Making the most of Champagne Bay Espiritu Santo
Use these notes to shape a realistic day ashore, then confirm any time-sensitive information for the date of your call.
Arriving at the port
An unspoiled tourist destination that is not as well known as it deserves to be, Champagne Beach on the Pacific Island of Vanuatu is waiting to be discovered.
This is a tender port.
Espiritu Santo is truly one of the few places in the world where you can be on a beach alone, dive or snorkel with a thousand colorful fish, explore tribal and ritualistic cultural sites and follow it up with dinner on a jetty overlooking the South Pacific.
Espiritu Santo is the largest island of Vanuatu. It was named by Pedro De Quiros in the 17th century when he thought he had discovered the fabled great southern land of Australia.
Champagne Bay boasts a crescent of snow-white, pristine sand, fringed by coconut palms. There is also a freshwater spring that bubbles onto the eastern end of the beach (hence its name) at low tide. An offshore reef protects a lovely lagoon in which you can safely swim and snorkel. The lagoon is backed by a densely vegetated mountain range-topping 1700 meters.
Food and shopping
When you're not underwater, the preferred pastimes here include strolling along the fine white sand, sunbathing, and shopping at the beachside stalls set up by locals from the village of Hog Harbor.
Money
The local currency is the Vatu (VT), which is worth approximately;1 US cent or 0,7 Euro cents.