Luganville

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Charts

See Vanuatu.

Weather

See Vanuatu.

Passages

See Vanuatu.

Communication

See Vanuatu.

Navigation

Luganville is easily and safely approached from the west, east or south in all weather conditions. There are no unmarked outlying reef structures to impede navigation but there can be strong tidal flows to take into account. All obstructions, including several shipwrecks, within harbour limits are well marked.

Entrance

Luganville is a port of entry for Vanuatu. For details see Entrance: Vanuatu.

Customs and Immigration. If clearing into or out of Luganville, anchor to the west of the main container wharf, clear of other shipping and call Santo Port Control on 16 or 12. If conditions west of the wharf are untenable due to strong trade winds a mooring can be picked up across the canal in front of Aore Resort or Aore Adventures. You can then take your dinghy across or catch one of the scheduled resort transfer boats. Customs is situated first on the right inside the main gates to the container wharf and immigration is located upstairs in the building at the start of the road to the container wharf (with the wrecked pilot boat in front). Both offices are a very short walk from town.

Berthing

There is no marina in Luganville but moorings can be obtained on the north side of Aore Island.

Anchorages

List anchorages including the ones of nearby islands list under "Islands" above. If there is more then 1-3 paragraphs for a given anchorage, create a dedicated page for it (Port/Stop Template). Remove this section if not applicable.

• [[large Anchorage1]]
• [[large Anchorage1]]

If choosing to anchor be careful not to disturb coral. The Beachfront Resort to the west of town across the Sarakata River offers good holding and is a pleasant welcome for cruisers. It can be a little sloppy in the afternoon during strong trade winds.

Amenities

Facilities
Water	Available at Simonsen Wharf to the east of the container wharf. Container Wharf. Maritime College (after prior arrangement) and most of the resorts offer water for jerry can filling. Town water is treated and safe to drink.
Electricity	240 volt 50 hZ supply in town and all resorts
Toilets	Very few public toilets in town but all cafes, hotels and restaurants have toilets for the use of their patrons
Showers	Beachfront Resort offers hot showers for a modest fee
Laundry	Beachfront Resort offers a laundry service for a modest fee
Garbage	Municipal garbage collection bags can be purchased in many stores in town or, if not too large amount it can be left in one of the many public garbage bins throughout the CBD. These bins are emptied regularly
Supplies
Fuel	Available by truck from SSP opposite Simenson Wharf. Paradise Petroleum Service Station will deliver your full jerry cans
Bottled gas	The Origin filling station is quite a drive out of town but bottles can be left at LCM supermarket for filling and return
Chandlers	Santo Marine beside LCM supermarket and Santo Hardware in the middle of town both offer a reasonably extensive range of chandlery items. Santo Engineers and Santo Spares also offer some items. Total Marine Solutions has a small range and can help track down any items you may need
Services
Repairs	Total Marine Solutions offers full service to all boats and can arrange haulout for all vessels including multihulls on one of the two slipways available +678 5522564/7768724. Regional Aero-Marine offers welding, machining and mechanical repairs. +678 7101766 Haulout facility on Aore Island for monohulls and catamarans to 22 metres and 30 tons for bookings and information call +678 5522564/7768724 or email to [email protected]
Internet	Most hotels and cafes offer free wifi to customers
Mobile connectivity	TVL and Digicel both offer 4G connections in Luganville and 3G elsewhere
Vehicle rentals	Deco Stop Lodge, The Espritu Hotel, and Hotel Santo all offer rental vehicles of various types

Provisioning

The main market house at the western end of town beside the river offers a good range of cheap, organic produce. LCM, the modern supermarket in town offers a range of western style food and is the most popular. Daming Store close to the market house offers a good range of canned goods and other items. Wong Sze Sing, Paradise Meats, Daming Store and LCM also have good butchery supplies. Santo is famous for its organic beef. Most grocery stores in town also offer bread but it pays to be early.

Eating out

Luganville and Aore Island offer a range of options. In town, Aore Art Café has a French flavour, Natangora Café is western and Japanese and Attar Café has a Turkish flavour. There are a few Chinese restaurants in town, the largest being Lunganvilla. The Espiritu offers Thai food and all resorts and hotels offer a good range of meals for reasonable prices. Aore Island offers some options with Aore Resort welcoming casual diners, Aore Coffee grows and roasts their own beans and Freshwater Planation has a good lunchtime menu.

Transportation

Mini cabs and buses in town are very reasonable and will take you most places for 100 vatu. Airport transfers are 1000 vatu. Plenty of mini vans and taxis available for tours but best to stick with a recognised tour company, their minivans will be signwritten. Twice daily flights to Port Vila and one international connection to Brisbane, Australia each week. Pekoa Airport just out of town is the hub for transfers to all northern islands.

Tourism

History

Luganville and the whole of Santo has a rich history from its traditional cultural ties through being a forward operating base for the US military during WWII and a secessionist movement during independence. All these combine to give the people a fierce pride and sense of independence seen nowhere else in Vanuatu. There is the beginnings of a military museum taking place at present with some displays in the lobby of The Espiritu Hotel

Places to Visit

Numerous ship wrecks for divers to explore with the most famous being the President Coolidge, accessible from shore. Be aware that all wrecks are marine reserves with nothing allowed to be removed and all dives should be guided by one of the many professional dive operations in town and on Aore Island. Many Blue Holes for a refreshing freshwater swim, waterfall and cave tours, the world famous Champagne Beach and Vanuatu’s best kept secret, Port Olry, are a short vehicle ride away from town. Kava tasting is a must have experience. Kava Bars generally open around 5pm and are identified by various coloured lights outside or a bucket hanging from a pole. If you are hesitant about trying it in unknown surroundings, ask one of the local expats to point to towards Roy's, Naka Vika, or Koltar where a conversation with expats is easily started. A lot of the kava bars also offer beer and food. Good gamefishing can be experienced around the coastline and there are some local operators offering trips. Ben from Deco Stop Lodge is a hard man to keep away from the rods and has a charter boat available for tailored trips. The east coast offers horse riding and kayaking tours. For the sake of the tourism industry in Vanuatu please insist that any tourism operator you use on the main islands show you a copy of their tourism permit, without it they are not entitled to charge for tourism services.

Friends

Pete or Sue from Total Marine Solutions will help you out with free advice and local knowledge. They are shore bound cruisers located in the Oyster Island (Peterson Bay) anchorage in the northwest corner, ask anyone there and they will point out where to go. Email [email protected] or call +678 5522564/7768724. Dave Cross from the Beachfront resort has a passion for Santo second to none and will do whatever he can to help you. Email [email protected] or call +678 36911. They also monitor channel 16

Forums

List links to discussion threads on partnering forums. (see link for requirements)

Links

• Luganville at the Wikipedia
• Luganville at the Wikivoyage

References

See Vanuatu References.

Comments

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