Breathtaking volcanic landscapes and lush rainforests for exploring, beaches for sunbathing, shipwrecks for diving, and colorful Melanesian indigenous cultures to admire, the South Pacific islands of Vanuatu offer something for everyone. All this makes Vanuatu a tropical paradise on earth for anyone looking for an exotic island holiday under the tropical Pacific Ocean sun.
Nature and sports. Vanuatu is a very suitable place for a refreshing beach holiday, and a water sports haven offering excellent facilities for diving in Vanuatu, as well as for activities like kayaking, yachting and surfing in Vanuatu. Opportunities for hiking in Vanuatu are also enjoyable. If you like adventurous hikes, go to the volcanic island of Tanna, where you can stand on the border of an active volcano, admiring the fireworks and the dangerous play of earth beneath your feet. Talking of danger and adventure, also bungee jumping is popular is Vanuatu, which is said to be the place where this adrenaline-filled activity originally comes from.
Native culture. Vanuatu is known for the colorful culture of the indigenous Melanesian tribes living on the islands. The culture of the islands varies depending on area, but most of the tribes are familiar with ceremonial rituals and colorful dressing that is a subject of admiration for many foreign visitors. Be prepared also to meet and respect “kastoms”, which are all kinds of traditional customs and taboos demanding a certain kind of behavior.
Getting there. Vanuatu is reachable by air via Port Vila International Airport, which receives flights to Vanuatu from locations like Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji. Additionally, you can visit Vanuatu on a cruising ship through one of Vanuatu's two main ports, Port Vila or Luganville. Given the mountainous nature of the islands, Vanuatu is not much of a destination for touring with a car. If you want to do some island hopping, local ferries offer good possibilities for this.
Beaches and traditional cultures: Attractions of Vanuatu
An archipelago consisting of 83 islands, Vanuatu is a diverse collection of mountainous islands scattered in the Western South Pacific Ocean. With their volcanic, hilly inland, active volcanoes, evergreen rainforests and narrow coastal plains, these islands are a natural paradise of their own.Nature and sports. Vanuatu is a very suitable place for a refreshing beach holiday, and a water sports haven offering excellent facilities for diving in Vanuatu, as well as for activities like kayaking, yachting and surfing in Vanuatu. Opportunities for hiking in Vanuatu are also enjoyable. If you like adventurous hikes, go to the volcanic island of Tanna, where you can stand on the border of an active volcano, admiring the fireworks and the dangerous play of earth beneath your feet. Talking of danger and adventure, also bungee jumping is popular is Vanuatu, which is said to be the place where this adrenaline-filled activity originally comes from.
Native culture. Vanuatu is known for the colorful culture of the indigenous Melanesian tribes living on the islands. The culture of the islands varies depending on area, but most of the tribes are familiar with ceremonial rituals and colorful dressing that is a subject of admiration for many foreign visitors. Be prepared also to meet and respect “kastoms”, which are all kinds of traditional customs and taboos demanding a certain kind of behavior.
Practical information for your trip to Vanuatu
Weather in Vanuatu is tropically warm with steady 30 degrees Celsius temperatures available throughout the year. The best time to travel to Vanuatu is between May and October, when it rains much less than during the rainy period from November to April. During the wet period also occasional cyclones might disturb your holiday.Getting there. Vanuatu is reachable by air via Port Vila International Airport, which receives flights to Vanuatu from locations like Australia, New Zealand, New Caledonia and Fiji. Additionally, you can visit Vanuatu on a cruising ship through one of Vanuatu's two main ports, Port Vila or Luganville. Given the mountainous nature of the islands, Vanuatu is not much of a destination for touring with a car. If you want to do some island hopping, local ferries offer good possibilities for this.
Photo: PhillipC, used under Creative Commons License (By 2.0)
For getting around on the islands, you might want to use buses inside the towns of Port Vila and Luganville, or motorboats for exploring the shores, but otherwise your own two feet will often be enough for transportation on the islands of Vanuatu.
Visitor services. A relatively unknown but increasingly popular tourism destination among Australians and New Zealanders, Vanuatu hosts enjoyable tourist services with quality hotels in Vanuatu as well as hospitable restaurants in Vanuatu available. Most of the accommodation facilities as well as shopping in Vanuatu is concentrated around Port Vila on Efate Island and Luganville on Santo Island, Vanuatu's only towns. These two towns are also the only places in Vanuatu where you can find some nightlife in the otherwise quiet Vanuatu.
Safety. Vanuatu is a safe destination where you are unlikely to end in any kind of problems with local people. However, you should know that occasional cyclones sometimes cause problems in Vanuatu during the period from December to April. Other possible threats caused by natural conditions are occasional earthquakes and the few poisonous marine animals living in the coastal waters around Vanuatu.
Melanesian tradition touched by the British and the French: Vanuatu's history in brief
Inhabited by a rich variety of Melanesian tribes for thousands of years, the first European explorers visited Vanuatu in the 1600s and 1700s, naming the islands New Hebrides. At this time, the islands were used as a labor reserve for plantations elsewhere in the Pacific.British and French immigrants settled into Vanuatu's 83 islands in the 19th century, which eventually led into a Anglo-French joint administration of the islands. Vanuatu gained independence in 1980. In this occasion the islands formerly known as New Hebrides also got a new name, Vanuatu. Today, Vanuatu largely remains a traditional society with small villages and many local languages.
