The nation of Vanuatu is made up of 83 islands
and lies in the southwest Pacific Ocean. It’s just south of the
Solomon Islands and has a population of about 200,000 people,
with Port Vila being the capital on the island of Efate. The
nation is quite popular with visitors as it offers a good mix of
local island customs and cultural influences from around the
world and celebrates these with several festivals throughout the
year. There are dozens of local languages on the islands, but
the official ones are Bislama, English, and French.
While it’s easy to enjoy modern-day life in
Vanuatu, many visitors go there to enjoy the spectacular
sightseeing, which includes colourful fish, coral reefs, and
submerged shipwrecks from the Second World War. The islands also
offer fabulous volcanic peaks that overlook lush, green
vegetation.
The first of the islands to be discovered by
Europeans was Espiritu Santo, which was found by Portuguese
explorers in 1606. However, nobody really visited again until
1768. Captain Cook gave them the name
of the New Hebrides in 1774 and the name stuck until 1980, when the
nation became independent and was renamed the Republic of
Vanuatu. Some of the nation’s other cities include Luganville,
Port Olry, Isangel, Pango, and Whitesands.
The volcanoes are pretty popular with tourists
and the most famous is Yasur, which is on Tanna Island. The
islands of Lopevi, Ambrym, Ambae, Gaua, and Kuwai also have some
interesting volcanoes.
Another popular spot to visit is known as Chief
Roi Mata’s Domain, which is a Unesco World Heritage site and
dates back to the early 17th century. This is made up of three
sites, which are located on the islands of Artok, Lelepa, and
Efate. The sites all have to do with the life and death the
chief Roi Mata. This includes his residence, site of death and
burial site. Sea divers are attracted to Vanuatu because of the
historic shipwrecks that can be found underwater. The wreck of
the ship SS President Coolidge can be found at Espiritu Santo,
where it was sunk in 1942.
The weather is mainly warm and humid and there’s
a rainy season between November and April. You can reach Vanuatu
by air as there’s an international airport in Port Vila. There
are also airports on Tanna and Espiritu Santo. Most of the
flights arrive from other South Pacific islands, Australia, New
Zealand, Fiji, North America, and Japan. You can also reach the
nation by sea. Island to island travel can be done by domestic
flights as well as sea ferries which run from Port Vila and
Espiritu Santo to outer islands. You can also charter boats.
Once you’ve reached Vanuatu, you can rent a car in Port Vila as
well as at the airport. There are also taxis and minibus
services available at Port Vila and you can just flag one down.
Port Vila has numerous restaurants that feature
local and international dishes. These include French, Italian,
and Chinese establishments where you can taste coconut crab,
escargot, pizza, pasta, flying fox, pizza, and traditional
desserts. Steak is one of the islands’ specialties and tastes
amazing as the meat’s all naturally produced. There are several
local drinks and beers and you shouldn’t have any problem
finding a nice place to stop in for one. Accommodations in
Vanuatu are plentiful and they are designed to fit all travel
budgets. These range from inexpensive guest houses to top-end
resorts.
The people of Vanuatu are extremely friendly and
it’s an excellent place to explore the old world along with the
new and enjoy the best of both worlds.
