Vanuatu Country

Introduction
Pacific hospitality comes naturally at these altars of divine relaxation. You think Vanuatu's beaches are unbeatable on one island until you reach the next. Divers are delighted at the clear waters, coral reefs and shipwrecks; vulcanologists go wild for its many smoking peaks; and naturalists lust after its untouched forests, reefs and extravagant bird life.
Destination Facts
Capital: Port Vila
President: Kalkot Mataskelekele
Prime Minister: Ham Lini
Government: Republic
Time zone: GMT +11
Area: 860000
Population: 200000
Languages: Christian (84%), animist (16%)
Currency: Vatu (VT)
Country Dialing Code: 678

Getting there and away
The international airport is at Bauerfield, 10 minutes north of Port Vila. International airlines providing direct services to Vanuatu include Air Pacific, Air Vanuatu, Aircalin, Pacific Blue and Qantas. Departure tax is around 20.00. By sea, cruise ships arrive on average once or twice a fortnight into Port Vila. Yachts must clear customs and immigration in Luganville or Vila before 'dropping anchor'. A less common form of ocean transport is the cargo ship, which only carries a few passengers.

Getting around
Hiring cars, 4WDs and jeeps is relatively straightforward, and the taxis are plentiful and all metered. Minibuses are frequent but untimetabled; simply flag down the driver, tell him where you want to go and pay a set price per trip. Efate has around 240km (148mi) of sealed roads and Santo has 370km (230mi), but sealed doesn't mean free from potholes. Many of the roads on the outer islands are off limits during the wet season. If you want to island-hop it's usually better to fly (using Vanair, the only domestic airline); apart from a couple of well-established routes, inter-island passenger boats are irregular.

Visa:
Nationals of Commonwealth countries, the EU, Fiji, Japan, Norway, the Philippines, South Korea, South Africa, Switzerland, the USA and some other countries do not require visas for stays of up to 30 days. A return/onward ticket and sufficient funds are required for entry.

Weather
Vanuatu's long stretch of islands means the climate varies considerably between the tropical north (over 4000mm/157in of rainfall a year) and the subtropical south. But whenever you come you're pretty much guaranteed pleasant weather. From January to July the average high drops from 28 ° C (83 ° F) to 24 ° C (76 ° F), likewise lows move from 23 ° C (73 ° F) to 19 ° C (67 ° F). Rainfall is mostly brief and abundant but can be prolonged for a day or so in the wetter months, between November and April. The prevailing winds throughout the year are from the southeast (the famous Southeast Trade Winds of sailing ship days), bringing sunny days and cool nights. However, in the wet season the winds are more variable. Squalls can blow up in a few minutes, reaching 90km/h (56mi/h)and presenting a real danger to any small sailing vessels. In fact, any vessel caught in the open sea is in grave danger. Otherwise, just get a close-fitting hat. If you've booked a bungalow and it blows away, not to worry; your host will build another, pronto. They're used to cyclones.

Places of Interest
You think Vanuatu's beaches are unbeatable on one island until you reach the next. Divers are delighted at the clear waters, coral reefs and shipwrecks; vulcanologists go wild for its many smoking peaks; and naturalists lust after its untouched forests, reefs and extravagant bird life.