About Island Bungalows and Travelling in Vanuatu

This page is a brief introduction to travelling Vanuatu with general advice and tips.

What are Island Bungalows?
Why visit Island Bungalows?
Plan your trip
Flying
Ships
Go prepared
Communicate
Tips for travelling on a budget
Guidebooks
Further information

What are Island Bungalows?
"Island Bungalows" are guesthouses in rural Vanuatu, locally owned and run by Ni-Vanuatu. They offer basic accommodation, meals and assistance to adventure travellers. Rural Vanuatu is still quite undeveloped so, in general, you are not going to find electricity, hot showers, telephones, western food and five star service; the standard varies considerably. Some places are remote or new and not experienced in dealing with tourists. Other places are resort-like. Transport can sometimes be inconvenient and expensive to the outer islands. These small challenges will not deter confident travellers.

Why visit Island Bungalows?
You will find a unique and real experience away from the commercial tourism centres of Port Vila and Luganville. When you stay in island bungalows and guesthouses you are making a much valued contribution to the rural economies of Vanuatu. Sample Itineraries.

Plan your trip
1. The number one rule in Vanuatu is not too worry - you are on vacation.
2. The second rule is to leave some degree of flexibility in your travel plans - you can't plan for everything and you don't know what you might discover.
3. The third rule is to relax and enjoy yourself - there's no need to rush.

Only a couple of bungalows can be booked and paid from overseas travel agents. Many don't even have a telephone, a bank account or a booking agent. Not to worry, there are very few people visiting the outer islands and you needn't be too concerned about bookings. We have NEVER made a booking when visiting any bungalow on this site and sometimes travel for many days without seeing any tourists. Independent travellers just go!

Note that bungalow owners rarely think of advising anyone about changes to their business. The bungalow may be closed, there could have been a cyclone or prices may have gone up. Still worried? Check the notes at the bottom of our bungalow pages to see how recent our information is and check if the bungalow has a contact.

Flying
If you have limited time and a tight schedule you are very dependent on Air Vanuatu domestic flights. Their planes are quite reliable but some islands have only one or two flights a week and grass airstrips are the norm (only Santo, Tanna and Norsup on Malekula have tarmac). Rain could spoil the airstrip, maybe the grass is too long, the flight could be overbooked and there are other reasons for you missing your flight. Still, it is remarkable that Air Vanuatu's flights meet the schedule most of the time. Note that the domestic timetable is changing so always consult the latest version. Tickets for domestic flights are easy to get except at Christmas time and around school holidays.

Air Vanuatu takes off
You may find old references to the domestic airline VANAIR. In 2005 it was taken over by Air Vanuatu and now the merger is complete.
It is good to see some improvements from the new Air Vanuatu:
- International fare prices have come down and ticket conditions have been relaxed.
- International tickets can be booked online and Air Vanuatu now have e-tickets.
- Domestic flights can be booked and paid through Air Vanuatu overseas offices. Domestic reservations have not yet been integrated into the Air Vanuatu website.
- In 2007, Air Vanuatu launched a weekly direct Brisbane-Santo service.
The "Diver's Express" has been running for some months and hopefully will continue. Now you can skip Vila and save on the flight to Santo.
Sunday: Brisbane-Santo-Vila
Monday: Vila-Santo-Brisbane

We highly recommend using the Air Vanuatu offices overseas. You can book all your flights before arriving in Vanuatu and should not need to visit the Air Vanuatu office in Port Vila. That's much easier than before!

Ships
We've travelled between islands on local ships and, in general, they have little to recommend. It's difficult to track them down, passing ships are infrequent on many islands and most of them don't run to any schedule. It's not unusual to spend days waiting for a ship and then it might arrive in the middle of the night. Also, most of the ships in Vanuatu are cargo vessels with little space and primitive facilities for passengers. Sure, it can be nice travelling by ship for short distances between islands but you need to be patient.

Passenger-only boats servicing the islands are new to Vanuatu. We haven't tried them yet but they look to be a good deal and are a welcome improvement to the standard of domestic shipping in the archipelago.

The Island Gateway is a fast catamaran seating 58 passengers. In December 2006 her regular weekly service departs Port Vila for Santo (7500 Vatu) on Friday, stopping at Lamen Bay, Epi (4500 Vatu) and Litslits, Malekula (6500 Vatu) in between. Exchange Rates. She returns to Vila on Saturday, sailing the same route. On the last week of every month the Island Gateway includes Liro, Paama and Craig Cove, Ambrym in her voyage. Phone numbers for the Island Gateway are 22662 and 44548 and they now have a website http://www.islandgateway.info/

Update Feb-2008: Is the Island Gateway no more? Their website seems to be dead and we wouldn't be surprised if the business has 'gone under.' Contact us if you know something.

Go prepared
Some bungalows see few tourists and may not be well equipped. It helps to bring:
- Enough Vatu cash. Budget for minimum 2000 to 3000 Vatu a day for accommodation, food and island transport. Airfares are extra. Always have some 1000 Vatu notes because you might not get change on local transport and in small island stores.
Exchange Rates.
- An up-to-date Air Vanuatu timetable (essential when island hopping).
- Water bottle.
- Water purification tablets (rarely needed but if in doubt then use them).
- Anti-malaria tablets (some islands/areas).
- Torch light.
- Spare batteries. Alkaline batteries for digital devices are rarely available on the islands and it can be difficult to find electricity for recharging batteries.
- A small padlock for locking bungalow doors (for peace of mind, not because security is an issue)..
- Antiseptic ointment or cream (take good care of cuts and scratches). Antiobiotics will be required sooner or later if you spend any length of time on the islands.
- Antifungal powder or cream.
- Bath towel (usually provided).
- Toilet paper (usually provided).
- A mosquito net (rarely needed, mosquito repellent more important).
- In remote locations where there are few stores and some basic food (eg tinned fish) is handy to go with your aelan kaekae.
- Snorkelling gear (if that's your thing).

- Telecom Vanuatu phonecard (and pray the phones on the islands are working!).

You'll be traveling in the tropics so there are too many details to cover here. If this is your first time to travel unescorted off the beaten track then read a relevant guidebook for more information. Speaking Bislama smooths your path and opens doors so it's worth learning if you're going to spend a long time in the islands (it's easy enough to learn as you travel).

Take enough cash! I think that you should advise people to carry a cash reserve above and beyond what they think they will need when going to the islands. For instance we ran out of money on Malekula and I could not get the bank in Lakotoro to give me a cash advance on my Westpac Mastercard. We waited 5 hours for them to contact Vila and the answer came back that they could not do it. K.G, Australia, Sep-05.

Local departure taxes: All provincial governments are collecting departure taxes. Make sure to have some spare Vatu change in your pocket before heading for the airport (400 Vatu Efate, Tanna, Santo and 250 Vatu other airports). Let's hope the revenue goes towards improving and maintaining the airports.

Communicate
Tourism is still a new business on many islands of Vanuatu and the locals may have little experience and training. Don't hesitate to talk your hosts and tell them about what you like and what could be improved. Usually the locals can try to meet any reasonable request. Independent travellers can share their experiences and observations with the local bungalow operators to assist tourism on the islands.

Tips for Travelling on a Budget
The most expensive item in you travel budget will be airfares. Pacific Blue offers the cheapest international air fares to Vanuatu. However, if you're going to fly within Vanuatu it may be cheaper overall to fly with Air Vanuatu and take advantage of the 20% discount on domestic flights. They also have more flights.

To make your trip more economical you can reduce the cost per day with longer duration tours. If you want to further reduce your inter-island transport costs then travelling by ship is bearable for shorter hops.

It's expensive to charter a truck on the islands if you are only one. Charters are usually about 10 times the cost of shared transport. It's more economical to wait for a ride although you might only find transport in the mornings (into town) and afternoons (return). If the distance is not far then walking can be an enjoyable and independent mode of travel.

It's true that bargaining is not a Melanesian custom. However, asking for a reduced rate at a bungalow or guesthouse is different to haggling over the price of a paw-paw in the Port Vila market house. Often accommodation prices on the islands are set without looking at costs in town or the competition. Unrealistic pricing does occur and if you know the prices then you are in a position to negotiate. For example, single accommodation in Santo or Vila costs as little as 1500 Vatu with clean, modern rooms, 24 hour electricity, hot showers and clean, modern toilets so charging more than 1500 Vatu per night for a grass hut in the village is pretty expensive, even if the beach is nice. Bungalows are rarely fully booked and if you can explain why rates are unreasonable then you should be able to negotiate a fairer price.

Guidebooks
Lonely Planet Vanuatu and New Caledonia
5th Edition
July 2006

The newest, 5th Edition, Lonely Planet combines Vanuatu and New Caledonia in one book for the first time. We haven't seen it; maybe you can review it for us?

While in the bookshop, you might grab a copy of the Lonely Planet Pidgin Phrasebook, 2nd Ed., January 2005 (link to Amazon.com). On the other hand, if you're an English speaker you can probably get by without it.

 

 

Moon Handbooks South Pacific
8th Edition
Avalon Travel Publishing, Moon Handbooks, November 2004.

First published in 1979, Moon Handbooks South Pacific is said to be the original single-volume guide to the Pacific islands and is currently in its 8th edition. With a pedigree like that, this must be a guidebook worth considering.


Quick review:

I recently spotted an abandoned copy of the Moon Handbooks South Pacific 8th edition in Unity Park Motel, Luganville, and proceeded to read the Solomons Islands section after having just visited the place. Someone had already ripped out the Vanuatu chapter and before leaving I tore out the Solomon Islands chapter for myself :-)

It was refreshing to read something different to the drivel we commonly get from Lonely Planet these days. David Stanley has been writing these books for years and it shows: the text is clean and coherent with good insight and understanding. This book covers all of the South Pacific and has to be short on details but will open your mind to new destinations; I found the Cook Islands chapter interesting but wasn't game to steal the whole book! When using a shoestring guide you are encouraged to discover places for yourself rather than look for specific recommendations. I would buy this book over the Lonely Planet!
Stephen, Vanuatu Aelan Walkabaot wemaster, February 2008.

Further Information
In Port Vila the Vanuatu Tourism Office has a large collection of brochures and a reliable free map of Vila and Efate. Worth a visit if you have time. VTO also have an office in Luganville now, outside the Apex Garden Hotel. The VTO website is growing with useful information and images about some island bungalows including some that we do not feature. If you get lost in navigation, try their sitemap.

Another website we recently discovered belongs to the Tafea Tourism Council (Tanna, Aniwa, Futuna, Aneityum). It has many new and unknown bungalows.

Last updated: February 2008.

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