What’s more tropical staying in a treehouse on Tanna Island in front of the Mount Yasur Volcano? I was expecting relaxation in nature, while exploring Mt Yasur and the surrounding area. Although I did enjoy parts of the experience of staying in a treehouse on Tanna Island, there’s a few things I underestimated as well.
Vanuatu is a remote nation located in the South Pacific Ocean, made up of 80 islands. I visited the country for two weeks during the wet season in February 2024. My partner and I saw positive reviews of various treehouse accommodations near Mt Yasur on Tanna Island. Overall through the reviews and the cost, it seemed like a great option, so we booked.
To help out others travelling to Vanuatu, specifically Tanna Island, I’m sharing this article to provide honest information about my experience. As this information is based on my own experience, it may not be the same for others.
Note that all currency conversion from Vanuatu’s Vatu to Australia’s dollar was done on 4 May 2024.
Table of Contents
What, where, and how much?
Tanna Island is a remote tourist destination for the most part. There are a few resorts, but overall the island is rugged, and tourism isn’t as big as other countries I have visited. Accommodation is more basic, unless you go for luxury options. Close to Tanna Island’s main tourist destination, Mt Yasur Volcano, there’s only a few types of accommodation. Most of these are treehouses or bungalow stays.
Now, staying in accommodation which is more basic has pros and cons. Part of the pros, is that those visiting get an authentic and local stay, while being able to see how the locals live. Often local food is provided at an extra cost, so it’s a chance to try local cuisine.
The price is quite attractive to stay at these treehouses, the cost can start at just AUD$45 a night. As mentioned, there’s plenty of positive reviews for these treehouse accommodations.
A few travellers who stayed at the same accommodation as us just showed up rather than booking online. We discovered later that they paid a much higher rate than we had booked for, so I would recommend to book online. Below, I’m sharing my experience of staying multiple nights in a treehouse on Tanna Island.
What is it like staying in a treehouse on Tanna Island?
Staying in a treehouse accommodation on Tanna Island was an adventure. When initially booking, and seeing plenty of positive reviews, I expected it would be a relaxing experience.
Despite the bumps in the road that I detail below, I did enjoy the cultural experience, including the chance to see how locals live. Perhaps had I visited during the dry season, there may have been some improvements of the conditions.
Transportation
Starting off before arriving at the treehouse on Tanna Island, I had booked this accommodation a few months before. There was no mention of transportation in the booking description, until a week before we were going, the hosts messaged me to say it is 2,500 VT (AUD$32) per person one-way.
For context the ride is about an hour long, over rough roads—even through a river and in front of the volcano. I learnt later that the transportation does not belong to the hosts, so it’s not available at anytime. Owning a vehicle in Vanuatu is expensive, as well as fuel costs, therefore most locals do not own a vehicle.
The host asked for our arrival time at the airport and we were picked up at the airport on time. The driver took us to the local market to buy any supplementary food for our time, as we would be there for a week. This is also where our host met us, who rode in the back of the pickup truck on our trip to the treehouse.
Along the way, the driver also let us get out and take photos in front of the volcano. We also stopped for groceries a few times for the host. It was interesting to see how the locals present food and shop at the roadside stalls and markets. Get ready to see lots of kava root around, which is a drink the locals consume which has similar effects to alcohol.
Treehouse Property
When first arriving at the treehouse on Tanna Island, I was amazed at how beautiful and lush the property was, maybe a bonus of visiting during the wet season. The property was well maintained, even the sand was raked daily and dead branches and leaves picked up.
There were lots of plants and flowers growing in the black volcanic soil of the front garden which looked well manicured. Locals walked around barefoot or in flip flops, and kids ran around everywhere. Everyone here looked happy and part of the community.
The property had two different accommodation types, there were three rooms in the treehouse and another few rooms in a bungalow accommodation, along with another independent suite. Another building was the dining area for guests.
The accommodation is quite close to the road, but there’s hardly any cars that go by, so it’s not noisy at all. Because the accommodation is right outside of the volcano’s entrance, there will be slightly more traffic as tourists visit from other parts of the island.
There’s a few different areas to sit on the property, but at my accommodation there was limited seating undercover.
Bathroom
The treehouse accommodation we stayed had advertised a private bathroom, but when arriving we learnt it was actually shared among everyone. The toilet and shower is in separate rooms of the same block.
The shower was cold only, and sometimes only had a dribble coming from the faucet. A large bucket with rainwater was provided so the best option was to use this to shower. It wasn’t horrible to have a cold shower, but due to the humidity the best time to shower was after sunset. It did get a bit chilly to shower after sunset because of the wind.
On our third day at this accommodation, there was no more running water. The accommodation was having a problem with the pipes, but wasn’t sure how to deal with this. To accommodate the multiple guests staying there, they left rainwater buckets at the toilet for people to use to flush. However, not everyone understood how to do this, and the water didn’t last long. I won’t go too into detail, but I’m sure you can understand how uncomfortable this was.
Meals at Accommodation
This treehouse accommodation included breakfast, while lunch and dinner was 1,000 VT (AUD$13) per person. On the first few days the breakfast was delicious fluffy bread that is made locally. Accompanying was spreads including peanut butter. Tea and coffee was also provided.
Bread with spreads doesn’t leave me feeling full until the next meal five hours later. I recommend to bring extra food for snacks, maybe something with protein too. There is a small convenience stores nearby the property but it only has basic food options, such as canned foods or packaged noodles.
However, after those days the breakfast got quite bleak. Then, the hosts only provided us with crackers and spreads, along with the tea and coffee. As the bread wasn’t enough before, these crackers definitely weren’t enough to keep me full.
We had the lunch and dinner made by the hosts nearly everyday as there were no other options in the area. Our first dinner, I found the food diverse and delicious, definitely homemade local food. The meal was a chicken curry with drumsticks, cassava, vegetables, and rice. It was actually so much I couldn’t finish all of the rice.
However, as the days went by the food didn’t change. The hosts apologized for not getting different ingredients to change the food, but eating the same meal five days in a row wasn’t exciting.
Activities around Mt Yasur
There were many more activities than just the volcano itself to enjoy and discover. The accommodation offered three different tour options for local cultural tours. Our hosts also told us about a free hike to White Beach in the area, which is good for snorkelling.
I clearly hadn’t done enough research because I expected the volcano walk to be free, as other mountain hikes are around the world. However, the volcano is private property and charges 8,000 VT (AUD$101) per person, per visit. If the weather is bad, they will allow you to return for free until the volcano can be seen clearly.
Rides to the top of the volcano from the base are 1,000 VT (AUD$13) which may mean riding in the back of the truck. It’s about a 45 minute walk to the top, or a 10-15 minute ride, along with a 10 minute walk to the top of the volcano. The ride up is quite bumpy the whole way.
Aside from this there are cultural tours available, about three different ones. We ended up only doing one but had a great time, I would definitely recommend it. The Imaio tribe cultural tour cost is 1,000 VT (AUD$13) per person, and 1,500 VT (AUD$20) per person for the mandatory tour guide.
Other than this, I’m sure the accommodation could arrange a ride to tour other parts of the island for the day.
Review on Staying in Treehouse on Tanna Island
The treehouse accommodation looked so cool when booking, and it was definitely an experience to remember. We were given a room with one single bed and a double bed in a tiny room. We used the single bed to store our bags off the ground.
I was taken aback with how basic the accommodation was, including whether the structure of the treehouse was safe. It’s mainly held up by various pillars. There’s a long staircase to get to the treehouse, making most of the accommodation units only available to those with no mobility impairments. The staircase is quite steep and gets slippery when wet. As it rained nearly every thirty minutes during the wet season the staircase was almost always wet.
Each room in the treehouse is only separated with a plywood wall from the rest. There’s no soundproofing, so we heard everything from the wind, rain to tree branches against the structure. I love the sound of rain so it didn’t bother me, but I was woken up during the night from storms.
Windows are just cut outs in the wall, it doesn’t have a mosquito net or glass, but did have a curtain. Doors do not have locks, and cannot be closed from the outside. As there’s gaps in the doors, floors and walls, and the curtain is just a light piece of fabric, the wind and rain definitely comes through.
The roof of the treehouse is a beautiful handmade leaf woven together traditionally. And, many of the walls of the other buildings are also made of woven palms. It really shows how talented the locals are to build these.
I was a bit worried of rusty nails around the treehouse, so I didn’t go barefoot. Additionally, there are holes in between some of the plywood on the floor, so it is possible to drop small things through here. There’s also only a fence along one side of the terrace, whereas the end was open. For this reason I’m not sure if this would be a good stay for children.
There are lights around the treehouse, but at this accommodation the power was only on for a few hours every night around dinner time. After that, lights are essential to get around. It would have been impossible to get to the bathroom during the night otherwise.
All over the property and the treehouse accommodation, there are electrical wire connections put together just with tape and lay on the ground.
The first night of our stay was when I felt really uncertain the treehouse. As we were going to bed, there was a huge huntsman spider on the ceiling of our room, about the size of my hand. I’m familiar with spiders after living in Australia, but it doesn’t mean I like to sleep with them hovering above me… watching me sleep.
This same night I was woken up multiple times from rats running all over the treehouse, especially in our unit. I would turn my light on but all that was left was their bite marks on my soap and fruit, and poop all over our belongings. I hardly slept, the whole thing felt like a nightmare.
We had a mosquito net over the bed, but the size for a single bed, not the double we were sleeping in. That meant the net was touching our heads and feet the entire night. It also led to me feeling paranoid about insects or rodents touching me, as there was also big holes in the netting.
I told the hosts the next morning about the spider and the rats. They gave us a cooler box to put our food in so the rats couldn’t get it. They also offered to switch our rooms but didn’t follow through with this. The next few nights I grew accustomed to the rats running around the room and slept a bit better. My partner even scared the spider away to another area of the treehouse (a true hero) and we didn’t see it for the rest of our stay.
However, I have to add that, if someone is a deep sleeper, this might not have affected them at all.
Aside from sleeping, and the few activities during the day, there wasn’t much to do in the area. Most of the land is also private so it’s not recommended to just go for a walk without a plan. There’s also sacred areas that would be offensive to visit without permission.
During the wet season it rained about every hour or less. This made it difficult to sit and enjoy time outside reading a book or laying in a hammock. The high humidity meant that clothing we hung to dry, for four days stayed wet and smelled bad. Nothing got close to drying.
After day four of staying at the treehouse, we ended up leaving early and staying somewhere near the coast. It was too much to be without running water, feeling dirty from the humidity, and the rodents during the night.
Tips and Solutions for Staying in a Treehouse
Based off of my experience staying in a treehouse on Tanna Island, please know it wasn’t all negative. Staying in the interior of Tanna Island will have high humidity during the wet season, no matter what type of accommodation.
The cultural experiences I had while staying at this treehouse was unmatched to any other place I have travelled before. It’s so beautiful to learn about the culture, and experience it in such a raw form. It’s also incredible to see how the locals live today, which is still in traditional ways. I also appreciate how well our tour guide and hosts spoke english. This meant we could learn so much about the culture.
Altogether, my recommendation is stay for only a night or two in the treehouse for the experience. It’s good to be aware of these possibilities, instead of surprised like my partner and I were. I don’t want this article to deter anyone from going to the treehouse accommodation. The idea of sharing this is to prepare everyone for the real possibilities.
Personally, this experience ended up being great for the remaining of my travels through Asia, which set the bar of basic accommodation. Now, if rats aren’t running through my room, I’m happy!
To read more about travelling Vanuatu, check out my complete guide to visiting Vanuatu for beginners.
