Efate

Introducing Efate

Gourmet restaurants, top diving, world-class game fishing, a relaxed tropical lifestyle and the rich culture of Melanesia. This is part of Efate. Look too at the surroundings: secluded beaches, cascades, jewel-like islands, deep-water anchorages, an international airport and Vanuatu’s capital, bustling little Port Vila. Efate is this, and so much more.

Port Vila is Vanuatu’s principal tourist destination, so there are dozens of tours, fabulous accommodation, feasts, museums and quaint little back streets to explore. But don’t stop there. Go for some of the extreme sports like abseiling and parasailing, take treks, kayak or jet-ski over the ocean blue, walk, swim, hang out by the wharf; sit in a café, by a pool, on a mountain. Then there’s the sheer delight of just being here, jumping on and off the buses, not wearing seat belts, wandering through the markets, eating strange-looking fruits or even ground oven–baked slices of laplap (doughy mix filled with meat or fish) and finding the rhythm of Vanuatu time, which means things happen hours early, hours late, or somewhere in between. Seafood, organic beef, organic veg, organic coffee, organic fruit. After a few minutes in this tropical, laid-back, quaint and cute little town you become grounded, the rules and regulations from back home become irrelevant, and hey, next thing you’re smiling broadly at all the happy people smiling at you.

Bring the kids and watch them spark up as they shake hands with the locals, get their hair braided, spend their vatu at the market, or sit up the front of a bus. It’s a kids’ paradise too.

Last updated: Feb 17, 2009