I'm always on the lookout for good travel deals, and just before Christmas I spotted a really good package to Vanuatu - 7 nights including airfares, accommodation at Poppy's on the Lagoon and breakfasts. I mentioned it to Trev (who didn't say 'no') and suddenly I've booked a week's holiday in January. We had visited Vanuatu six years earlier (on our honeymoon) so had a good idea of what to expect. We were just looking for some quiet time, a bit of snorkelling, good food and a relaxing holiday after our busy Christmas/New Year season.We flew Pacific Blue - basic airline, no food provided, but plenty of leg room, and it was only a short flight, so we were happy with that. One of the big advantages of flying Pacific Blue rather than Air Vanuatu is that you arrive in the middle of the day, rather than late in the evening, so you can actually get your bearings when you arrive and it's not a 'wasted' night.
Our transfer was good, and we were provided with ice cold towels soon as we got into the van - excellent, as the humidity was unbelievable. We checked into Poppy's, a smaller 'boutique' style resort right on the Erakor Lagoon, and then a couple of the staff took our luggage and led us to our room - well, it was quite a climb up many steep steps and I'm glad that we didn't have to carry our own luggage! Certainly not for the unfit or the elderly! However, our studio apartment was a good size with a full kitchen, modern bathroom and balcony with chairs and a table overlooking the lagoon. I've posted a review of Poppy's on TripAdvisor if you're interested.
We settled in then had a chat with Gary, the manager, who gave us some ideas of where to go, what to do, how to use the local buses, and he recommended some restaurants for us to try. One of the first things to do, of course, was to have a dip in one of the two pools - it was so hot and humid, so the pool was lovely and refreshing. We had a meal at the 'Banana Leaf Cafe' at Poppy's, and it was very good - prawn mango curry and a beef curry. Although the resort doesn't have a 'restaurant' the cafe provided good food at a reasonable price throughout the day.
Next day, we managed to catch up with our daughter, Sharon, and her family who were also holidaying at Warwick Le Lagon in Port Vila. We swam in their many pools, had lunch at Aqua on Erakor Island, snorkelled in the lagoon, then finished off with a beautiful seafood buffet at Le Lagon's restaurant.
We caught the local buses (stand anywhere and flag down a van with a red 'B' on the rego plate) and visited Mele Cascades, which are a series of gorgeous waterfalls and rockpools in the Mele area. It was a warm walk up to the main waterfool, but so refreshing to cool off in the pools in the middle of the dense green jungle.
We revisited Hideaway Island for a spot of snorkelling - again, we used the local bus, then paid 1000 vatu (around $10) to catch the ferry over to the island. We took our own snorkelling gear, and had a fabulous day watching the colourful fish and soft corals in these beautiful waters. The beach is entirely made up of crushed coral, so it's not comfortable to walk on - reef shoes are a necessity!
One of the restaurants that Gary, our manager, had recommended was Le Rendezvous which overlooks Port Vila Harbour, so we checked it out one evening, and had a lovely meal there. Trev ordered a filet steak, which was cooked just as he liked it and I splashed out and had a whole lobster. It was beautiful, the service was excellent, and we had a good chat with a couple of the waitresses there.We did book one trip, the Coongoola Cruise, but we were very disappointed with it - our guide was totally disinterested in the whole thing, she told us very little about where we were going, what we were supposed to be doing, and did not communicate well at all with her clients; we didn't go out to the advertised beach, apparently because of the previous week's cyclone; the turtle rookery was not explained at all - she just told us to read the signs! The snorkelling was pretty ordinary at the first site, but the second site was better. Then at the end of the day, we sat on the boat in the middle of Havannah Harbour for over an hour, waiting for some people from a dive boat to get back - when they weren't even on our tour???? We did mention our disappointment to the tourist agent when we returned, and apparently several other people had complained about it. We ended up getting half of our money back, which was of some help, but unfortunately we had a disappointing day.
On our last evening we went to another restaurant recommended to us by Gary (and many reviews on Trip Advisor), Villa Chaumieres on Emtoo Lagoon. It was a lovely way to end our holiday - the setting was gorgeouos, on a jetty over the lagoon, the food was scrumptious, and the service was very good. I also posted a review of this restaurant on TripAdvsor.
If you're looking for a relaxing tropical holiday in a place with friendly smiling people, good food, that's easy to get around, then try Vanuatu - we love it.
