Due mainly to both the aftermath of a major earthquake and the unpredictability of the schedule of Air Vanuatu — which is the national airline of the country whose future and survival are uncertain — we spent four days in Vanuatu.
Four Days in Vanuatu.
The main reason why I wanted to visit Vanuatu is to see Mount Yasur, which is an active volcano on Tanna Island.
In addition to Air Vanuatu, three private operators offer air service and tours — but one of the operators was not offering anything commercially at the time we went.
We flew as passengers aboard an airplane which was operated by Fiji Airways for a nonstop flight from Nadi to Port Vila. After arrival, we hired a service to transport us the 4.5 kilometers from Bauerfield International Airport to Travellers Motel Vanuatu, as lodging options were limited.
The original plan for lodging in Port Vila was to stay at the Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu property; but after the reservations were booked, I was informed that the resort property would not open until at least Friday, August 1, 2025 because it had sustained significant damage from the aforementioned earthquake, which occurred on Tuesday, December 17, 2024 with a magnitude of 7.3 on the Richter scale. At least 14 people died and another 265 people were injured as a result of the earthquake.
The next day, we flew as passengers aboard an ATR-72 airplane which was operated by Air Vanuatu. The flight from Port Vila to Tanna Island was only 40 minutes; and it was on time. The issues which Air Vanuatu faced were not evident at the time.
A driver from White Grass Ocean Resort & Spa — which were our accommodations for the next two nights — eventually greeted us and transported us to the resort property. We arranged for a tour of Mount Yasur with an employee of the resort property.
At approximately 2:30 in the afternoon on that same day, we were transported in a pickup truck over mostly unpaved roads to Mount Yasur, where we stayed until just after dusk before being transported back to the resort property.
Torrential rain transformed most of the next day — on which nothing was planned — to a peaceful day which thankfully was not so hot.
After staying the second night at White Grass Ocean Resort & Spa, we once again flew as passengers aboard an ATR-72 airplane which was operated by Air Vanuatu. The flight from Tanna Island to Port Vila was only 40 minutes; and it was also on time.
Travellers Motel Vanuatu once again served as lodging for the last night in Vanuatu, as the second reservation at the Holiday Inn Resort Vanuatu property was also canceled.
The afternoon flight on the final day from Port Vila to Sydney was operated by Jetstar Airways with an Airbus A321neo airplane.
Final Boarding Call
Options on other things to see and do while in Vanuatu were severely limited due to the earthquake. The country was literally rattled with at least four additional earthquakes with a magnitude of at least 4.5 on the Richter scale since we left Vanuatu.
Additional details pertaining to the experience of spending four days in Vanuatu will be covered in future articles here at The Gate With Brian Cohen.
All photographs ©2025 by Brian Cohen.
