Ambrym, a place for adventure
Ambrym is sometimes called the black island after the expansive ash plain covering the interior. With two active volcanos and strong kastom, Ambrym is certainly a good destination for adventure travel in the South Pacific:
- Trekking to the Benbow and Marum active volcanos draws most tourists to Ambrym. The coastal mountains are also good walking.
- Around July every year you are bound to encounter Roms. The Rom costume consists of a tall, brightly painted conical mask and a cloak of dry banana leaves. Roms represent spirits and Ambrym islanders are terrified of them. The highlight of the season is the Rom dance. Ambrym islanders are also said to be skilled in magic and sorcery.
- Carvings are a requirement for grade-taking on Ambrym. In the kastom natsaros you can see tall, multi-faced tam-tams and tree fern sculptures. Some good carvings are produced commercially for the tourist trade and even export. Another important cultural tradition on Ambrym is sand drawing (artistic designs which illustrate local legends or leave messages).

North Ambrym has an annual cultural festival featuring Rom dancing, grade-taking and sand drawing around mid-July every year. The interior villages of West Ambrym also welcome visitors to see their annual Rom dances. Tourists pay to witness a Rom dance (around 3000 Vatu per person) or visit a kastom natsaro (around 2000 Vatu per person). As kastom is involved, the fees asked will vary.

Most of Ambrym's population lives along the southwest and northern coastlines. The villagers generate a meagre income from copra, fishing and traditional carvings. Living on southwest Ambrym can be hard; it's a dry, rain shadow area, and acid rain from the volcanos damages gardens.

Ambrym is not far from Santo or Port Vila and relatively cheap to get to. You can do Ambrym by itself or, if you have lots of time, a good travelling strategy is island hopping via Ambrym by plane and/or ship between Vila and Santo. If you're travelling on a budget there are some cheap and good places to stay on west Ambrym. Our Itinerary Ideas page outlines a quick Ambrym volcano trekking adventure.

Bungalows
For a long time Ambrym had only two tourist bungalows in the north. Today there's more interest in tourism as the islanders see a small, steady flow of tourists attracted to the volcanos. We feature the following places to stay:

Wakon Sunset Bungalow and Lake Fanteng Conservation Area, Dip Point
Craig Cove Commercial Guesthouse
Bulevak Guesthouse, Baiap
Polibetakevar Guesthouse
Bae Luk Guesthouse, Meltungon
Lalinda PWMU Guesthouse
Vetmet Bungalows, Ranvetlam
Solomon Douglas Bungalows, Ranon

In July 2005 there were plans to build a tourist bungalow at Malver village on west Ambrym. In December 2006 we heard there was a new bungalow at Sesivi and a another, cheaper guesthouse at Meltungon (1500 Vatu per night). In January 2008 we found Nali Guest House (link to VTO site) which is in the east at Sameo village.

It is true that almost every village has a basic guesthouse. For example, some tourists stay at Wuro village. Others stay with the Air Vanuatu agent. However, this website focuses on places which are regularly used by overseas visitors.

Air Transport
Ambrym has two airfields, one in the west at Craig Cove and one in the east at Ulei. Air Vanuatu's weekly 'milk run' between Port Vila and Santo services Epi (Lamen Bay), Paama, Ulei, Craig Cove and Malekula (Norsup) with flights in both directions. In March 2007 the 'milk run' was on Tuesday and there were additional flights connecting Craig Cove and Port Vila on Tuesday and Saturday. Check the Air Vanuatu domestic website for more up-to-date information. Tourists with a return Air Vanuatu international ticket are entitled to a 20% discount on domestic flights. Exchange Rates.

Sea Transport
Many ships between Efate and Santo sail via Ambrym. Some of the more frequent ships are M/V Brisk, M/V Kotu, L/C Sarafenua and M/V Halice-1 (formerly Belama). M/V Brisk is quite regular: passing on Fridays towards Santo and returning on Tuesdays towards Port Vila. A one way fare from Santo to north Ambrym is about 4500 Vatu. It takes around 20 hours from Santo to Ambrym by cargo boat, sometimes more. The Brisk stops only at Craig Cove, Ranon and sometimes Olal. Ships are a good option for island hopping to Pentecost or Epi.

A comfortable and fast passenger-only boat travelling to Ambrym is the Island Gateway but only on the last week of every month.

North Ambrym has no airport. Speedboats often run to Craig Cove to meet Air Vanuatu flights. A speedboat between Craig Cove and Ranon costs 10000 to 12000 Vatu for a charter or 1000 to 1500 Vatu per person on a shared trip. You have a fair chance of finding are shared speedboat ride to north Ambrym on Air Vanuatu flight days. The speedboat ride to north Ambrym takes two to three hours. An alternative to speedboats is to wait for a passing ship. Exchange Rates.

Land Transport
West Ambrym has public transport trucks at Meltungon, Baiap, Port Vato and Lalinda. Sample fares are listed below. A shared ride should costs about 10% of the charter rate. Exchange Rates.

Services are not regular. The best days for trucks are when the Craig Cove bank is open (Tuesday, Friday) or there's a Air Vanuatu flight (Tuesday, Saturday). An effective and free way to get around west Ambrym is to walk.

Last updated: December 2006 by Stephen.