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I found myself in Port Vila on my first long-distance trip after the pandemic. I actually meant to go to Australia when international borders re-opened, but changes in the eTA process for Malaysians forced me to change those plans at the last minute. And although I chose Australia in the first place because I was wary of flight transits when air travel was still somewhat in chaos, I changed my mind when faced with the eTA setback. I decided, the universe didn’t want me to be such a coward. Was I, or was I not, a seasoned traveller?
Looking at nearby countries with direct flights from the Australian east coast, I noticed Vanuatu. I remembered hosting an Australian teacher once, who told me about a place off the beach in Espiritu Santo where US troops dumped all their WW2 equipment. Apparently, you could snorkel and dive to see it. So I thought, well, maybe Vanuatu would appreciate the tourism more anyway, and booked the onward flight to Port Vila.
I had my must-see spot in Espiritu Santo, but I didn’t know much else about Vanuatu. There was just enough time before my trip to do a bit of research – enough to discover that even this small country had many more things to see than I had time for. It was French Polynesia all over again.
For a more comprehensive overview on travelling to Vanuatu and all its main islands, see this summary guide at We Will Nomad. For a summary description of how to get around between Vanuatu islands, see my Travel Sustainably article on Vanuatu.
This article describes what I think are worth seeing in Port Vila and Efate, and how to see them. It covers things to do in Port Vila that I did myself, as well as those I considered but ultimately didn’t go for. Prices mentioned are true for 2022 unless otherwise stated.
Arriving in Port Vila
Port Vila is the capital of Vanuatu, and it is on the island of Efate. It is not on Espiritu Santo, which is a larger island towards the north of the Vanuatu archipelago. Time constraints limited me to two locations, and one of them had to be Espiritu Santo. But since I had to fly into Port Vila anyway, I figured one of my two locations should be Efate itself.
The Air Vanuatu flight was surprisingly on time from Australia, not that there were any indications at Sydney that there was even going to be a flight. Were it not for a couple of elderly airport staff who found out where the gate was through manually calling other staff whom they knew personally, I might not have made it. As much as I am a proponent of digitalisation and streamlined processes, I am also someone who believes in keeping the backup plan of valuing actual people who know what they’re doing, and the post-pandemic travel recovery period had plenty of examples for why.
Arriving along with other tourists (mainly from Australia) and Vanuatu locals who seemed to be working as labourers in Australia from the construction gear, we passed through Port Vila’s small but fairly efficient airport that reminded me of Fua’amotu.
I paid 3000vt (about RM100) for a local Digicel SIM card with 14 days of data, and got an airport taxi to Moorings Hotel for 1500vt. The taxi driver was intrigued to learn that I came from Malaysia. We compared our geography; he told me Vanuatu only had a population of 300,000, but it was ‘growing fast’. I had to resort to the internet to reply that Malaysia is at 32 million.
Where to stay in Port Vila
Depending on the type of holiday you’re having on Efate, you might choose to stay where the activity is. For example, you might want a beach vacation, and choose a beach resort. Or you want to do a dive holiday, and choose a location like Tranquility Island.
However, if you are staying in Port Vila itself, the best location to stay in depends on whether you want to be inside the city or on its outskirts. If you’re driving a car, it almost doesn’t matter, because it’s not a big place. You can drive from one place to another quite easily. To be honest, even if you stay at the outskirts, it’s still walkable from most locations to the city centre, it’s only a matter of how much walking you want to do.
The guide referenced above has an overview of accommodation suggestions. I myself considered staying at The Melanesian, but eventually decided on Moorings, which is on the north part of Port Vila and outside the city proper. I felt more peace of mind being nearer the airport, plus I thought it should be more convenient for tour pick-ups to other locations on Efate. Indeed, I was last to be picked up on the Lelepa Island tour, which meant I didn’t have such an early morning.
If you do opt for Moorings, though, bear in mind that it’s next to Banyan Bar. If you’re not joining the party and want quiet nights, make sure to book a poolside room, or rooms in the newer multi-storey building on the far side.
Where to go in Port Vila
Whether Port Vila itself has noteworthy things to see is a fair question. Vanuatu is a small country, with a small population distributed across 65 islands. Although it hosts the capital, less than a quarter of this small population lives on the island of Efate. Unsurprisingly, Port Vila is a modest capital, with low-lying, low profile government buildings, and residential homes no further than 10 minutes’ walk from the parliament building.
Port Vila is probably the first capital city I’ve visited that comes across as though it is located within a village. Although I’ve been made aware that local Vanuatu people are increasingly finding it unaffordable to buy land in the city, if you already live there, it feels like you could just walk over to your government representatives.
The homes themselves are extremely humble. But the gardens are usually overflowing with food, from the proliferation of bananas, to thick stands of yams, and mangoes hanging heavy from the tall branches that lean over hibiscus hedges. Somewhere, you could even hear a cock crowing.
Notwithstanding this simplicity, there are a few places that I think are worth visiting in Port Vila. Although you could theoretically do them all in one day, you need to time your visit correctly if you want to see a sandroing demonstration while at the national museum.
1. Vanuatu National Museum
Unless you have no interest at all in culture, the Vanuatu National Museum is a must-see. Located opposite the Vanuatu Parliament, it was the first museum of Melanesian culture that I’ve visited. Though the collection focused on just Vanuatu, it already floored me. Despite being a country of only a bit over 300k people, Vanuatu is incredibly diverse, which is reflected in the 100+ languages spoken across its islands, giving it the highest per capita language density in the world.
The museum exhibits can be a bit difficult to follow, as there is a lot of context you probably can’t fully infer from the materials and labels. Therefore, I strongly encourage getting the ticket that comes with a museum guide.
The museum is also where you go to see a sandroing demonstration, an indigenous art recognised by UNESCO as an Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity. My earlier article elaborates more on the museum and the sandroing demonstration.
2. Port Vila Mama’s Market
The focal point of activity in Port Vila is the market, locally referred to as a ‘Mama’s Market‘ because the sellers are typically local women, i.e. the mothers. It is an excellent place for fresh produce and garden plants.
This is also where you go if you want to have local Vanuatu food. While there are many restaurants in Port Vila, including Asian cuisine like Thai^ and Vietnamese food, there was surprisingly none for Vanuatu cuisine, nor do any of the national dishes appear in other restaurant menus. But you can find it in the market’s food court section. Just go to one of the cooking stations and ask for a portion.
I didn’t try the food court in Port Vila so I don’t know how much a meal is. But if it’s the same as in Espiritu Santo, there might be separate prices for locals vs foreigners. The standard foreigner price in Santo was 1000vt vs 350vt for locals. That said, bear in mind that you’d be paying something like 1500-3000vt for a meal at restaurants. And while local produce is cheap, bear in mind that chicken was like 600vt a kilo (~RM23) even at a supermarket outside the city.
Around the market, there are clothing stores where you can shop for bright Pacific textiles. There are many seamstresses, so you could also buy finished clothing or get one tailored. However, this is not the market for traditional crafts. That would be the handicraft market to the north across Feiawa Park. More on that below.
3. Feiawa Park
Feiawa Park is a little park in between the handicraft market to the north and the Mama’s Market to the south. The reason I felt this park is noteworthy is because of the sculptural installations there. There are four of them: two busts, a sculpture, and a totem-like carving that I don’t know the name of.
The first bust was of the first Prime Minister of Vanuatu, who was apparently a priest: Father Walter Lini. The other bust was of Vice Admiral Golovnin, contributed by a local Russian art collector to commemorate 200 years of contact between Russia and Vanuatu. The final installation was from South Korea, related to water resource management challenges in Vanuatu.
4. Independence Park
The other noteworthy park is a little bit inland, across two streets. Independence Park is a spacious grass field that seems intended for sports. But there were two things I found interesting there.
The more obvious one is a statue of Vanuatu’s coat-of-arms, which was relatively new at the time. It is right next to the spectator building at the far end of the field.
The other lies in a clearing next to the field, which seemed to be a memorial for Vanua’aku* Party, on the occasion of Vanuatu’s 10th year of independence. The Vanua’aku Party was the party that fought for Vanuatu’s independence. Dated 1990, the memorial underscores just how young a country Vanuatu is, as it only achieved its sovereignty in 1980. However, the memorial seemed obscure, and perhaps it points to the turbulent Vanuatu politics since.
What to buy in Port Vila
One great thing about capital cities, is that it is a good one-stop place for souvenir shopping. What Vanuatu souvenirs should you get from Port Vila (aside from the usual things like fridge magnets)?
Pro tip: Try not to do your shopping when a cruise ship is in. The difference between a cruise ship day and a regular day is remarkable. The town is suddenly full of people and no wonder; the cruise ship that came in while I was there had 4,000 passengers.
Handicrafts and artwork
Vanuatu handicrafts are similar to those you might find across the Pacific and Southeast Asia. Main items include woven housewares and baskets, carved wooden statuettes, and jewellery from natural items. The main place to get these is Haos Blong Handikraft (Handicraft House in the local language Bislama). This market is located on the northern end of Feiawa Park. According to the tourism website advice, bargaining is not a thing in Vanuatu and considered rude.
However, if you plan to go on a cultural tour, you might want to wait until after you check out the handicrafts at those villages first, because you might like them better.
There are also a few art galleries in Port Vila, with interesting art pieces that you might want to check out.
Organic Paradise products
If you like getting edible souvenirs, my Vanuatu suggestions are vanilla, chocolate, and coffee. Also spices, if you’re not from a country that already has lots of spices. You can get fresh vanilla in Vanuatu. There are local Vanuatu chocolate brands that make chocolate from cocoa grown from islands across the country. And if you like coffee, be sure to get some Tanna coffee, grown on the island’s volcanic soil.
To save you the trouble of shopping around for these things separately, you could go to an Organic Paradise store. They have a store at the Chantilly’s on the Bay, which is conveniently next to where I was staying, and how I discovered it. They also have a store at the airport departure, for last minute purchases. Check out their Facebook Page for other souvenir ideas.
How to get around Efate Island
The easy way of getting around Efate is by driving. If you rent a car, note that fuel can be expensive. At the time of my visit, petrol was the equivalent of RM7.70 a litre.
You could also hire a taxi from your hotel reception for day outings around the island, or just go on a group tour. There should be many tour brochures at the hotel (more on that below). Taxis for trips within city boundaries should cost 500vt.
If you’re tired of walking to Port Vila, or just want to pop over to the places near the capital, you could also take the bus. The bus is actually a van, which is distinguishable because the license plate starts with ‘B’. Despite the lack of published time tables, it’s actually not that complicated, because it only has one route that goes all around the city, and the buses are reasonably frequent. There are bus stops, but you can also just flag them down. The driver tells you the fare for where you want to go. A one-way journey to the city or back is a flat rate of 150vt.
As with most countries, you could also take the bus from the airport instead of the taxi. However, you’ll need to walk out to the main road to flag one down. Personally, I usually just take the airport taxi because I can’t be bothered to deal with more complicated options in a new place on my travel days.
Finally, this is still the Pacific, so you can also hitchhike. I didn’t try this, because part of the point of me choosing Vanuatu in the first place, was to help out with some tourism after the pandemic; but I’m told it’s safe.
Places to go elsewhere on Efate
I spent more time than anticipated on Efate, due to the vagaries of air travel in Vanuatu. That is to say, my flight to Espiritu Santo kept being re-timed. Fortunately, I anticipated this as well, so there was only minor panic. However, this meant that I visited a couple more attractions on Efate than I planned.
1. Lelepa Island (Must-visit!)
I visited Lelepa Island to pick up the cave site of Vanuatu’s UNESCO World Heritage Site, Chief Roi Mata’s Domain. I chose to do this via a tour run by local Lelepa Islanders which also included some snorkelling time and a village visit. If you’re in Port Vila already, you might as well go see the UNESCO site!
The tour cost 10900vt per person and takes a full day. For more on Lelepa Island and Chief Roi Mata’s Domain, see my other article.
2. The Underwater Post Office
Another place I made a point to visit was Hideaway Island. I even considered staying on Hideaway Island for a night, except that they weren’t accepting guests yet at the time I wanted to visit. But I could visit as a day-tripper, so I did.
The reason why I particularly wanted to go here is because that’s where you will find the world’s only underwater post office. It is a legit post office booth, with a letterbox, where you can mail in special waterproof postcards and it will be delivered by the Vanuatu postal service. I mailed four underwater postcard souvenirs (two of them serving as birthday presents!).
Hideaway Island is some distance away from Port Vila. It is a smaller island off Efate, but very close. You get there by being ferried across from a jetty on the main island. As a day-tripper, you can either take a taxi or the bus to the jetty. The hotel reception advised me that the bus fare is 500vt because it’s a further location, vs 2000vt by taxi. However, the taxi will wait for me for the return journey, whereas if I planned to spend a long time on Hideaway, there might not be a bus passing towards Port Vila by then. I opted for the taxi, which was lucky enough since the weather turned stormy and I couldn’t have returned early even if I planned to. So I just had lunch at the restaurant while waiting for the storm to recede.
There is no fee for the boat ferrying you to Hideaway Island. However, there is a 1250vt entry fee, plus equipment rental fees (if you want to mail the postcards yourself, or just do a bit of diving and snorkelling).
3. Blue Lagoon & Eton beach
On my unexpected extra day on Efate, I decided to hire a driver to check out the Blue Lagoon and Eton Beach, which are near each other. I had planned to go see the blue holes on Espiritu Santo, but with one day of my time there eliminated, I decided to hedge and take in Efate’s blue hole just in case. This is an even further drive than Hideaway Island, so the half-day taxi hire was 3000vt.
The Blue Lagoon was satisfyingly blue. There is an entry fee which seems to have increased to 1500vt based on Google Reviews vs when I was there. But there were amenities around the swimming hole, like seats and huts and toilets, as well as rope swings.
The water was quite cold, and my driver explained it was because the lagoon water comes from the hills. But you won’t see a stream flowing into the lagoon, because it’s a spring from under the rocks. So the swimming hole is as cold as a hill stream even though it’s mixing with warmer seawater. I was glad I had the foresight to bring my neoprene spring suit.
Eton Beach is gorgeous, and worth the visit if you were going to Blue Lagoon anyway. The water at the beach was also surprisingly cold – as cold as the Blue Lagoon. Yet, oddly it was the surface water that was cold, not the bottom part. Maybe it was cold water coming in with the tide from the open ocean.
There are huts along the upper shore but no other amenities. Based on Google Reviews, the entry fee is now 500vt.
4. Ekasup Cultural Village
One tour I considered doing, but ultimately didn’t was to Ekasup Cultural Village. You visit on a cultural tour introducing the Melanesian culture of the Ekasup villagers. Ekasup is just across a lagoon from Port Vila, so it is not far to visit.
Optional things to do on Efate
There are actually a lot more ‘vacationy’ things to do on Efate than the above. There are numerous tours available, judging from the tour brochures at my hotel. Conveniently for a sustainable traveller, they clearly mark if tour operators and/or owners are local, and happily most of them are. Here is a sample of other things you could do on a holiday in Efate.
1. Go on a scuba diving tour
Since I had my must-dive location on Espiritu Santo, I opted not to dive on Efate, instead prioritising cultural tourism. But you could also go scuba diving from Efate with several dive shops in Port Vila. You could also scuba dive if you were staying on Hideaway Island. Alternatively, for a dedicated dive holiday, you could opt to go to Tranquility Island off Efate’s northwest coast.
The Tranquility option might be a good idea, not only for the diving, but because the snorkelling could be better there. I went snorkelling off Moorings’ beach, around Hideaway Island, and off Eton beach, and oddly, there weren’t many fish around. It wasn’t like the rocks or corals were overgrown with algae. Everything seemed healthy. In fact, Hideaway Island’s coral reef was quite nice (though not near the underwater post office, which was sunk on a sandy zone). Perhaps Efate’s reefs near more populated areas are overfished?
Anyway, because of this, I figure if I were to vacation in Efate for the marine life, maybe the less populated islands off of Efate might be in better shape than its own shoreline. Besides, Tranquility is also a turtle sanctuary as well!
2. Explore rivers and waterfalls
Mele Falls was recommended to me. I considered going, since it was close to Hideaway Island, and it is possible to go to both on the same day. However, I remembered that I have no cold tolerance and probably wouldn’t enjoy a cold waterfall as much as snorkelling in warm coral lagoons.
However, if you’re into rivers and waterfalls, Efate has several of them aside from the one at Mele. There are several tour variations available for river kayaking and cascades. If I were to do this, I probably would have gone with Vanuatu Ecotours.
3. Take a tour around Efate
Although I hired a driver to take me on an outing around the island to the Blue Lagoon and Eton beach, I could also have taken a proper island tour. This would have cost me 9500vt, but it would be a full day and the tour would have included lunch and tea, plus covered a lot more:
- visit to a chocolate factory
- visit to the cultural village
- historical spots like an old mine and WW2 sites
- etc.
If I had the extra day on Efate intentionally, rather than unplanned, I probably would have arranged a tour with Holiday Makers, mainly because it is a female-operated tour. I’ve generally better enjoyed tours with a female guide. I find they tend to have a different approach that suits me more.
Notes:
^ For those of us who get a chilli craving when travelling to places that don’t really have spicy cuisine, Kesorn’s Exotic Thai serves authentically spicy Thai food. Its heat scale is calibrated to Thailand’s (I asked three times to be sure, and they were for real). So if you can’t take maximum heat, don’t ask for the three chilli “Thai hot” rating. You’re welcome.
* Malay speakers will recognise the words embedded in Vanua’aku: vanua + aku (or in our vocabulary, benua aku). The name literally means “my land”. Although we now use benua to specifically mean land as in ‘continent’, in Vanuatu vanua means land or homeland – possibly it carries the same meaning as our tanah air. Incidentally, the country name Vanuatu comprises of vanua + tu, which means ‘independent homeland’.
Carbon offset information to Vanuatu
My actual flights for this trip were slightly more convoluted. However, the best way to do this trip from Kuala Lumpur in the present day with the benefit of hindsight, is via Singapore and Sydney. This is because a direct flight from Kuala Lumpur to Sydney or Brisbane is more likely to result in layover time in Australia that might exceed the 8 hour visa-free period, requiring an eTA submission which has arbitrary results nowadays. This itinerary produces carbon emissions of approximately 4,605 lbs CO2e. It costs about $37 to offset this.
An alternative itinerary is to fly to Port Vila via Auckland, which is less risky since New Zealand allows visa free transit times that are more commensurate to Pacific flight connection schedules. This route produces slightly more emissions, approximately 5,462 lbs CO2e. It costs about $44 to offset this.
Going on a trip to Vanuatu? Save this article for planning your stay in Port Vila!
Vanuatu sounds very exotic to me. It looks like a place worth exploring. And the world’s only underwater post office sounds terrific! Thanks for sharing!
You’re welcome! It’s exotic even to me, and my region is just next door to Melanesia!
These pictures and post look extremely inviting, and I would love to visit one day… never been to Oceania, but Vanuatu would be a place I am really interested in. Very interesting what you say about the diving, and good to know! I love to scuba dive, but perhaps not to concentrate too much on diving and spend more time above water.
Bear in mind that I didn’t dive while on Efate, and sometimes the dive sites are better than snorkelling sites, right? But I did dive on Espiritu Santo, where you will find two of Vanuatu’s most iconic dive sites. I feel I should mention that since you love scuba diving!
I’d love to go snorkeling. Thanks for sharing the lack of fish here, perhaps the snorkeling part of the trip would be better saved for other islands.
Maybe not Efate itself, but the little islands around it could be better. I figure there must be a reason why Tranquility is on a separate island.
Change plans because of the eTA sounds like it worked out great for you in the end. Vanuatu is on my bucket list and I hope to get there very soon to particularly enjoy the chocolate factory – I’m a chocolate addict.
It did! Vanuatu was worth it, despite the inevitable travel disruptions of the immediate post-pandemic period. That’s why I can never get truly upset with travel detours, even while I am in the annoyed phase! It too often happens that the trip is just better if I just let the universe re-arrange it for me and roll with it.
If you love chocolate, be sure to look for the Vanuatu-made chocolates. I’m not a chocolate addict, but even I hoarded mine for months.
Did someone say chocolate! Besides the mama’s market, the chocolate factory would be next on my list!
LOL yes, chocolate! I remember one of the Vanuatu chocolate brands had blends specifically for each of the islands that grow cocoa. I bought one of each!