What is there to do and see? - South Pacific

Noumea, Mare, Isle of Pines and Port Vila.

Spending one day on each island.

I have heard you can hire quad bikes and/or buggies to tour islands yourself, but not sure what islands specifically this applies to.

What is a MUST SEE on each island?

What is a DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME on each island, if any?

Is it better to book through the cruise for tours, or hire a vehicle and go off on your own?

Any other input, I greatly appreciate.

Travel date: March 26th 2016 - April 6th 2016

Carnival Legend, departing Sydney AUS.

Thanks in advance, everyone :)

Noumea, Mare, Isle of Pines and Port Vila.

 

Spending one day on each island.

 

I have heard you can hire quad bikes and/or buggies to tour islands yourself, but not sure what islands specifically this applies to.

 

What is a MUST SEE on each island?

 

What is a DON'T WASTE YOUR TIME on each island, if any?

 

Is it better to book through the cruise for tours, or hire a vehicle and go off on your own?

 

Any other input, I greatly appreciate.

 

Travel date: March 26th 2016 - April 6th 2016

Carnival Legend, departing Sydney AUS.

 

Thanks in advance, everyone :)

First off, welcome to Cruise Critic. Best place to find out about cruising, ports of call, etc.

Noumea: Many people will tell you they do not like Noumea because it is a city. But we like it. We like to immerse ourselves in the local feel of a place so we walk to the town area and look in the shops that the locals shop at. There is also a number of things you can do there - Chou Chou train, hop on hop off bus, various beaches that can be visited. No doubt there are other snorkeling/diving excursions available.

Isle of Pines: In my opinion, the most beautiful beach in the South Pacific. This spot is beautiful and has ideal swimming options. Even if you are not a swimmer, a sit in the warm water is wonderful. There are a few excursions to do but have never done any.

Vila: This is a nice town, but not as modern as Noumea. There are a number of excursions to do - village visit, waterfalls etc. There is good duty free shopping here. As well as lots of local markets etc.

Mare: Haven't been there yet so can't comment.

Booking through ship or private tours? As you have not been to any of these places (unless you are travelling with experienced cruisers) I would recommend taking ship tours. As you become more experienced, you may feel more comfortable doing self tours. One big thing to remember - if you are on a ship tour and the tour is late getting back to the ship, the ship will wait for you. There is no guarantee the ship will still be sitting there when you arrive back late from a self/private tour. Ship tours are generally more expensive than private tours, but consider it the insurance premium you pay for getting back on board.

Feel free to ask lots of questions - that what this site is all about. Check out some of the other threads - Australia and New Zealand Cruisers. Also find the Roll Call for your cruise. This way you will get to know some of the other people who will be sailing with you. (And maybe someone will be organizing private tours on your roll call).

Hi!

We have recently visited three of the above with Carnival. One of my biggest tips is to look for private tours where possible. We did, and got longer tours in smaller groups, for less cost. We were initially concerned about not making it back to the ship on time, but we were assured by both of our private tour companies that they have never been late back, their businesses rely on their reputation, and we chose according to high numbers of excellent reviews online. I won't mention the company names, but they are easily found.

Noumea - my second visit, but the first for all I was cruising with. I like Noumea. This time we took a private tour to Escapade Island. They picked us up from the Cruise Terminal, took us for a tour of Noumea, and then to the markets. We got some shopping time before boarding a ferry to Escapade Island which was a resort. We had a big lunch in the restaurant there, before having the afternoon to swim. The kids loved it. They got to snorkel and swim with Sea Turtles. The fish were amazing. We caught the ferry back and then were transported back to the ship. It was a full day out, and cheaper than the ships tours.

Mare - Carnival ran a few tours here. We paid for the transport to Yejele Beach. This is a must do in our opinion. It has some of the best swimming and snorkelling of all the islands. It is accessible easily from the beach, so the inexperienced among us were able to enjoy it too.

Port Vila - Another one we chose a private tour for. We loved this one most of all. We did a tour which included a cultural village visit. This alone was worth the cost. We learned a lot about their hunting and food gathering. They danced and fire walked for us. After leaving this we also visited the Blue Lagoon for a swim and snack. This is a popular destination and was busy, but afterwards we were taken to a river on private land, where our group of seven and our guides were the only ones in this beautiful, untouched river. Amazing! We had a private lunch at another resort, where we could also use the resorts pool while waiting. Then we were taken Duty Free Shopping before returning to the Ship. Our guide was the best we could have asked for. He was so full of knowledge and so easy to talk to. It was like being with family. The three children in our party loved him and were sad to leave him at the end of the day.

I have not been to Isle of Pines yet, but it is on my list of places to visit!

We are still in the process of sorting well over 1000 photos, so I can't share any yet. I am more than happy to answer any questions though. We are already looking forward to our next adventures!

Hi Foxlins!

My family and I will be on Noumea and Port Vila in April, wondering if you could pm me the name of the private tour operators you used for these 2 ports?

Some of the "easily found" tours won't work with the times we are in port so was hoping for some alternatives that would work.

Thanks so much for the info, sounds like you all had a great time!

Hi!

 

We have recently visited three of the above with Carnival. One of my biggest tips is to look for private tours where possible. We did, and got longer tours in smaller groups, for less cost. We were initially concerned about not making it back to the ship on time, but we were assured by both of our private tour companies that they have never been late back, their businesses rely on their reputation, and we chose according to high numbers of excellent reviews online. I won't mention the company names, but they are easily found.

 

Noumea - my second visit, but the first for all I was cruising with. I like Noumea. This time we took a private tour to Escapade Island. They picked us up from the Cruise Terminal, took us for a tour of Noumea, and then to the markets. We got some shopping time before boarding a ferry to Escapade Island which was a resort. We had a big lunch in the restaurant there, before having the afternoon to swim. The kids loved it. They got to snorkel and swim with Sea Turtles. The fish were amazing. We caught the ferry back and then were transported back to the ship. It was a full day out, and cheaper than the ships tours.

 

Mare - Carnival ran a few tours here. We paid for the transport to Yejele Beach. This is a must do in our opinion. It has some of the best swimming and snorkelling of all the islands. It is accessible easily from the beach, so the inexperienced among us were able to enjoy it too.

 

Port Vila - Another one we chose a private tour for. We loved this one most of all. We did a tour which included a cultural village visit. This alone was worth the cost. We learned a lot about their hunting and food gathering. They danced and fire walked for us. After leaving this we also visited the Blue Lagoon for a swim and snack. This is a popular destination and was busy, but afterwards we were taken to a river on private land, where our group of seven and our guides were the only ones in this beautiful, untouched river. Amazing! We had a private lunch at another resort, where we could also use the resorts pool while waiting. Then we were taken Duty Free Shopping before returning to the Ship. Our guide was the best we could have asked for. He was so full of knowledge and so easy to talk to. It was like being with family. The three children in our party loved him and were sad to leave him at the end of the day.

 

I have not been to Isle of Pines yet, but it is on my list of places to visit!

 

We are still in the process of sorting well over 1000 photos, so I can't share any yet. I am more than happy to answer any questions though. We are already looking forward to our next adventures!

Hi Foxlins,

I also would love to know which tour operator you used for Port Vila as that sounds exactly like the tour I would like to do.

Thank in advance of your response

Gail x

We have been to all these places and this is what we did as a family of 2 and 2 (4-9years)

Port Vila x 2 visits. 1st visit we grabbed a taxi for the day $100. We asked to go to Cascade Waterfalls. Once there he said I will wait for you. We told him not to just to come back in 2 hours. I felt bad making him wait! He was there waiting for us when we got back. Then we went to Hideaway Island for some great snorkelling. Again he left us for 2 hours and came back to collect. Finally he let us off in town so we could walk around and had an agreed meeting time and place. He never showed (we hadn't paid him yet) and about 10mins later another taxi came and said "are you XXX, I have Melaki on the phone for you" As it turned out his van broke down and asked his friend to get us. We asked about the money and he said please give it to the new driver. We had a great day and wouldn't hesitate to do it again.

2nd visit we grabbed a taxi into town and then on the ferry to Iririkki Island. A beautiful island visit and better yet, your ferry fare becomes credit to spend at the bar for lunch!

Mare: Do the bus ride to Yelejede Beach (spelling!!) such a beautiful beach and great snorkeling.

Isle of Pines: get off the boat, turn left and go to the little beach on the right of the main beach (makes no sense now, but it will!) There is a rock in the middle at low tide you can walk to it. So many fish and great snorkeling again. My husband later on caught a bus to the Natural Aquarium, I think it was $20?? He said it was fantastic.

Noumea x 3visits: 1st visit: Used the Hop on/Off bus that included an hour tour first, then got off at Lemon Bay for snorkeling and beach day.

2nd visit: Used Gateway Tours (Alfred runs the company), just google it. We went to Escapade Island as described above. FANTASTIC and well run. Highly recommend.

3rd visit: Hop on/off bus again. Went to the aquarium and the beach across the road.

When we return in October we will catch a taxi to the ferry jetty and go across to Duck Island for the day.

Love Noumea!

My sister and I are going to be in Vila and Noumea in April as well! We're heading over on Legend of the Seas, also stopping at Mystery Island.

Having read other comments on here and on Trip Advisor, we're leaning towards private tours/self exploration..

In Vila we'd love to do the Cascade Waterfalls and the secret gardens/cultural centre, and I think the aquarium in Noumea looks amazing..

We had a great day in Vila with our older teenagers. We did the Mele Cascades, which was crowded, but then went back into town and did the Zego rides on the waterfront. So much fun. We each had our own Zego (similar to a jetski) and zoomed around the bay and around our docked ship, and we could jump into the water for a swim and then continue. We had a guide with us. Just near the Zegos we found parasailing, which was fantastic, the view of our ship from the parachute was brilliant. Such a fun day.

We booked the Zegos before we left home, as they book out. Parasailing we just walked up and decided to go for it. Just google Zego and Port Vila and you'll find it. Called Zego Safari or something similar.