Efate · Shefa province
Port Vila: The Things to Do, Attractions, Markets and Day Trips
The things to do in Port Vila cluster tightly. The capital is small, and holds most of Vanuatu’s accommodation, its international airport and about a fifth of the country’s population, and it can be crossed on foot in twenty minutes. Most of what there is to do is either on the harbour or a short drive from it.
Port Vila markets
The main produce market runs through the week on the seafront and is the practical centre of the town — vendors come in from villages around Efate and stay for several days. It is a working market, which is exactly why it is worth the time. The handicraft market alongside it sells carving, basketry and shell work.
Port Vila attractions around the harbour
The Vanuatu National Museum holds the archaeological material from Chief Roi Mata’s Domain and a collection of slit drums, masks and sand drawings — sand drawing is on the UNESCO intangible heritage list. Iririki sits in the middle of the harbour and is reached by a short ferry. These are the attractions most visitors see, and between them they take half a day. The remaining attractions are outside town and are covered under day trips below, along with the other things to do within an hour of the capital.
Things to do in the water
Snorkelling and diving run directly from town, including the wreck of the Star of Russia, a nineteenth-century iron ship in the harbour itself. Further out, the reef around Efate is in good condition; the serious wreck diving is on Espiritu Santo rather than here — see diving.
Day trips around the ring road
The sealed ring road makes day trips straightforward. Mele Cascades, a terraced waterfall with pools you can climb, sits fifteen minutes north. Ekasup Cultural Village is five kilometres out. Further round are blue holes on the east coast, Eton Beach, and the north-west corner where the Roi Mata sites are.
The full circuit is a comfortable day with stops. Hiring a car makes the day trips considerably easier than depending on the minibuses, which go where the passengers aboard want to go.
Kava after dark
Nakamals open at dusk, marked by a single coloured light. This is the most ordinary thing to do in Port Vila and the one visitors most often miss — see kava.
Getting around town
Minibuses marked with a B are the local transport: flag one down, say the destination, and it takes whatever route suits the passengers already aboard. Fares are fixed and low. Taxis carry a T and the fare is agreed before setting off. Both are easier than they look and cheaper than a hire car for anything inside town.
Eating
Port Vila has a disproportionate number of good restaurants for a town its size, a legacy of the French half of the Condominium and of the expatriate population. The market food stalls upstairs at the produce market are the cheapest proper meal in the country and the most worthwhile.
Cruise days
When a ship is in, the handicraft market, the waterfront and the popular day trips fill up noticeably, and prices in tourist-facing businesses firm. Checking the cruise schedule and planning around it costs nothing.
Where the capital sits in a trip
Most itineraries treat Port Vila as the arrival point and the base for one loop of Efate before flying on to Tanna or Santo. Two nights is the usual allocation and is about right.
Common questions
How many days do you need in Port Vila?
Two covers the town and one loop of Efate. Most itineraries use it as the arrival point before flying on.
Is Port Vila walkable?
The seafront centre is. Anything beyond — the cascades, the cultural villages, the ring road — needs transport.
What is the best thing to do in Port Vila?
The produce market in the morning, and a nakamal at dusk. Both are ordinary and both are what the place actually is.
Should you hire a car?
Not for the town. For the ring road and the day trips it turns a logistical problem into an afternoon.
Safety and the evening
Port Vila is a low-crime town by most measures, and the ordinary precautions are enough. Streets outside the centre are unlit, and a taxi after dark costs very little. Nakamals are quiet places and are safe; the walk home is the part worth thinking about.
Cash and connectivity
ATMs are on the main street and at the airport. This is the last place to draw money before an outer island, and the assumption should be that there will be no opportunity after it.
A note on the name
Port Vila is generally just Vila in speech, and a good deal of signage uses the short form.