Vanuatu: The Most Beautiful Attractions of Efate

We spent 10 days on Efate, Vanuatu’s main island, in March 2019, staying in Port Vila near friends who showed us the island’s best spots. Sand drawing, a fire show, coral reefs, lush gardens and a helicopter ride made it a surprising stop: here are our highlights and our budget, 155200 VUV (1410 USD) for our family of four.

Vanuatu, a country of 83 islands in the Pacific, was unknown to us before this trip. When we planned our round-the-world itinerary, our first thought was to visit friends we hadn’t seen for a long time. That is how we ended up choosing destinations we would never have picked otherwise, such as Lebanon, India, Sri Lanka and… Vanuatu.

The Best Attractions of Efate

Vanuatu Culture: Sand Drawing, Fire Show and Market

To get to know Vanuatu’s culture, we started with the National Museum of Vanuatu, where we watched a sandroing artist at work. Sandroing (sand drawing) combines writing and drawing on sand: a single continuous, meandering line traced on an imagined grid produces a graceful, often symmetrical pattern of geometric shapes.

2026 update: The Vanuatu Cultural Centre, which houses the National Museum, suffered significant structural damage in the magnitude 7.3 earthquake of December 2024; UNESCO is funding its recovery, so check access before you go (UNESCO).

At Mele Beach, we attended an hour-long fire show of exceptional quality.

Back to Eden was a peaceful restaurant out of town, where we ate and snorkeled near some of the island’s most beautiful corals. We were greeted with a short traditional welcome dance.

We were amazed to learn that the Port Vila public market was open 24 hours a day. The island’s farmers brought their crops at the start of the week and, to simplify the logistics, slept in the market, under the tables, until they had sold everything and could finally go home.

2026 update: The Port Vila Central Market house was damaged in the December 2024 earthquake and reopened on July 28, 2025, after seven months of repairs (Daily Post Vanuatu).

Vegetation and The Summit Gardens

We were struck by how green and diverse Vanuatu’s vegetation is. We saw it up close at The Summit Gardens, a botanical garden full of plant species we had never seen before.

Beaches, Lagoons and Snorkeling

On a Pacific island, turquoise water is never far away. We made the most of the beaches, lagoons and swimming spots to snorkel among the corals and colorful fish.

Helicopter Ride over Port Vila

Surprise after surprise: Iris arranged an unforgettable helicopter ride over Port Vila for us. WOW!

How to Plan a Trip to Efate

Itinerary: 10 Days in Port Vila

For 10 days, we settled in Port Vila, Vanuatu’s capital, amid the heavy rains and heat of the Melanesian tropics. Morsen, Iris and their two children, Elsa and Calvin, welcomed us warmly. Worried that Vanuatu might not live up to the wonders we had seen in other countries, Iris prepared a great program for us, and the culture and beauty of Efate won us over.

1. National Museum of Vanuatu
2. Irikiki Island
3. Port Vila Market
4. Honeymoon Beach
5. The Summit Gardens
6. The Beach Bar
7. Back to Eden
8. Eton Beach
9. Blue Lagoon
10. Cononut Field
11. Vanuatu Helicopters

Lifestyle

For 10 days, we lived in an apartment near our friends’ house. They generously drove us to the island’s most beautiful spots. Our boys grew fond of their two children, and together we shared unforgettable moments.

Food: Lap Lap, Vanuatu’s National Dish

Morsen and his nephew Deny honored us with a fantastic lap lap, Vanuatu’s national dish, usually prepared for special occasions. Yam is grated into a paste, wrapped in banana leaves and cooked in an underground stone oven with fresh coconut cream, chicken and vegetables. A delight!

How Much Did 10 Days in Vanuatu Cost?

Although we spent most of our time with our friends, we still paid for accommodation and food, and I believe those costs would have been about the same without them.

Transportation is where we saved a lot: public transport outside Port Vila was generally very expensive, and car rental was fairly pricey.

We found no free activities in Vanuatu: museums and even public beaches charged admission, often at higher rates for tourists. Overall, the cost of our stay for our family of 4 was:

• 155200 VUV (1410 USD);
• 15520 VUV (141 USD) per day;
• 3880 VUV (35 USD) per person and per day.

Amounts are shown in vatu. US-dollar equivalents use the rate we used during our trip (March 18–28, 2019): 1 USD = 110 VUV.

In detail:

Expense Category	Amount Spent
Flight	58100 VUV (528 USD)
Accommodation	45400 VUV (412 USD)
Transport (including gas)	2100 VUV (19 USD)
Eating out	25800 VUV (235 USD)
Groceries	13300 VUV (121 USD)
Activities	10500 VUV (95 USD)
Total	155200 VUV (1410 USD)

Conclusion

Before visiting Vanuatu, we expected nothing more than to see our friends and spend a pleasant time with them. We hadn’t counted on Iris, who put together a perfect program for us. We left Vanuatu delighted, with our heads full of wonderful memories. We only visited Efate, but the country has many other cultural and geological attractions, including Mount Yasur on Tanna Island, considered the most accessible active volcano in the world, and land diving, a Pentecost Island tradition that inspired bungee jumping.

Now that our tour of Oceania is complete, we’re heading back to Asia for one of the most anticipated events of our world tour: the cherry blossoms in Japan!