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Itineraries/Oceania/Vanuatu

7 Days in Vanuatu

Port Vila's Mele Cascades waterfall, Hideaway Island's underwater post office, and the continuously active Mt Yasur volcano on Tanna — where families can stand metres from live lava eruptions at dusk. A 7-night Pacific trip built around the one thing Fiji can't offer: a walk to the crater rim of an active volcano.

7 nights
Family of 4
~A$8,840
2 stops
Port Vila4n
Tanna Island3n
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Your stop-by-stop itinerary

2 stops across 7 nights. Each one chosen so you experience a different side of Vanuatu.

1

Port Vila

4 nights
Fly direct to Port Vila (VLI) from Sydney (3h 15m, daily on Air Vanuatu/Jetstar/Virgin), Brisbane (3h, Air Vanuatu 3x weekly), or Melbourne via Sydney. Bauerfield Airport is 10 min from most Port Vila resorts — pre-book the resort transfer VUV 4,000 family.

Highlights

  • Mele Cascades — 3-tier waterfall with natural swim pools 30 min from Port Vila
  • Hideaway Island snorkel day + underwater post office (mail a postcard from 3m below sea level)
  • Ekasup Cultural Village — kastom dance, fire making, traditional medicine walk
  • Port Vila Markets (Mon-Sat morning) — tropical fruit, island kava, kids' loved bright-coloured laplap
  • Blue Lagoon (1 hr drive east of Vila) — swimming hole with rope swing
  • Round-the-island Efate day trip: Eton Beach, Nagar Blue Hole, Havannah Harbour sunset

Local tips

  • 💡The Vanuatu Vatu is pegged loosely to AUD — expect roughly VUV 85 = AU$1 at current rates. Many tourist businesses accept AUD cash directly at the resort price, no exchange hassle.
  • 💡Hire a car for one day (VUV 8,000) to do the round-Efate loop — cheaper and more flexible than a tour bus, Vanuatu drives on the right though so adjust mentally.
  • 💡The Port Vila Markets close at 6pm Saturday and reopen Monday morning — plan around this if you're a market-shopping family.
Suggested stay: Family resort near the Port Vila waterfront
2

Tanna Island

3 nights
Fly Port Vila (VLI) → Tanna Whitegrass (TAH) on Air Vanuatu — 45 min direct, VUV 25,000 pp return. Lodge transfer from Whitegrass airport is usually included with the accommodation booking.

Highlights

  • Mt Yasur volcano sunset tour — 4WD drive to the crater rim, watch live lava eruptions as darkness falls (the reason you came)
  • John Frum cargo cult village visit — Sulphur Bay, the Friday night kastom dance
  • Kastom village tour — traditional grass-skirt dance, custom law, fire-making demonstration
  • Port Resolution hot springs — volcanic-heated coastal pools 1 hr drive east
  • Yakel traditional village — the anthropological-documentary village of 'Tanna' film fame
  • Blue Cave — 10 min swim through a sea tunnel into a blue-lit cave chamber

Local tips

  • 💡Mt Yasur at sunset is one of the few active-volcano experiences accessible to families worldwide — kids 6+ handle the 20-min walk from the car park. Wear closed shoes, pack a torch, volcanic ash gets everywhere.
  • 💡Your lodge arranges the Yasur tour (VUV 20,000 family all-in, often included with multi-night bookings). Don't book through third parties — the lodge driver knows the safety briefing and eruption patterns.
  • 💡Tanna is rustic — power is generator-based in most lodges (on 6am–10pm schedules), water is solar-heated, Wi-Fi is spotty. Kids LOVE it. Pack a book, accept the digital detox.
Suggested stay: Family bungalow or treehouse lodge near Mt Yasur

Good to know

Estimated cost

The ~A$8,840 estimate covers accommodation across all 2 stops. Flights, daily spending, activities, and transport are additional — use SaveToRoam’s savings planner to track it all.

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