Making the most of Luganville
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
The cruise terminal is conveniently located close to the downtown area of Luganville. The distance is typically less than a kilometer.
The town is located approximately one kilometer from the ship overlooking the attractive Segond Channel. Luganville has some local bars, restaurants, general stores and the Women's Market, selling handicrafts from all over Espirito Santo. Walking into town (0.5km) you pass handicraft stalls and remnants of buildings surviving from when the American's were stationed there in WWII.
Printable map to take along.
Vanuatu (previously known as the New Hebrides Islands) is an archipelago nation consisting of 83 islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, north of New Zealand and east of Australia.
Luganville is the largest and rather poor town on Espiritu Santo. It has many Chinese stores as well as a few restaurants.
The pristine beaches and crystal clear waters of Vanuatu are renowned throughout the world - and so is the scuba diving. In fact, just off shore lies the largest intact shipwreck accessible to divers in the world. During World War II, the 30,000 ton ocean liner "President Coolidge" sank in Santo harbor after striking a "friendly" mine and still lies there virtually untouched in between 60 and 180 feet of water. The wreck draws an incredible variety of colorful aquatic wildlife - for divers, this is truly a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Getting around
Million Dollar point for snorkelling. It is a pretty place where at the end of the war 11 the americans pushed in anything into the ocean they didn't want to take back to America.
Food and shopping
The open air market is open 24 hours a day except for Sunday nights and it includes fresh fruit, vegetables and various other wares that the people of Santo bring to the markets from their village gardens. You can't beat the quality of their produce as its all organic and incredibly cheap.
Money
The local currency is the Vatu (VT), which is worth approximately 1 US cent or 0,7 Euro cents.
Credit and debit cards on the major networks (Cirrus, Maestro, etc) are accepted by many businesses. ATMs are available in Port Vila.
Tipping is not expected in Vanuatu, nor is haggling or bargaining.
Staying connected
There are three official languages: English, French and Bislama.
Internet access is available from some Cafes which offer free WiFi for customers and from wireless hotspots in the downtown of Port Vila.