Hi all,

Me and my BF are heading over to Vanuatu in December (booked and paid for so I'm stoked). Its my first time overseas which makes it all the more exciting.

Anyway - anyone been to Vanuatu and have any tips for where to go and what to see. Currently on the agenda is heading to the volcano at Tanna, a day cruise, waterfall abseiling and zorbing.

I know subwayray's heading over there soon, but any thoughts of the place would be great

Zorbing is definitely worth doing! The coffee place nearby has pretty decent coffee too!

The bar on the top level of the casino has a great sunset view and happy hour drinks from 5ish I think!

Mele Cascades are amazing!

If you want to go snorkelling without much fuss, Hideaway Island was good fun... We did this hungover... perfect cure!

One thing, prepare yourself to pay entry to every attraction.

The pubs/clubs in Port Vila are quite fun... The local beer (Tusker) is great!

There's a place on the opposite side of the island from Port Vila that we went to that was just lovely... I'll ask my friends if they can remember!

Awesome thanks mate

Definitely going snorkeling - I think we've booked something already but if not we will. Though I have a giant fear of breathing in water lol

With The cascades, don't wuss out, go all the way to the top (well the base of the water fall) definitely worth it!

Oh and things in Port Vila town and any activities on the island go up in price any time a cruiseship is in (your hotel should be able to tell you when) for the day. I'd suggest planning a day by the pool!

We've got a private plunge pool with our apartment for...fun times at home. Lol

water/shock/dust/snow/travel proof camera for awesome travel snaps no matter where you are!

Vanuatu is great! My partner and I went there a couple of months ago and loved it… we're planning to go back as often as we can. We were looking for a place with a real "South Pacific" feel that was a quick, short flight from Brisbane for a mid-winter escape. Vanuatu delivered exactly what we were were after.

A couple of good restaurants are La Tentation on Port Vila's waterfront and Vila Chaumieres, a short taxi ride just outside town. Most restaurants in Vanuatu seem to be owned by expats (mainly Australians and Kiwis, as well as some French.) Restaurant prices are similar to Australia. Vanuatu's not really a place to go for good, cheap, interesting food like, say, Southeast Asia.

If you're in Port Vila in the late afternoon, might be worth catching the free ferry to Iririki Island Resort for some sunset drinks. If you're not staying at the resort they charge you a few bucks for a day pass, but you get a drinks voucher for the same amount, so if you buy a couple of drinks it's effectively free to visit the island. Nice place to watch the sunset.

We rented a car and drove around - takes about 2.5-3 hours to drive around Efate. The round-island road is in excellent condition with very little traffic, unlike Port Vila town where the roads are in dismal condition. There are some stunning beaches around the island. Eton Beach is good, maybe 45 minutes from Vila on the southeast coast.

The abseiling at Mele Falls should be amazing.

We stayed at the Havannah on the north coast. Not sure where's you're staying on the island, but as you've said it has a plunge pool I'm guessing possibly Mangoes Resort, The Havannah or Eratap…?

Anyway, hope it's a great trip!

Yeah were staying at mangos in Port Villa and the White grass beach resort on Tanna.

Cheers for the food tips - sounds good to me as I'm a picky prick to eat with so ex-pats works for me

We were originally going to stay at iririki but went for mangoes as it ended up cheaper, but i reckon those sunset drinks sound pretty good - so might pop over for that

I guess another question is what's shopping like there? I'm not expecting cheap (plus I hate shopping so i'll be aiming for the quickest trip in and out as possible) but reasonable or expensive?

And ya icky. I need to invest in a camera. I sorta have to as well because I constantly bitch to the other half we don't have any nice pictures together

look into the panasonic lumix range. they are more rugged than george clooney!

the shopping is pretty basic, there aren't many "authentic" souvenirs. There is a permanent market type thing in town and a few shops which you can get t-shirts and knick knack type things! At worst there is a shop at the airport which you can spend the last of your Vatu at!

Enjoy!

I'm heading over in 2 weeks time! Can't wait! Will be staying at Lonnoc Beach up in the northern islands of Vanuatu in a bungalow away from any of the major towns for the first week and then we will head down to Villa for the 2nd week to check out the southern end Hopefully we will meet some locals and will fill you in on any local knowledge we get and even put you in contact with them for your trip

Cheers ray Hope your trip is awesome fun and travel safely!

Off on Sunday - pics to come. (so excited...also freaking out lol)

I spent 10 minutes walking to the gym today and got burnt to a crisp, so I'm going to fry over there.

Big thanks to subwayray for the tips though for what to do

Wow! It's come around so quickly You're going to have an amazing time over there and the people are awesome! I can't wait to go back