Vanuatu - any good for a holiday ?

[damoocow]

Some cheap deals going at the moment for families - anyone been there with kids?
Cheapest price at a place called Palms Resort and Casino in Port Vila - anyone stayed there?

[macjackass]

Have been there but not stayed at the places you mentioned. Don't know if it's a place for the kids, seemed more like a couples kind of place to me. It was beautiful when I was there.

[just]

Been there once, was on a bender at the time, beer was cheap, plenty of kava, coconut crabs were tasty, the little of it I can remember the place seemed nice.

Any help to you?

[Moe Norman]

Di they make you wear white socks on this bender Just?

[LarryLong]

Never been there with kids, but did go there on my honeymoon 10 years ago. It might have changed a little in that time, but probably not a great deal.

It was a fairly poor country, so the infrastructure and shopping isn't quite up with the rest of the tourist world, but instead of that you get a nice, quiet, peaceful place and the locals were fantastic. Really friendly and polite people, and they didn't have hawkers like you get in some other places. We were told there was very little crime, and I believed them after spending a week there. Only one man approached me while we were shopping in the main part of Port Vila, and he invited us to come to his village for an authentic meal and some dancing (and some kava) for something like 20 bucks including pickup from our resort. It was a great night.

Nice swimming, nice scenery and some places to visit if you're feeling adventurous. We caught a taxi out to a spot called the cascades where you can pay the locals a couple of bucks and they take you up the river and show you spots you can jump into the river off rocks, trees, and high banks if you're feeling game. Kids would enjoy that. You would also find a few operators around the place that would take you to islands or let you go canoeing (which we did with a local mob) or snorkeling.

Action packed in a gold coast sense? No, but an interesting place to visit if your kids aren't old enough to be unimpressed,

[shavey]

Moocow, that is now one of the properties I look after. Do a search in here for the Family and Friends link I posted previously and you should get even cheaper.

IHG took over the management rights less than two months ago and we are in the middle of a refurb. I have my colleague going there for holidays next week so I'll let you know when she returns.

[shavey]

http://www.ozgolf.net/showthread.php/12686-Family-and-Friends-accommodation-rates-updated-again?highlight=family+friends
or

http://www.ihgfriendsandfamily.com/mxvtk4

[damoocow]

Moocow, that is now one of the properties I look after. Do a search in here for the Family and Friends link I posted previously and you should get even cheaper.

IHG took over the management rights less than two months ago and we are in the middle of a refurb. I have my colleague going there for holidays next week so I'll let you know when she returns.

Thanks for the replies [well mostly!]
Shavey - every time I try and search for the hotel it says nothing matches my search in Port Vila, Vanuatu - may try again later.
Our current price is return airfares for 4 / 6 nights accom in 2 rooms / buffet brekky every morning for $4800 - considering we are looking at Sept school hols and airfares on webjet are $3200 it seems reasonable so far - will keep digging...

[just]

Di they make you wear white socks on this bender Just?

Indeed, knee high ones with white shoes as well!

[shavey]

Send me through some dates mate and I'll follow-up.

As it's new, I don't think it's been loaded into the back of house system just yet.

[markTHEblake]

Indeed, knee high ones with white shoes as well!

and white shorts and white shirt?

makes it a bit hard to hide the evidence of a bender.

[just]

Blakey
Does it? Tell me all about it, you seem to know more than me.

[markTHEblake]

The yellow disco pants easily showed many tell tale signs of bender affected walk home from the local joint, was a tough 600m stretch that one.
How they managed to be covered in dirt and take at least an hour to travel this route is still beyond me. Even my pockets had dirt in them.

I can only imagine white being worse.