My Top 5 Things To Do In Vanuatu
Made up of over 80 tropical islands strung out across the South Pacific, Vanuatu has a plethora of off-the-beaten-track travel experiences on offer. Here’s my top five.
1. The best thing to do in Vanuatu: Watch a volcanic eruption
Stand on the edge of an active volcano and watch in awe as lava intermittently spouts forth from the crater below. Molten rock erupts skyward with a loud roar, the earth’s raw power lighting up the twilight. This is mother nature at its most mighty, and with no guardrails or barriers, you’ve got a front-row seat for the action.
Mt. Yasur has been erupting nearly continuously for the past few hundred years, even attracting Captain Cook’s attention on his voyage here in the 1700s. It’s easily accessible and, as part of the entrance fee, you’ll be driven to within a few hundred metres of the crater rim. Closely monitored by the government, activity levels will guide how close you can get. Still, with magma shooting skyward every few minutes, the show will be spectacular wherever you’re standing.
Access to Mt. Yasur can be booked through any accommodation on Tanna Island. If you’re short on time, book a day trip, including flights, from Port Vila. Visiting Mount Yasur was the best thing I did in Vanuatu.
Mount Yasur erupts multiple times every hour and can be watched from the crater rim.
2. Stay in a village bungalow in Vanuatu
Staying in a village bungalow is more than just an accommodation choice; it’s a fully immersive cultural experience. From trying local foods like lap-lap and taro to learning about traditional healers or going to the village church on Sunday, staying in a village will open your eyes to the real Vanuatu. While the standards of the bungalows vary, it is always an enlightening stay, and some have exceptional food and landscaping, not to mention fantastic jungle and volcano views.
While on Tanna Island, I stayed in three different village bungalows. All three had cold showers and flushing toilets. The Volcano Roaring Front Bungalow was excellent, with fantastic local food and spectacular volcano views. It was especially good at night when you could watch the glow emanating from the crater of Mt. Yasur.
Staying in a village bungalow is a great way to experience local Vanuatu culture.
3. Go volcano boarding on Vanuatu's Mount Yasur
Think snowboarding, but down the side of an active volcano, with a jungle-clad vista rather than snow-capped peaks. Couple this with the intermittent ground-shaking thunder of volcanic eruptions, and you’re getting somewhere close to what this unique adventure sport feels like.
This is an off-the-beaten-track experience, and you’ll have to hike up the volcano in knee-deep ash before you descend. It’s worth it, though, for the ride of your life, as the ground trembles and you carve your way down to the ash plain below.
Volcano boarding can be organised through your accommodation on Tanna Island. There are sit down options and standard snowboards available. At the time of my visit Freddy Lini, at Volcano Roaring Front Bungalows, had snowboards for hire (but no boots).
Experience the rush of adrenaline as you hurdle down the side of an active volcano on Mount Yasur.
4. Experience Vanuatu culture: Take part in a kava ceremony
Kava is a muddy-looking drink formed by chewing or grinding the roots of a locally grown pepper plant and mixing them with water. It is a process shrouded in ritual and focused around the nakamal, or village meeting ground. The roots are prepared in hushed tones, chewed and strained, then served from a communal half coconut. Some loud diffuse spitting after downing-in-one is the expected show of appreciation. The hushed nakamal becomes more so as the mild sedative and mouth-numbing properties of kava take effect.
If you stay in a village bungalow, you’ll almost certainly be invited to join this nightly ritual. But only if you’re male; the nakamal is off-limits to women after about 3pm. If the village experience sounds a bit intense, there are kava bars in town, or you can join a tour; these also happen to be more inclusive.
Kava being prepared the traditional way in the Nakamal.
5. Visit a Kastom village to look into Vanuatu's past
Most people in Vanuatu are Christian, many of whom combine this with some traditional beliefs. There are, however, still some villages where Christianity hasn’t been accepted. Visiting one of these villages is a great way to experience a lifestyle and culture from a different age. Here the people still wear traditional clothes, especially when tourists are around, and perform traditional dances in the nakamal. It’s great to meet the people here, and you can pick up a quirky souvenir or two too, penis sheath perhaps?
Wherever you stay in Vanuatu, you will most likely have the opportunity to join a tour to visit a local kastom village. Alternatively, while I was on Tanna Island, I met someone from the kastom village of Yakel and organised an overnight stay. The kava ceremony here was unusually intense, with only myself wearing more than a penis sheath.
Traditional dancing in the Kastom village of Yakel.
Practicalities of Traveling in Vanuatu
I spent about ten days in Vanuatu and visited the islands of Efate, where the capital is located, and Tanna, home to Mt. Yasur. Getting to Tanna Island is easy, with daily flights from the capital, Port Vila.