Vanuatu

[santalum]

This is my first post.
Looking at doing a trip to Vanuatu in Oct/Nov this year, in particular Pt Vila & Hideaway Island, any comments or information re diving & accommodation in the area would be of interest.
Santa.

 

[donacheson]

Originally posted by santalum
This is my first post.
Looking at doing a trip to Vanuatu in Oct/Nov this year, in particular Pt Vila & Hideaway Island, any comments or information re diving & accommodation in the area would be of interest.
Santa.

Vanuatu and not diving the SS President Coolidge? Maybe I'm displaying my ignorance, but I always think of Vanuatu and diving as the Coolidge.

 

[santalum]

Wreck diving is of no real interest to me, am more into marine life and photography, to each his own I guess.
Santa.

 

[donacheson]

Originally posted by santalum
Wreck diving is of no real interest to me, am more into marine life and photography, to each his own I guess.
Santa.

Enjoy your trip. Let us know about the diving - I enjoy marine life, as well as wrecks, too, but have passed on u/w photography.

 

[Ladydiver]

this article about Vanuatu at Scuba History. It has some great information about the area.

 

[santalum]

Thanks to both LadyDiver & GrayBeard for your replies.
The article in scuba history about Vanuaru was the one I located that in turn led me to this site, bit of a happy coincidence as this seems to be an interesting and helpful forum.
Yes the article is informative, however, I am at the stage of wanting to make bookings for accommodation & travel so am in need of specifics, i.e. unbiased personal experience as opposed to travel agents advertising where every thing is wonderful, until you arrive & find things are not quite as you imagined in the glossies.
The search continues.
All the best,
Santa.

p.s. I can identify with the gray beard, am a few year off retirement my self & also have gray facial hair.

 

[donacheson]

Originally posted by santalum

The article in scuba history about Vanuaru was the one I located that in turn led me to this site, bit of a happy coincidence as this seems to be an interesting and helpful forum.
Yes the article is informative, however, I am at the stage of wanting to make bookings for accommodation & travel so am in need of specifics, i.e. unbiased personal experience as opposed to travel agents advertising where every thing is wonderful, until you arrive & find things are not quite as you imagined in the glossies.

Interesting article; I wasn't aware of the site. When I was there several years ago, it was principally to dive the Coolidge, although a few dives were scheduled to the outer reefs. Unfortunately, Aquatmarine Santo's boat was laid up at the time, so we dove only the Coolidge, accessible from the shore. The author of the article, Walt Deas, was dead right about the Bougainville Resort - it offers accomodations in a beutiful garden and fine cuisine.

Incidentally, Coolidge diving isn't all wreck. As noted in the article, it's decompression diving and there's a stop at about 20 feet which has been "landscaped" as an attraction for divers, featuring several small morays, a few mantis shrimp and nudibranches, numbers of tropical reef fish, and Boris, a 6 foot grouper looking for a handout.

 

[PCdiver]

Spent 3 weeks in Vanuatu November 2001. Diving at Hideaway is OK but not fabulous. We didn't see any great reef diving available from the main islands. We were told that there was some very good diving only accessible via live-aboard in the out islands. We dove the SS Coolidge for 3 days, very cool. Million dollar point was interesting, the current can be very tough there.

We loved Vanuatu for its people and culture more than the diving. Very friendly, relaxed atmosphere.

 

[DiveTub]

Vanuatu is more for wreck Diving I worked there for 3 months out of Port Vila. Fantastic wreck diving in and around Vila Harbour, If it is coral you are after I would maybe choose another destination like Uepi Island. Maybe the best coral in the South Pacific.