Vanuatu: What to Know Before You Go

Cuisine Highlights

• Laplap, the national dish: root vegetable (taro, yam, or breadfruit) grated, wrapped in leaves, and baked in an earth oven with coconut cream and meat
• Fresh seafood, lobster, crab, and fish caught daily; grilled simply with lime and coconut
• Tuluk, meat stuffed inside grated manioc (cassava) dumplings, then steamed; a popular street food
• Coconut crab, one of the world's largest land crabs; a prized local delicacy with rich, buttery meat
• Kava, traditionally prepared from the kava plant root; participating in a nakamal (kava bar) session is an essential Vanuatu experience

Traditions & Festivals

• Naghol (Land Diving) on Pentecost Island (April–June), the original bungee jump; men dive from wooden towers with vines tied to their ankles
• Independence Day (July 30), national celebration with traditional dances and ceremonies
• Toka Festival on Tanna Island, multi-day ceremony involving thousands of dancers; one of Melanesia's most elaborate rituals
• John Frum Cargo Cult (February 15), on Tanna, followers march in ritual parade; a fascinating living anthropological phenomenon
• Underwater Post Office, Hideaway Island hosts the world's only underwater mailbox; a quirky must-do near Port Vila

Language & Communication

Vanuatu has three official languages: Bislama (a Creole), English, and French, reflecting its joint British-French colonial history as the New Hebrides. Bislama is the practical everyday language.

English and French are both used in government and tourism. With 113 languages across 80 islands, Vanuatu has the highest density of languages per capita on Earth.

Cultural Etiquette

• Always participate respectfully in kava ceremonies, refusing kava can be seen as unfriendly; drink the shell in one go and clap once afterward
• Ask permission before entering villages or approaching ceremonies, kastom (custom) law governs community life
• Dress modestly outside Port Vila, traditional communities expect covered shoulders and knees
• Mount Yasur volcano on Tanna is considered sacred by local people; follow guides and respect designated areas