South Pacific Ports- Noumea, Vila etc

I am currently looking at a few South Pacific cruises departing Sydney in December 2015 and would love to hear about peoples experiences, advice and suggestions on the following ports:

-Noumea

-Mare

-Mystery Island

-Isle of Pines

-Santo

-Vila

-Lifou Isle

My boyfriend and I are excited to do and see the most we can do in the small amount of time in each place whether this be eating local food, swimming, snorkelling or just exploring. :)

I've done Noumea, Isle of Pines, Lifou and Villa, it was pouring with rain our Mystery Island day so we stayed on the ship.

Noumea we walked on our own around the town for a bit and went to a museum, it's ok but nothing special. We then did a tour we picked up at the port that went to the cultural center and a general tour of the island. This was our least favorite stop, it's nice enough but compared to the tropical paradise of the other stops it felt pretty commercial.

Isle of Pines hung out on the beach and went snorkeling all day nice coral and lots of fish, and a pretty island. There are a couple of tours you can do but most people just do the beach.

Villa we picked up a tour at the port, had a limo take us and 2 other couples site seeing for the day, we went to Mele Cascades which is amazing, a coffee plantation, a lookout, beach and then duty free shopping (alcohol is so cheap here)

Lifou we spent the day at the beach again, first we walked to the other side of the island to Jinek Bay as the coral is amazing, it costs $15 AU dollars but it's worth it. We then walked back to the beach near the tender point and went snorkeling around there, there are heaps of turtles that swim around you , it's an amazing experience.

Only thing to add is in Noumea, they have a yellow tourist train that you can catch right at the terminal that takes you around the island. It is worth the nominal cost as not that much to do here, plus it is fun

Would recommend being very careful about eating or drinking on these islands as remote with different levels of sanitization. If you stick to the 'open it yourself' adage, whether liquid or food (except for the fresh fish of course) you should be okay. Recommend that the ice be left out of any drinks as we had been told to be very careful about drinking the water on these islands.

We've been to Noumea twice, and while it is very convenient to enjoy a beach day at this port there is also an excellent aquarium -- the Aquarium les Lagons. We've also enjoyed some great food at this port.

Both Mystery Island and the Isle of Pines were beach days for us.

Hi Take Us Away, how much is the yellow tourist train and what currency do you need to use. What time does it run and how long is it for? Thanks

Hi

There are a couple of options for you to do in Santo. The township itself isn't big - a few spots to grab a good meal, a cold drink and to pick up some supplies. There is some snorkelling at a place called Million Dollar Point. It is called this because the military dumped a heap of equipment into the water (a million dollars worth?) at the end of WW2. It is right off the beach so it is really easy to see. It you are into scuba diving, one of the best wreck dives in the world is there as well - the SS Coolidge. If you want to go further a field, there are a number of 'Blue Lagoons' on this island. The Riri lagoon is the closest. For a further trip you could go up to Champagne Beach. It is a beautiful beach on the eastern side of the island. The fresh water springs surrounding the bay bubble up into the water and give it its name ... Like swimming in champagne.