The Best Of Vanuatu
The Best of Vanuatu
Discover all that Vanuatu offers on this full day experience, while you learn of the native people's customs and culture, visit a school, take a swim at the Blue Lagoon, see waterfalls and taste the flavors of the South Pacific.
An amazing cultural experience awaits when your first stop is made at the Iarofa Cultural Village. See and learn of the history of this island told through the stories of the islanders when the forest provided all they needed to survive and defend themselves from outsiders. Be welcomed by a warriors dance and glimpse the everyday life of these people when you see their dwellings, witness their handcrafts and see what and how they prepare their food. Before your stay is complete you will witness a traditional fire-walk.
You will continue on to the Eton Village and Eton Primary School. In the opinion of the local people, it is not about what they know of their island and heritage, but rather how they let you see it through their eyes and with their passion. The love of country is intertwined with their contagious sense of Melanesian humor and you will see this passed along to the youth of the island.
Continue your day soaking up the sights travelling through the scenic countryside past endless coconut plantations and quaint villages en route to the Blue Lagoon. Fed by a freshwater spring, the lagoon's azure waters and the surrounding rainforest are an unmissable escape from the tropical heat. The easy access to the water is down built-in steps leading into the lagoon.
Next it is lunch time and you will travel to the Aquana Beach Resort. Offering a daily selection of local and international cuisine prepared using the freshest of locally grown produce including Vanuatu's famous organic beef and fresh fish. While at the resort you can also enjoy the use of the amenities.
After lunch you will travel to the Lololima Cascades where you will discover the cascades are located on private property and off the beaten track; therefore not crowded. It is also not open to taxis and service buses and most of the other tour operators. Your reaction to the waterfalls will be one of "breathtakingly beautiful" and you will appreciate its natural beauty and unspoiled surroundings. The Lololima Waterfalls are lesser known than the famous Mele Cascades, even though both are close to the main city of Port Vila. The result of it being less known will enhance your experience and make it seem somehow more intimate. Be prepared for fun and the chance for amazing photos as this waterfall is comprised of a pair of large sloping drops over limestone surfaces with a few smaller plunging tiers offering plenty of opportunities to have a swim or a refreshing dip.
Your day is not over just yet as you will travel next to Port Vila's best city lookout for a photo stop as well as other interesting and historical sights.
You will then drive to the Duty Free shopping area and your transportation will wait while you have the chance to buy souvenirs of your day in Vanuatu.
To finish your day, you will have a true taste of the island with a kava experience and tasting. Kava is a particularly appropriate symbol of Vanuatu's custom and national identity. Several customary techniques, including pounding, grinding, grating, and chewing exist in various Pacific societies to process fresh or dried kava rootstock. In most rural areas of the country, adult men gather at the end of the day to enjoy a coconut shell or two of kava. Unlike Polynesian societies that prescribe a polished etiquette of kava preparation and service wherein drinking order signifies local chiefly hierarchies, Vanuatu's more informal kava drinking practices tend to accentuate male equality - men bring along kava roots and share them with relatives and neighbors. Nearly everyone grows kava; the plant is an essential token in the gift economy. Beyond everyday socializing, kava consumption also joins drinkers to their ancestors and other local spirits and is sometimes considered a sort of sacrifice, a gift to the gods. As Port Vila's busy nakamals grind kava rootstock into 50 and 100 vatu shells of "redimed" drink, they are further processing sacred kava into a cash crop and into a rooted but inventive emblem of cultural identity. Have a tasting of kava and you can leave the island with the knowledge and flavor of what Vanuatu is all about.
Your return to the pier area and your ship is at the Wharf Markets where you can stroll the colorful vendors making your way back on board.
Shore Excursions Group was created with one goal in mind: to provide exceptional travel experiences to cruise passengers in the ports they visit around the world. To accomplish this, we have compiled an exceptional array of tours delivered by local experts with decades of experience serving travelers and delivering excellent tours. Our owners and management team are comprised of seasoned travel industry executives who leverage their considerable experience to deliver memories of a lifetime.
We are experts in providing exceptional shore excursions. We understand that in today's fast paced world, vacations have become an increasingly important way to relax, reconnect with family and friends, and experience new and interesting places. With this in mind, we provide the highest quality tours by performing extensive research, and detailed reviews. While other companies also offer excursions, we strongly believe our expertise and approach set us apart. The large cruise lines sell shore excursions - typically in very large groups visiting high traffic sites. We focus on smaller groups visiting more interesting and authentic locations using more personalized local operators. While the cruise lines are experts in delivering cruises, we are experts in delivering shore excursions.
Our Approach
We believe quality service is not only highly valued by customers, but ultimately leads to better experiences and higher satisfaction. Unlike the cruise lines and other tour companies that rely almost entirely on websites, we encourage customers to call us. We want to invest our time answering your questions, providing input, and selecting the excursions that best meet your needs.
Our Tours
Our goal is to provide customers a wide array of exciting, appealing, and enriching tours. For those customers who prefer to travel in smaller groups with more personalized service, we offer a wide variety of small group tours around the world. These tours generally range in size from 2-12 people compared to larger tours which can number up to 50 people. While exploring the destinations and ports on this website, feel free to search for these "Small Group Tours". For those customers interested in private tours, we offer many outstanding excursions that allow you to travel with your party alone and, in many cases, to fully customize your tour. Search for "Private Tours" if you are interested in this experience. Our "Scenic" tours provide up close and personal access to some of the most spectacular natural environments on Earth from majestic glaciers in Alaska to spectacular reefs in the Caribbean. Our "Cultural" tours allow customers to experience local customs, entertainment and culinary delights ranging from tribal dances in Alaska to an outstanding local meal in Santorini, Greece. Our "Active" tours offer a multitude of exciting and adventurous ways to experience our destinations. Our customers can kayak the turquoise waters of the Caribbean, hike to a spectacular waterfall in Hawaii, or bicycle through quaint villages in France. Our "City" tours allow travelers to see the highlights of great cities around the world with unique insights provided by our expert tour guides.
Our People
In our experience, exceptional travel experiences are almost always delivered by exceptional people. With that in mind, we utilize a comprehensive approach to select and employ the leading tour guides and tour providers around the globe. We hold our people to very high standards which we measure by our comprehensive Quality Control process and, most importantly, by our customer feedback, which we will actively seek from each of our customers.
Our Owners
Shore Excursions Group is owned by seasoned travel executives possessing extensive experience across many sectors within the travel industry.
Bradford J. Miller
Mr. Miller is the former Executive Vice President and Chief Development Officer for Abercrombie & Kent, the World's leading luxury travel company. In that role, Mr. Miller was responsible for contributing to Abercrombie & Kent's international growth through the development and acquisition of tour products and travel experiences around the world with a specific focus on cruising and land based experiences. Prior to joining Abercrombie & Kent, Mr. Miller held a variety of executive positions with Royal Caribbean International and Celebrity Cruises for more than a decade. These positions included Vice President of Guest Sales & Service, Vice President of Brand Development, and Vice President of Onboard Revenue (which included shore excursions). Mr. Miller also led Celebrity Expeditions, a collection of outstanding and unique tours around the World.
Michael Bonner
Mr. Bonner has over a decade of experience working in the cruise industry in a variety of roles for both Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. and Viking River Cruises. Most recently, Mr. Bonner was the Chief Operating Officer for The Scholar Ship, a Royal Caribbean program aimed at providing college students onboard educational programs in conjunction with enriching shore excursions around the world. Mr. Bonner also helped co-manage Viking River Cruises U.S. Operations, and he ran the corporate, strategic, and deployment planning functions at Royal Caribbean. While at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was responsible for forming Royal Celebrity Tours, Royal Caribbean's land-based tour operation in Alaska, which takes cruise passengers on multiple day tours through the interior of Alaska either before or after their cruises. Prior to working at Royal Caribbean, Mr. Bonner was a consultant for Booz Allen & Hamilton.
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