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🇻🇺Things to Do in Vanuatu
From the glowing crater of Mount Yasur to diving the SS President Coolidge wreck - the essential sights, and how to keep your own record of them.
Travel guide - last updated September 2026
Vanuatu is an archipelago of roughly 80 islands, and its main draws are genuinely unusual - one of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world, a massive shipwreck divable straight from the beach, and a land-diving tradition on Pentecost Island believed to be the origin of modern bungee jumping. Here are 5 places worth building a trip around.
Top attractions
The sights most first-time visitors build an itinerary around.
Mount Yasur
One of the most accessible active volcanoes in the world, on Tanna Island, with a viewing platform close enough to the crater to see and hear eruptions after dark.
📍 Tanna Island
🚉 The volcano is on Tanna: fly from Port Vila in 45 minutes, then a 4x4 truck crosses the ash plain to the crater rim for sunset - there is no other access, and the road is impassable in heavy rain.
SS President Coolidge
A massive WWII-era ocean liner turned troopship that sank off Espiritu Santo, now one of the most accessible large wreck dives in the world, reachable directly from the shore.
📍 Espiritu Santo
🚉 The wreck lies off Espiritu Santo, a short walk and shore entry from the road near Luganville - fly from Port Vila in an hour, and dive operators handle the rest.
Pentecost Island Land Diving
A centuries-old ritual where men dive from tall wooden towers with vines tied to their ankles, widely credited as the direct inspiration for modern bungee jumping - performed seasonally, typically April-June.
📍 Pentecost Island
🚉 The naghol jumps run from April to June on Pentecost: light aircraft fly from Port Vila, and the villages are reached by 4x4 truck on rough tracks from the airstrips.
Champagne Beach, Espiritu Santo
A white-sand beach named for the effervescent look of water bubbling up through the sand at certain tide points, regularly ranked among the South Pacific's best beaches.
📍 Espiritu Santo
🚉 The beach is 50km north of Luganville on the east coast road, about 90 minutes by 4x4 truck or hired vehicle - there is a small landowner fee at the gate.
Port Vila
Vanuatu's capital, on Efate Island, with a lively waterfront market and easy access to nearby blue holes and cascades for day trips.
📍 Efate Island
🚉 The capital is walkable along its seafront, with minibuses that stop anywhere for a flat fare - the market, the museum and the ferry to Iririki island are all in the centre.
Mark Vanuatu, get the stamp
In MyPassportStory, every country you mark - visited, lived in, or still on the list - becomes a stamp like these in your own travel passport. Add the cities you stopped in, draw the route between them, and turn the whole trip into a shareable passport-style image.
Open MyPassportStoryPlanning questions
How many days do you need in Vanuatu?
A week lets you combine Port Vila, a Mount Yasur volcano trip to Tanna, and diving the SS President Coolidge on Espiritu Santo, using short inter-island flights.
What's the best time to visit Vanuatu?
May-October is the dry season and the most popular time to visit. Cyclone season runs roughly November-April.
Is Vanuatu good for a first-time visit?
Yes - Port Vila is well set up for tourism, and organized tours make the volcano and wreck-diving experiences straightforward even without much advance planning.
Do I need a visa to visit Vanuatu?
Many nationalities, including the US, UK, Canada, Australia and most of the EU, can visit visa-free for short tourist stays. Check the official visa information for your nationality: vanuatu.gov.vu.
What are some things to do in Vanuatu on a tight budget?
Champagne Beach and most of Vanuatu's beaches are free to enjoy, local markets in Port Vila offer inexpensive fresh food, and joining a shared group tour to Mount Yasur costs less than a private charter.
Can I rent a car in Vanuatu, and what licence do I need?
You can on Efate and Espiritu Santo, and a 4x4 is worth it for the northern roads on Santo. A foreign licence is valid for visitors for up to three months, and an International Driving Permit is recommended alongside a licence not in English or French. Minimum age is generally 23. Traffic drives on the right, unusually for the Pacific. Beyond those two islands there is little to drive on - inter-island travel is by light aircraft, and Tanna's volcano road is 4x4 truck territory arranged by your accommodation. Official visitor information is published by the Vanuatu Tourism Office at vanuatu.travel.