03
Luganville excursions, from the free town walk to the Coolidge
Ranked by one question: what does the tour get you that a taxi and some vatu can’t?
On Santo the gap is narrow, because taxis wait at the wharf — the risk is the clock, not access.
Wharf, money and taxi detail lives on our Luganville cruise port guide. If your sailing also calls at Vanuatu’s capital, see our Port Vila shore excursion guide; for New Caledonia, our Nouméa shore excursion guide.
Free · from the wharf
Luganville on foot: Main Street, the market and the base that built it
The town is the free part of a Santo day, and it’s short — an hour or two, not a whole morning.
Walk in from the wharf to Main Street, where the shops, banks and exchange offices sit. Quonset huts left from the base years still stand around town, which Holland America calls out on its port page.
The produce market is the stop with the most life in it. Bring small vatu notes. Prices are fixed — you pay what’s asked, not what you can talk it down to.
If you want the WWII story told rather than guessed at, Princess runs a 2-hour Luganville Highlights tour from $79.95. It stops at the old Bomber 2 airstrip, now Pekoa Airport, a Church of Christ, the markets and the South Pacific WWII Museum.
- Time commitment
- One to two hours on foot; 2 hours on the guided version.
- Getting there
- On foot from the wharf, or by minibus with the ship’s tour.
- Suits
- Short calls, budget days, anyone who wants cash in hand before heading up the coast.
- Ship or independent
- Independent for the walk; the ship tour if you want the museum and airstrip with a guide.
Why it's worth considering
It costs nothing, and it’s where the ATMs are — useful before any trip to a cash-only blue hole.
The guided version gets you to the WWII museum and the airstrip without a taxi negotiation.
The catch
There isn’t a lot to it. You may be done in an hour.
Banks close at weekends, and the market’s hours aren’t published by an official source we found.
Verify before you book
- Whether your call falls on a weekend, when banks close
- Museum opening hours for your date
- The Highlights tour price on your sailing
History · ship excursion
Relics of World War II and Million Dollar Point
Santo was a US military supply base, and this is the tour that walks you through what’s left of it — the island’s war story, not its beaches.
Princess lists Relics of World War II at 2.5 hours from $79.95, and tags it a guest favorite. Holland America sells a tour by the same name.
The headline relic is Million Dollar Point. After the war the US left its surplus equipment in the water there — tanks, trucks, weapons and Coke bottles, by one tour company’s account.
The tourism office lists the point for snorkeling and diving, so pack a mask if your tour leaves time for a swim.
The listing pages we read don’t spell out every stop, so read the full description on your line’s site.
- Time commitment
- About 2.5 hours.
- Getting there
- By minibus from the wharf; Million Dollar Point is a short drive along the coast.
- Suits
- History buffs, first-timers, anyone with a family WWII connection to the Pacific.
- Ship or independent
- Either. A taxi reaches Million Dollar Point easily; the tour adds the guide and the story.
Why it's worth considering
It’s short, it’s cheap by ship-tour standards, and it’s the reason Santo is on a lot of itineraries.
It leaves you most of the day for a swim.
The catch
Much of the dumped gear is underwater, so non-swimmers see less of it.
Stop lists vary by line — confirm what’s included before you pay.
Verify before you book
- Which stops your line includes
- Whether snorkel time at Million Dollar Point is part of it
- Price on your sailing
Half-day · ship or local
Canoe the Riri River to a blue hole
This is the Santo outing people tend to describe afterward, and it’s slow on purpose. Someone else paddles — you ride, not row.
Holland America’s Canoe the RiRi River runs about 2.5 hours from $99. A 30-minute minibus ride without air conditioning takes you past coconut plantations and villages to the river.
From the bank, a guide paddles you upstream in a fibreglass canoe through jungle, with fish visible in the clear water. The trip ends with a swim at the blue hole.
Princess sells its version at 2.5 hours from $99.95, rated strenuous. That’s a different label from Holland America’s moderate, for what looks like the same river.
You can also arrange it locally. The Vanuatu Tourism Office suggests asking near the bridge over the Riri for an outrigger canoe.
- Time commitment
- About 2.5 hours.
- Getting there
- About 30 minutes by road from Luganville, then the canoe.
- Suits
- Couples, first-timers, families with swimmers.
- Ship or independent
- Either. The ship version handles transport; the local canoe is cheaper but cash-only and unpublished in price.
Why it's worth considering
It’s a quiet, very Santo way to reach a blue hole, and the paddling isn’t your job.
Riri is often less busy than Matevulu, by the tourism office’s account.
The catch
Holland America doesn’t permit guests with a heart condition, epilepsy, diabetes or asthma, and you sign a waiver.
Snorkel gear isn’t supplied on the ship version. Bring your own if you want it.
Verify before you book
- Medical restrictions on your line’s version
- Whether the entry fee is included
- A firm pickup time if you go local
If you want a beach and a blue hole in one tidy half-day, this is the simplest buy on the list — one booking, two swims.
Princess lists Northern Seaside & Blue Hole at 3.5 hours from $89.95; Holland America sells a tour of the same name.
A cruise blogger who took it with Royal Caribbean describes a 30-minute drive, about 45 minutes at a private beach with a small market, changing room and toilet, then about 45 minutes at the “Secret” Blue Hole.
That blue hole, near Hog Harbour, connects to the ocean, so the water is salty — not the freshwater pool you might picture.
- Time commitment
- About 3.5 hours.
- Getting there
- By coach from the wharf.
- Suits
- First-timers, families, anyone who wants beach and swim without planning.
- Ship or independent
- Ship. No signs mark the Secret Blue Hole trail, by the tourism office’s description, so a guide helps.
Why it's worth considering
Two of Santo’s draws in a tight half-day, with a toilet and a changing room on the beach.
It leaves time to walk the town afterward.
The catch
It isn’t Champagne Beach. If that’s the beach you came for, this tour doesn’t reach it.
Prices vary by line — the same blogger noted different fares at Princess and P&O for the same operator.
Verify before you book
- Which beach your line’s version uses
- Whether snorkel gear is provided
- Price on your sailing
Long day · taxi or tour
Champagne Beach, about 45 minutes up the coast
Champagne Beach is the picture on the Santo postcard, and it’s the one big sight you have to budget road time for — hours, not minutes.
The Vanuatu Tourism Office puts it about 45 minutes’ drive from Luganville. Walk the beach at low tide and you can feel the natural “fizz” that gives it the name.
You can swim straight off the sand to the coral, and on cruise days locals cook lobster and crab on the beach, the tourism office says.
A travel blog last updated in 2020 put entry at 500 VT — a dated figure. The tourism office’s current guidance is a cash fee somewhere between 500 and 2,000 VT at Santo’s sites.
Princess’s Santo Beach Escape runs 6.5 hours from $159.95. The listing page we read doesn’t name the beach, so ask the excursion desk which one it is.
- Time commitment
- Half a day at least, with about 90 minutes of it on the road.
- Getting there
- Taxi from the wharf rank with an agreed return, or a ship’s beach tour.
- Suits
- Couples, beach people, repeat visitors.
- Ship or independent
- Either — but independent only with a fixed fare, a fixed pickup time and a wide margin.
Why it's worth considering
It’s the beach that gives Champagne Bay, a port name in its own right, its name.
The drive passes the east-coast blue holes, so a taxi can add one on the way back.
The catch
No official taxi fare is published. A 2020 travel blog quoted 4,000 to 8,000 VT one way to Lonnoc or Port Olry — a dated figure, so get today’s price from the driver.
If your ship anchors in Champagne Bay, you’re already there — don’t book a transfer from Luganville.
Verify before you book
- Which beach the ship’s beach tour visits
- Taxi fare and pickup agreed in writing
- Your all-aboard time minus at least an hour
Santo’s blue holes are clear lagoons along its rivers and coast, and for many visitors they’re the point of the island — more than any beach.
Matevulu has toilets, a change room and a rope swing tied to a big banyan tree, per the Vanuatu Tourism Office. You get there by road, or by kayak up the river in about 45 minutes.
Nanda, also called Jackie’s Blue Hole, sits up the coast at the top of Turtle Bay, with a bar and covered areas. It costs more than the others and includes a hot drink and cake.
Princess also sells a 3-hour Blue Lagoon Swim from $89.95. The listing page we read doesn’t say which hole it uses.
A 2020 travel blog listed Matevulu at 500 VT and Nanda at 1,000 VT — dated figures, so treat them as a floor, not a quote.
- Time commitment
- About 3 hours on the ship version; flexible by taxi.
- Getting there
- Taxi from the wharf, or the ship’s swim tour.
- Suits
- Families, budget travelers, strong and casual swimmers alike.
- Ship or independent
- Either. A taxi and cash work well here if you set the pickup time first.
Why it's worth considering
By taxi, it’s the low-cost way out of town — a fare and a gate fee, not a tour price.
Matevulu’s facilities make it the easiest hole to do with kids.
The catch
Entry fees are cash only, and the tourism office warns ATMs may not be nearby.
At Nanda, a newer entrance just south of the main one leads to a stretch of river rather than the lagoon, per the tourism office — check you’re at the right gate.
Verify before you book
- Which blue hole a ship tour visits
- Current entry fee in vatu
- Return taxi time agreed before you swim
For divers, this is the reason to come to Santo — and the wreck sits about five minutes from the port, not an island away.
The Coolidge was a luxury liner pressed into service as a troopship. It sank in October 1942 after striking mines on the approach to Santo, with 5,342 troops aboard.
It lies on its side, nearly 200 m long, with the bow at about 20 m and the stern at about 70 m. You enter from shore, west of Million Dollar Beach.
Diveplanit, a dive-travel guide, says every dive on it involves decompression stops and recommends an orientation dive first. Inside is “The Lady,” a porcelain relief of a woman riding a unicorn.
Diveplanit names Allan Power Dive Tours, Pacific Dive at the Espiritu Hotel, Deco Stop Lodge and Aore Adventure Sports as operators on it. No current per-dive price was published on the pages we read.
- Time commitment
- Not published by the operators we found — ask them for a cruise-day schedule.
- Getting there
- Operator transfer from town; the entry point is just outside Luganville.
- Suits
- Certified, current divers; repeat visitors.
- Ship or independent
- Independent, through a Santo dive shop — book ahead, since the tourism office asks for at least 24 hours’ notice on activities.
Why it's worth considering
It’s a nearly 200 m wreck you enter from shore, a short drive from the wharf.
An orientation dive keeps it within reach of a recreational diver.
The catch
Decompression stops make for long dives on a port day. Ask the shop how it schedules around all aboard.
It’s a wreck for certified divers, not a try-dive. If you aren’t certified, snorkel Million Dollar Point instead.
Verify before you book
- Certification level the operator requires
- Dive times against your all-aboard
- Gear rental and the price in vatu
Short · ship excursion
Leweton culture or Runsuc custom dance and firewalking
These two are the short culture options on Princess’s list — an add-on, not a whole day — and both leave room for a swim or the town.
Leweton Cultural Experience lists 1.5 hours from $79.95. Runsuc Customs & Firewalking lists 1.75 hours at the same starting price.
Princess rates both moderate. The listing page we read doesn’t describe the program, so read the full description before you book.
- Time commitment
- About 1.5 to 1.75 hours.
- Getting there
- By minibus from the wharf.
- Suits
- Families, first-timers, short calls.
- Ship or independent
- Ship. These are arranged performances, and the line holds the timing.
Why it's worth considering
They’re the shortest tours on the list.
Either pairs easily with the WWII tour or a blue hole.
The catch
At $79.95 for under two hours, the cost per hour is the steepest on Princess’s Luganville list.
Program details aren’t on the summary page.
Verify before you book
- What the program includes
- Seating and shade for older travelers
- Price on your sailing
06
Luganville port logistics: the wharf, the vatu and the Champagne Bay question
From the gangway to Main Street
Docked ships use the Luganville wharf on the seafront. The tourism office’s walking time to the center is about 10 minutes.
Our Luganville cruise port guide has the full wharf and taxi detail.
- Published port hours vary by source, from about 7am to 5pm
- Taxi rank, bike hire and tour buses at the wharf
- The terminal waiting area isn’t air-conditioned, by one review
If your ship anchors in Champagne Bay
Tenders land near Champagne Beach, where CruiseMapper describes basic facilities, limited shade and vendor stalls on ship days.
There’s no regular public transport at that landing. If you use a wheelchair, ask your line how the tender and landing work first.
Money
The vatu has no cents, so prices round. Cards work at a few town businesses, not most; site fees and market stalls are cash.
Downtown banks have ATMs and keep weekday hours. Tipping and bargaining aren’t customary.
Paperwork and weather
A third-party guide puts the US visa-free stay at 30 days; no official page we could open confirms it. The embassy’s own website listed Level 1 (“exercise normal precaution”) when we checked on October 29, 2026, with no issue date shown. Read your line’s documents notes before you go.
Weather reroutes ships in this part of the Pacific — one reviewed sailing landed here only because Mystery Island was closed by weather.
