Luganville - Docking
There is no marina in Luganville.
Moorings:
The Aore Adventure Sports & Lodge, just a five-minute tender ride to the main shopping area of Luganville, has three deep water moorings available for visiting yachts. They offer a number of services to cruisers (see their listing for more details) and their moorings are recommended if you want to stay for an extended length of time while visiting Espiritu Santo. See the following report from cruisers who visited in July/August 2023.
Vanuatu: A Cultural and Cruising Paradise
Anchoring:
There are two good anchorages convenient to town:
Between the main wharf and BP wharf just north of the no-anchor zone: Here there is a plateau of sand in 12 to 15 meters with good holding. This spot does get a lot of wind and will be rolly in trade wind conditions. It is also not ideal when cruise ships visit. Dinghies can be conveniently landed to the west of the BP wharf at the dock of a big hardware store. Make sure not to tie to the cleats, as they are used for their delivery boats and your dinghy may be moved. Be sure to approach this dock very close to the shore (in particular at low tide) as there is a reef south of the dock that can not be crossed with a dinghy.
Beachfront Resort: This is the preferred yacht anchorage on the Luganville side of the Segond Channel. The anchorage is along a sandy beach located just west of the Sarakata River, west of Clemenceau Point and East of the three ruined iron wharf structures from the WWII era. Holding is good in 5-15m in the sand. The anchorage is relatively open to the east, and especially at high tide in the afternoon the anchorage can be choppy.
Dinghies may be landed on the beach at the Beachfront Resort and they offer a number of services to cruisers (see their listing below for more details). Taxis and buses frequently pass by on the road next to the resort, a ride typically costing 200 Vatu.
Other Anchorages:
Palikulo Bay
The anchorage at Palikulo Bay is well protected and quite beautiful and is approx. 11nm from Luganville. Buses to town only leave in the morning and evening (30-minute journey). Taxis and cars rarely pass this area, so it would be very wise to negotiate a taxi ride in advance or call one via mobile phone. The taxi ride is usually 1.500 Vatu. Hitchhiking is an option, but you may not find a single car passing you for a long time. There is 3G mobile reception available.
Peterson Bay
This is a very popular anchorage situated approx. 15nms from Luganville near Oyster Island. The anchorage is almost a cyclone hole and many cruisers end up staying here much longer than planned as they enjoy the quiet anchorage and numerous activities in the area (blue holes, snorkeling on WWII plane wrecks, hiking, etc.). Transport to Luganville is relatively easy to find.
No facilities are available for yachts on Oyster Island but Turtle Bay Lodge at the northern end of the anchorage welcomes cruisers and can usually arrange water, laundry, transport etc.
Oyster Island Resort is undergoing redevelopment and rumors abound that they will build a bridge across from the mainland, preventing access to the anchorage. With this in mind, a full hydrographic survey is intended of the northern entrance to the lagoon with a view to placing proper navigation marks in 2019. For permission to go ashore and explore Oyster Island (before construction begins), simply ask anyone on the beach by the remains of the old resort.
Velit Bay Plantation (Shark Bay), north of Peterson Bay, has new owners who no longer welcome tourists.
Rubbish Disposal
Luganville rubbish disposal is handled using pre-paid bags, if rubbish is not in these bags it will not be collected. Be sure to ask once ashore where the bins are located to help keep Luganville clean.
Note: These bins are for small bags only. Stacking big bags around the bins is both unsightly and unhygienic.
Last updated: August 2023
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Related to following destinations: Espiritu Santo, Luganville, Vanuatu
Port Navigation
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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.