak English,’took us around and showed us their simple way of life. The experience was very informative and eye opening and in all respects authentic. He showed us the tree house, their kitchen and introduced us to different members of the tribe. You can add a walk to the waterfall at an extra charge. At the end of the tour the tribe gathers around in the clearing in the forest to perform three of their traditional dances and you are free to buy a few handmade souvenirs from the women. I would recommend this while you are on Tanna Island , it could possibly be done on the same day with the mt Yasur tour as those do start in the afternoon. In total the trip to Yakel took about 4 hours including the drive.
6. Ekasup Village
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 393 reviews
Reviewed By shanem45 - Toowoomba, Australia
Had a great time at Ekasup Village. I have been to Port Vila many times but had never been here as I was expecting the usual tacky tourist trap type of place. However, my wife and I were here this time with her parents and we thought that they would enjoy it so we took them never expecting to enjoy it ourselves. However, we were pleasantly surprised. Our tour guide, C4 (not spelt correctly but he did say it was pronounced like the explosive :-) ) was fantastic. A great command of the English language and a very funny speaker. He made the visit very enjoyable. More than that though, while the village itself is an actual 500 strong village with modern facilities like a church and a school etc. the area where they do the tour is set out in the style of before European arrival and some of the villagers dress up and act out the life of a villager in those times. For example, they ambushed us from the jungle with traditional weapons before the chief welcomes us into the village and we then learnt about traditional hunting, cooking and handicraft as well as general village life. It certainly was well worth the price of admission. We learnt a bit and had fun doing it. Would take others there again who hadn’t been to Vanuatu before as a great way to learn about their culture.
7. Giant Banyan Tree
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 58 reviews
Reviewed By 529JohnH529 - Christchurch, New Zealand
If you think you're not going to be interested in a big tree, think again! We appreciated that our guide allowed us time to wander in and out among the 200 square metres of roots and branches of this enormous tree and even demonstrated (in flipflops!) how he climbed among the branches as a child. The visit is also well worth it for the insight into local village life and the field crops.
8. Rarru Cascades
Overall Ratings
4.5 based on 159 reviews
Reviewed By BekB146 - Brisbane, Australia
We hired a taxi and did a day trip involving the cascades, the turtle bay sanctuary and Blue Lagoon. The Rarru cascades were easily our favourite part of the day. We were lucky with some heavy rain in the days prior resulting in beautiful clear running water which was pristine to swim in. Loads of fun jumping from landings and rope swings. Inflatable tubes to float along in. Looked like something out of a rainforest dream!
9. Underwater Post Office
Overall Ratings
4.0 based on 519 reviews
The world’s only underwater post office lets you buy a waterproof postcard on land, fill it out and dive into the ocean to mail it, and you don't even need diving experience.
Reviewed By Deborahgamble
Hubby went snorkeling , beautiful clear waters , he posted a couple of post cards, beautiful place to relax , grab a feed from Island shop... people were friendly. Would recommend this beautiful Island for a day trip or even book accomodation.
