Luganville - Clearance
This is one of the four official clearance ports for Vanuatu. See Vanuatu Formalities for detailed information on Clearance. Tax-free fuel is available here – see the Fuel section for more details.
Remember: 24 hours prior notice of arrival is required by Customs.
Clearing In:
On entering the harbour, fly the Q flag and call Customs or Santo Port Control on VHF Channel 16 or working Channel 12. Officials might not answer outside of office hours.
Arriving yachts may pick up a mooring off Aore Island Resort on the southern side of the Segond Channel and dinghy or take the shuttle across to the main town wharf to clear in.
Alternatively, yachts can anchor off the Beachfront Resort, which has good holding and gets a bus into town to clear with the authorities.
The customs office is inside the commercial port, the first building on the right. Customs will contact Quarantine, and in general, both Customs and Quarantine agents will want to visit the yacht to collect fresh fruits, vegetables, and garbage.
The immigration office is located on the first floor of the last building just before the road veers to the right for the wharf from the main road going east from Luganville. The blue and white building is not marked in any way. A taxi or bus driver will know the way.
There is are fees to be paid for Immigration clearance but no fees for Customs clearance.
Clearing Out:
If heading north, it is possible to arrange to clear out from Sola on Banks Island but as at August 2023, there were no customs or immigration officials posted there. You must get permission from the Head of Immigration in Luganville and pay for the cost of transport to and from Sola (return flights) and also the daily living expenses of agents for each department.
Note that all vessels that have been granted a certificate of clearance must depart for overseas within 24 hours of its issue and must not go to any other place in Vanuatu. So if you clear out from Luganville, you cannot continue cruising and anchoring anywhere else.
Last updated: August 2023
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Related to following destinations: Espiritu Santo, Luganville, Vanuatu
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We had 400l of duty free fuel (probably the cheapest fuel we have bought anywhere in the world) delivered to the well built and safe customs dock. We pumped the fuel into our tanks and then the barrels were collected. A smooth and simple process. The fuel was high quality. Probably one of the easiest ways to get diesel for the next few hundred miles north.
We cleared into Luganville last week and would absolutely recommend anchoring out the front of beachfront resort (on the Luganville side). The staff and owner are extremely accommodating to yachties and if you buy delicious food/drinks from the restaurant, they give you the wifi password and you can spend the day on the clean pool deck in the shade catching up on business while looking down the well kept grassy knoll to your yacht bobbing in the anchorage.
The beach is brown sand and the water is not very clear, but it is a great spot to refill water from the tap (access turnkey at reception), they take rubbish for a small fee then you can grab a taxi to the nearby petrol station if you need to fill up jerry cans. Our laundry came back extra fresh and it’s been a great week with only one really rolly day.
I think this anchorage is much better than picking up a mooring on the inconvenient More side if you have things to do in town. LCM supermarket delivers apparently if you need to do a big shop before heading to the Banks. (They bring the stuff quite close to your dinghy in a wheelbarrow actually)
There is a new “Aore Art Café” right in front of the immigration building, on the seashore. You can land your dinghy there (just left from the pilot boat wreck).
They welcome cruisers and can keep the dinghy, make laundry, water, print id pictures, free wifi, and of course, serve very good food and drinks. A very nice stop in Luganville.
Update Oct 2016 – the Aore resort has new (Australian) owners. Whilst there are still 3 moorings available at 1500VT per night (plus 3 more owned by neighbour Paul who runs a dive operation) the new owners are less friendly / accommodating to yachties so now there’s no water, rubbish or laundry facilities and the ferry to Luganville is 250VT pp return.
An update to fvberswordt’s comment below:
Concerning my original comment (moorings on Aore): The name of the resort’s neighbour to the east is Paul (a very nice Australian guy).
Price for all mornings (resort and Paul) was 1.500 vatu/night.
As of September 15th 2015, there are only four mooring balls in front of the Aore Resort and their neighbour to the east (each has two working moorings).
At least one of the mooring balls only marks a concrete anchor with a very weak rope and is not suited for mooring. You can identify these ball(s) by their missing pick up line.