Vanuatu is 83 islands strung across the South Pacific between Fiji and Australia, and six days is enough to string together its three signature experiences: Port Vila’s reef and waterfalls on Efate, the WWII wreck diving of Espiritu Santo, and a sunset walk to the glowing rim of Mount Yasur on Tanna — one of the few volcanoes on earth you can stand at the edge of while it erupts. This itinerary island-hops by domestic air between all three.
Day 1Arrival in Port Vila
Land in the capital, settle into a lagoon-front resort, then browse the market and have a first taste of Vanuatu’s French-Melanesian food scene.
✈️ Arrival — Bauerfield International Airport (VLI)
~10 min to central Port Vila
Vanuatu’s main international gateway sits right on the edge of Port Vila — taxis and resort shuttles queue outside arrivals, and most hotels are a short ride away.
🛎️ Check-In — Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu by IHG
Check-in 2pm · rooms from $185/night
A lagoon-front resort at Tassiriki Park on Erakor Lagoon, a few minutes from downtown Port Vila, with a swim-up pool bar and direct water access.
Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu by IHG · ihg.com/holidayinnresorts
🛍️ Port Vila Market
~1 hr · free to browse
Rows of ni-Vanuatu women vendors sell produce, woven baskets and island dresses at this waterfront market in the center of town — it runs around the clock from Monday morning to Saturday night.
🍽️ Dinner — L’Houstalet
Dinner · $25–45 per person
A long-running French-Pacific restaurant on the Port Vila waterfront known for coconut crab and flying fox — a signature Vanuatu splurge dinner on arrival night.
L'Houstalet · vanuatu.travel/lhoustalet
Day 2Hideaway Island, Mele Cascades & Kava
Snorkel a marine sanctuary with an underwater post office, cool off under a waterfall, then try Vanuatu’s traditional evening kava at a local nakamal.
🤿 Hideaway Island Marine Sanctuary
~2.5 hrs · marine park fee around $8
A protected reef just offshore from a small island resort, home to the world’s only underwater post office — snorkelers can mail a waterproof postcard from a submerged post box a few meters down.
Hideaway Island Resort & Marine Sanctuary · hideaway.com.vu
💦 Mele Cascades Waterfall
~2 hrs · entry around $20
A series of tiered turquoise pools and cascades a short drive from Port Vila, with a trail of ropes and bamboo ladders climbing alongside the falls to natural swimming holes at the top.
🥥 Kava Tasting — Lukuwi Nakamal
Evening · kava shell around $1–2
A traditional nakamal (kava bar) outside Port Vila serving fresh-pounded kava the ni-Vanuatu way — drunk in a single shell, in near-silence, under string lights, an easygoing introduction to the islands’ most enduring custom.
Day 3On to Espiritu Santo — Diving the Coolidge
Fly north to Vanuatu’s largest island and settle into a dive lodge before an afternoon on one of the world’s great wreck dives.
🛫 Domestic Flight — Port Vila (VLI) to Espiritu Santo (SON)
~45 min flight · Air Vanuatu
Air Vanuatu runs several flights a day on this route — book the early flight to leave the afternoon free for diving.
Air Vanuatu · airvanuatu.com
🛎️ Check-In — Deco Stop Lodge
Check-in 2pm · rooms from $140/night
A dive-focused waterfront lodge in Luganville built around its own dive shop, with harbor-view rooms a short walk from the SS President Coolidge dive sites.
Deco Stop Lodge · decostoplodge.com
🤿 SS President Coolidge Wreck Dive
~3 hrs (2-tank dive) · around $150 per diver
A 200-meter WWII troopship that sank just off Luganville in 1942, now the largest shipwreck accessible to recreational divers anywhere in the world — Allan Power Dive Tours has been running trips to it since the 1960s.
Allan Power Dive Tours · allanpowerdivetours.com
🍽️ Dinner — Chez Louis Restaurant
Dinner · $15–30 per person
A long-standing Luganville restaurant serving French-Pacific seafood and grilled dishes, a short walk from the waterfront dive lodges.
Chez Louis Restaurant · vanuatu.travel/chez-louis
Day 4Champagne Beach & the Blue Hole
Spend a full day on Santo’s north coast: a postcard beach, then a rope swing into a cobalt-blue freshwater spring.
🏖️ Champagne Beach
~2 hrs · small village access fee, around $2
A sweep of white sand and clear shallow water along Santo’s northeast coast, consistently ranked among the South Pacific’s best beaches and rarely crowded even in season.
💠 Blue Hole Swimming
~1 hr · entry around $5
Freshwater springs feed several cobalt-blue swimming holes inland from the coast road, most with a rope swing rigged from an overhanging tree — Matevulu and Nanda are the two most commonly visited.
🚐 Guided Tour — Best of Santo Day Tour
Full day · around $95 per person
A guided day tour covering Champagne Beach, a Blue Hole stop and a village lunch, with hotel pickup included — the easiest way to see Santo’s north coast in a single day without a rental car.
Vanuatu Travel — Best of Santo Day Tour · vanuatutravel.rezdy.com
Day 5On to Tanna — Sunset at Mount Yasur
Island-hop south to Tanna and spend the evening at the rim of one of the most accessible active volcanoes on Earth.
🛫 Flight to Tanna (TAH) via Port Vila
~1.5 hrs total travel · Air Vanuatu
Most Santo–Tanna routings connect back through Port Vila’s Bauerfield Airport — build in a short layover rather than booking a tight connection.
Air Vanuatu · airvanuatu.com
🛎️ Check-In — White Grass Ocean Resort & Spa
Check-in 2pm · villas from $220/night
A beachfront eco-resort of thatched-roof villas near Tanna’s airstrip, the most comfortable base on the island and a short drive from the Mount Yasur trailhead.
White Grass Ocean Resort & Spa · vanuatu.travel/white-grass
🌋 Mount Yasur Volcano Sunset Tour
~4 hrs · around $280 per person
A 4×4 ride up Tanna’s ash plain to a trail that climbs to the crater rim of Mount Yasur, one of the few volcanoes in the world where visitors can stand at the edge and watch it erupt — explosions of glowing lava are most dramatic right at dusk.
Unity Airlines — Volcano Twilight Tour · unity-airlines.com
Day 6Yakel Kastom Village & Departure
Visit a traditional custom village on the slopes below Mount Yasur before flying back to Port Vila for the international connection home.
🏕️ Yakel Kastom Village Cultural Visit
~2 hrs · around $25 per person
One of Tanna’s best-known kastom villages, where residents have chosen to live by traditional ni-Vanuatu custom rather than Western ways — visits include a guided walk through the village and a traditional dance performance.
🛫 Flight to Port Vila & International Departure — Bauerfield Airport (VLI)
~1.5 hrs total travel · arrive 2 hrs before an international flight
The return flight from Tanna connects through Port Vila, where Bauerfield handles onward international departures — build in extra time between the domestic landing and the international check-in counters.
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