Port Vila, Vanuatu: what to do?

[jevvv]

Any suggestions on what sort of things to do that don't involve organised tours or large distances at Port Vila?

 

Favourite things to walk to look at?

Favourite shops to browse?

Beaches in walking distance?

 

Thanks all!

 

-less than 5 weeks now! :)

[Bellamariya]

Any suggestions on what sort of things to do that don't involve organised tours or large distances at Port Vila?

 

Favourite things to walk to look at?

Favourite shops to browse?

Beaches in walking distance?

 

Thanks all!

 

-less than 5 weeks now! :)

 

There are really no long distances when you come to Port Vila, you can drive around this whole island in about 2 1/2 hours.

There is so much to do here but you will only have about 8 hours.

If you don't want to do an organised tour you can hire a bus driver to take you to a few spots (Hideaway Island for snorkelling, Cascades Waterfalls, Blue Lagoon, Eton Beach all come to mind) or even to their village to see how the locals live.

Or hire a quad bike and drive yourself to a few places.

Right in town you can find parasailing, jetboating, jetskis, zego, glass bottom boat, kayaking tours, scuba diving shops, sail and snorkel tours, snuba, cafes and restaurants.

A short distance away you have zorbing, zipline, buggies....really the list is too long to post.

Most shops will be selling knockoffs if you are interested in that sort of thing, The best duty free can be found here with really great prices, Fung Kuei is the most popular place but Paris Shopping and Sound Centre also have their own specials that are worth checking out.

[jevvv]

Thank you for all the info Bellamariya! That is really helpful :) I'm looking forward to visiting Vanuatu, even if it is only for a day in Port Vila and one on Mystery Island :)

[Icecat]

Thanks for the warning regarding the taxi drivers, and Bellamariya thanks for your information

[jkw2765]

There are really no long distances when you come to Port Vila, you can drive around this whole island in about 2 1/2 hours.

There is so much to do here but you will only have about 8 hours.

If you don't want to do an organised tour you can hire a bus driver to take you to a few spots (Hideaway Island for snorkelling, Cascades Waterfalls, Blue Lagoon, Eton Beach all come to mind) or even to their village to see how the locals live.

Or hire a quad bike and drive yourself to a few places.

Right in town you can find parasailing, jetboating, jetskis, zego, glass bottom boat, kayaking tours, scuba diving shops, sail and snorkel tours, snuba, cafes and restaurants.

A short distance away you have zorbing, zipline, buggies....really the list is too long to post.

Most shops will be selling knockoffs if you are interested in that sort of thing, The best duty free can be found here with really great prices, Fung Kuei is the most popular place but Paris Shopping and Sound Centre also have their own specials that are worth checking out.

 

How far is the zorbing and ziplining? Is there a company name or tour operator? Thanks!

[Bellamariya]

How far is the zorbing and ziplining? Is there a company name or tour operator? Thanks!

 

Sorry for the slow reply, for some reason I didn't get a notification :/

 

The zipline company is called Vanuatu Jungle Zipline and you can find them on Facebook or at http://www.vanuatujunglezipline.com

 

The zorbing is called Wet'n'Wild Zorbing Vanuatu and can be found on Facebook or at http://www.vanuatubeachbar.com

 

Hope that helps!

[jkw2765]

Sorry for the slow reply, for some reason I didn't get a notification :/

 

The zipline company is called Vanuatu Jungle Zipline and you can find them on Facebook or at http://www.vanuatujunglezipline.com

 

The zorbing is called Wet'n'Wild Zorbing Vanuatu and can be found on Facebook or at http://www.vanuatubeachbar.com

 

Hope that helps!

 

Thanks so much! Looks fun and is something different!

[mr walker]

Hoping for some advice on our upcoming (Sept) visit to Vila. We are in port 7am to 3pm. We have booked & paid for car hire 11500VT from 'go2rent'. Their agent advises we need to take a taxi or bus to their office - opposite Bon Marche Supermarket - I guess that is well known place. They advise that bus is 150VT pp and the trip is 15mins. Do we need VT to pay or can we use US$ or A$? It is only A$2 or so, right. If we need VT how is best to change money & will we need VT for fuel, drinks etc.

Also any suggestions about what we should see on our day in wonderful Vila?

 

Thanks in advance

 

Neil

[kiwigirl12]

Silly me, just realized that the original poster has long returned from their trip (on the same ship as I sailed on but on a different cruise). However, I'll leave this post here for anyone else who plans on visiting Vila in the near future.

 

I spend one day in Vila back in May and highly recommend Eden on the River's Eco Waterfall Tour. The center is close by, only 30 minutes by car if you wish to drive yourself. We were tempted to book the Mele Cascade Waterfall tour but heard that it was the number one visited attraction in Vila and could get a little busy and over run with bus loads of tourists.

 

The Eco Waterfall Tour was amazing we got to walk through the rainforest (and learned a bit of history, a bit about local life and fauna and flora), go tubing down a secluded private river and swim under a waterfall. The only people we saw were the others in our small group. I was also pleasantly surprised when I climbed out of the river and was handed my own coconut with a straw, to drink. Back at the base/center we were treated to at least 10 types of exotic fruit (grown on the premises).

 

Eden on the River also offer a tour where you can cross suspended bridges over the river and then end the tour with a zip line ride which some of my cruise mates raved about. Our bubbly driver, also did a brilliant job of teaching us about Vanuatu and pointing out various points of interest. :)

Edited August 15, 2014 by kiwigirl12

[jevvv]

Just realised I never updated after our cruise.

 

We ended up walking along Port road past the stalls and haggling drivers, just past the next boat dock and then getting on one of the buses to go the rest of the way into town. It cost us 300VT (for the two of us) and we paid in AU$ as we couldn't get VT before the trip.

 

We had them drop us by the covered market in town and took a stroll through there- really interesting seeing the various locally grown types of food on sale there. Wandered around and popped into a local supermarket for a bottle of water each, again using AU$.

 

Link to Port Vila Markets (the covered food market) http://www.tripadvisor.co.nz/Attraction_Review-g294144-d2343419-Reviews-Port_Vila_Markets-Port_Vila_Efate.html

 

Instead of charging off on various day trips we enjoyed wandering around town, looking around local shops, catching up on some email while having locally grown coffee at Nambawan Cafe, having a really good look through the art & craft market next door.

 

The art & craft market is housed in three thatched open-air ring shaped structures, with various stall holders displaying their goods underneath. Unfortunately I can't find them on Tripadvisor. If you're looking for an Island Dress/Mother Hubbard dress there are lots here, also wood carvings, woven bags etc. The ladies here are much lower-pressure sales than the market on Port Road by the ship.

 

This is what they look like from the waterfront walk https://flic.kr/p/6uYETK

 

Hope this gives you some ideas for just taking your time in town :)

Edited March 13, 2015 by jevvv

[Hlitner]

Those islands are now being slammed by a Cat 5 Hurricane. Besides praying for the safety of the 250,000 plus residents of the islands we hope there is something left for future cruises :(.

 

Hank

[jevvv]

Hopefully since so many people have visited the islands on their cruises many will get behind helping in whatever way is needed to rebuild

[twin123185]

When I was there 2 years ago they were slammed by an earthquake an hour after we left.

[holacanada]

Hope for the best…

So sad !

[twin123185]

Karma has way folks. When we were looking for a place to ride out a cyclone (we were on the Paul Gauguin heading to Papeete from Sydney we anchored in Port Vila, local officials boarded the ship and extorted $5000 from the Captain to stay for the night. They originally tried to get $10,000. Then after we left they had the earthquake. I guess Karma can hit twice.

I feel sorry for the people, not for the government.

[Jacs]

People have died and lost their homes, the whole island has been decimated. I don't think it's appropriate nor in good taste to talk about Karma for the island, regardless of your thoughts on the government. Have some respect and compassion.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, very bad taste. There are world-wide international agreements regarding port fees and they have to be adhered to otherwise there would be chaos.

 

BTW Carnival Australia is donating AU $150,000 to Vanuatu for aid, and RCI is donating $100,000.

 

We are scheduled to go to Mystery Island next week, not sure whether that will be possible or not. Vanuatu needs tourist dollars more than ever now so hopefully we will still get there as long as conditions are safe and tenders are able to dock.

Edited March 16, 2015 by OzKiwiJJ

[Jacs]

I'm so happy carnival and RCI are donating, hopefully other lines that visit there will follow suit. I will be donating to the Red Cross effort and giving supplies if they need them, we had such a wonderful time in Vanuatu and the people are so friendly and giving, my heart breaks for them :(

[Hlitner]

Yes, very bad taste. There are world-wide international agreements regarding port fees and they have to be adhered to otherwise there would be chaos.

 

BTW Carnival Australia is donating AU $150,000 to Vanuatu for aid, and RCI is donating $100,000.

 

We are scheduled to go to Mystery Island next week, not sure whether that will be possible or not. Vanuatu needs tourist dollars more than ever now so hopefully we will still get there as long as conditions are safe and tenders are able to dock.

 

We were just on Mystery Island last spring and enjoyed what was essentially a beach day. Nobody lives on that island and the folks you normally see (including the US Peace Corps worker we met) live nearby on the island of Tanna. Since these islands are in the southern part of the chain they took a huge hit from the storm. The only current info I can find on Tanna (where the Peace Corps has several volunteers) is this news report:

 

"No trees, no foliage, no iron structures standing on the western part of Tanna (island)," Alatoa said. "People are in great need of water."

 

Mystery Island has no real shelter and the few flimsy structures on that island. But much of the narrow interior (you can easily walk the entire island) is taken up with a small airport/runway that actually gets some regional commercial flights (this serves residents of nearby islands).

 

So our assumption is that all the structures on Mystery Island are gone including the area where they dock the tenders. If I were a betting man my money would be on you skipping this port.

 

Hank

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, that's about what I was expecting.

[mpat]

Mystery Island is a port on the cruise I'm doing in September on Holland. Do you think they will skip this port and replace it with a different one?

[jevvv]

That will depend on how long it takes to "tidy up" and if the locals are ready to receive visitors.

[Hlitner]

NBC News (here in the USA) just did a segment (on the evening news) about the island of Tanna. They had a reporter with a local who just got back to Tanna (today) to search for her family. The piece had a happy ending in that the woman's family all survived in a tiny concrete block house. But the pictures showed the island totally devastated with dead and missing. As I said before, this is the island that sends the support staff and vendors over to nearby Mystery Island when there are cruise ships. From the extent of the damage they showed on Tanna it is hard to imagine any cruise ships going back to Mystery Island in the near future. Right now they need food, water, medical help, etc. and not tourists.

 

Hank

[5waldos]

Alhough I completely agree in many ways, the financial gain of a cruise ship stopping is not insignificant. Unfortunately the island itself is almost certainly devastated and there would be little for tourists to see or do. Even the undersea geography will be devestated. I remember the damage done in Belieze after a major hurricane some 10-15 years ago- so muc of the reef was in pieces.

[Hlitner]

Alhough I completely agree in many ways, the financial gain of a cruise ship stopping is not insignificant. Unfortunately the island itself is almost certainly devastated and there would be little for tourists to see or do. Even the undersea geography will be devestated. I remember the damage done in Belieze after a major hurricane some 10-15 years ago- so muc of the reef was in pieces.

 

But there are other mariner issues. A storm that severe can totally change to the topography of the shallow waters where cruise ships anchor. So we would assume the cruise lines will want to wait until the authorities re-survey the local seas and update the charts. And then there is the issue of a tender dock. Although we cannot know the current situation, it would be a miracle if the pier (used for tenders) survived the storm.

 

Hank