Snorkelling in Vanuatu is definitely where it’s at—especially on Tanna Island. When I travelled to the coast of Tanna Island, Vanuatu, snorkelling these blue holes, is when I quickly realized how much the islands have to offer. They’re filled with sea life of all sorts in stunning clear blue water over a white-sand backdrop.
Blue holes to my understanding, can be both inland or in the ocean. Inland, they can be filled with fresh water through streams on the island, or have ocean water coming in. In the ocean, they contain rich coral diversity with few ocean waves due to a protective barrier of rocks. While on Tanna Island I experienced the ocean blue holes, near my accommodation there were two within walking distance.
Snorkelling on Vanuatu changed my perception of the island. It’s not just about hiking and visiting the volcano, or watching the sunset over a peaceful shore—although those are all wonderful things to do too. Discovering Tanna Island under water is to understand another depth of the rich culture of Vanuatu. I loved my experience here, and I hope this post can encourage others to visit the area.
How to Get to Blue Holes on Tanna Island
There’s two known blue holes on Tanna Island, accessible by foot or vehicle. They’re both located on Google Maps, Blue Hole One is located just South of Blue Hole 2. Although there’s two, I only visited the first one, as the locals there were confused about there being a second.
Transportation can be arranged through your accommodation, however there are multiple resorts nearby, and the blue holes are within walking distance. Keep an eye out for locals and avoid trespassing on their land.
Getting to the blue holes is easy, follow the directions through Google Maps and there is a sign located at the roadside pointing to the blue hole. Just head towards the water, not towards the locals homes. As Vanuatu is quite religious and conservative, please use discretion when walking around the area. It’s good practise to bring a towel to cover up, and avoid wearing clothing too revealing.
The locals are all friendly and welcoming. Everyone seems to wave and say ‘hello’. Many people are quite shy, and may not speak English well or at all, just keep that in mind in case you want to ask for directions.
What’s really interesting about walking to the blue holes, is there will be locals in what looks like just the bush to me, but it’s really a pathway to a village somewhere. There’s also livestock often tied to up trees that belong to locals. Despite my agriculture experience, these animals are not pets, and don’t want to be pet.
What it’s like in the Blue Holes
Snorkelling around Blue Hole One is one of the best ways to explore Tanna Island. There’s no tour necessary, it’s free and easily accessible. Blue Hole One features coral reefs chuck full of diverse coral and marine life, with holes filled with white sand. I was blown away with how the biodiversity in the water and how pristine it looks.
Starting from the shore, my partner and I left our belongings on the shore—where it would hopefully stay dry. There weren’t any other tourists out the entire time we were there, nor did any locals swim as far out as we did. There were kids in the water near the shore, who got to see me struggle walking on the rocks and laughed.
The bay area of Blue Hole One is a bit murky close to the shore, but it clears up further out. It’s best not to swim at low-tide because it can be difficult to get around. There’s also a risk of knocking rocks or coral during low-tide.
The rocks further out hold back the waves, so even during high-tide, it didn’t affect us from swimming. That is, unless we got too close to where the waves break. There were instances the water got a bit sandy from the waves. As it’s such a remote area, I wouldn’t recommend going out too far. Sometimes there’s boats further out as well.
There’s lots to see swimming close to the bay, including many different sections of coral, split by white sand. Some coral pieces are so big, they’re even bigger than me! It’s easy to lose track of time and just explore the reef.
Aside from heaps of different coral and fish, we saw snake sea cucumbers, starfish, sea anemone, sea slugs, stingrays and sea urchins en masse. Sea urchins were mostly in areas not accessible to swimmers, such as in between rocks, or seemingly hiding under coral, nowhere near the shore. With the abundance of sea life, the reef seemed very much so alive and happy.
Before snorkelling here on Tanna Island, my only experience had been snorkelling in Australia. This was the first time I had ever seen a height and depth such as this with coral, it looks incredibly untouched. Coral is growing on top of coral, and there are some single coral pieces wider than my height (180 cm). I’ve tried to include photos of my partner and I whenever possible to show the size.
There’s some moments, when the sun is shining in, that it’s visible to look through cracks in the coral and see thousands of fish hiding. This is also where those sea urchins hide sometimes too.
Looking back at the photos, it’s hard to show the depth and grandness of the coral reef. I have seen coral similar to this on the Great Barrier Reef, near the Whitsundays, but overall most of this was new. It’s definitely the biggest arrangement of coral I have seen, and the best part is there was only my partner and I discovering the area the entirety of the time we were there.
Tanna Island is such a special place to visit, it’s unlike any other trip I have done before. Exploring the coral on the Blue Hole One was one of the reasons my trip was so special and unforgettable.
Interested in more Vanuatu content? Check out this beginner guide to Vanuatu!
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