Espiritu Santo, (or just Santo, as the locals call it), is the largest island in Vanuatu. There is an incredible amount of history from WWII museums, relics, dive sites, the sunken SS President Coolidge cruise liner, Million Dollar point, to planes and ships on the beaches and in the sea. In addition, there are some of the most beautiful sites you will ever see including the stunning blue holes, Champagne Beach, and Port Orly.
We start off at Oyster Bay Lagoon located inside Peterson Bay (east side of Santo). Our goal here was to visit the two beautiful blue holes: Riri Blue Hole and Matevulu Blue Hole. Absolutely, one of the most stunning experiences we have had!
Hog Harbor
There are two bays inside Hog Harbor. We anchor at Lonnoc Beach because it offered better protection from the winds and swell. We drop the hook in beautiful clear blue water in between some bommies and overlook the pretty beach. There are three small “resorts” onshore. The one on the far left is closed (probably because the local airline is debunk and no guests can get here). The middle resort is the largest and most well known, Lonnoc Eco Beach Bungalows. And the one on the far right is Lonnoc Beach Lodge. These two locations offered restaurant, bar, trash disposal and laundry services to yachties. They too were vacant but employees were around.
In front of the Lonnoc Eco Beach Bungalows is a WWII barge that washed ashore. It now has several trees growing out of the center of it.
The second bay in Hog Harbor, which is far more popular, is Champagne Beach. This is one of Vanuatu’s most beautiful beaches and is visited by cruise ships and tourists from all over the world. The beach is covered in a super soft, pure white sand and the waters are crystal clear turquoise. Absolutely a stunning beach so we had to enjoy some champagne while on champagne beach!
Port Orly
Our next stop in Santo is Port Orly. We could see from the satellite charts that it was a really beautiful spot. The super soft sandy beaches had beautiful overhanging pam trees. The water is so clear that you can see to the bottom in 12 meters! We cozied up to a little eatery and enjoyed a few lunches as we admired this stunning view.
Our blog posts run 10-12 weeks behind live events. We visited Santo from mid-to-late August. We thoroughly enjoy a special performance of Vanuatu’s Bamboo Pipe Drum Band which was an epic performance (check out the post).