Just three-hours’ flight from Sydney and an hour’s ahead of AEST, Vanuatu is one of the closest Pacific islands to Australia’s east coast. With new direct flights on from Brisbane and Sydney to Vanuatu from Qantas and Jetstar, launching from September, you can be touching down in sleepy Port Vila on the main island of Efate in half the time it takes to get to Bali.

Unlike some Pacific neighbours like Fiji and French Polynesia, mass tourism is still yet to discover Vanuatu. This means less gated mega resorts and international chains and more boutique, independent resorts and retreats. On Efate, Havannah Boat House is an exclusive residence dreamed up by Australian artist Miranda Hodge and her family – a series of interlinking pavilions with thatched roofs, hardwood floors and impeccable styling inspired by Vanuatu handicrafts, opening to a pool and lawns leading down to a coral-filled bay, with a private chef, yoga instructors and even on-site ceramics studio at your disposal. On Vanuatu’s largest island Espiritu Santo, Ratua Private Island Resort has just reopened after extensive restoration in the wake of 2020’s Cyclone Harold – the eco-resort is set over 146 acres of palm tree groves and absolute beachfront shared by only 42 guests, with a thriving soft coral reef offshore and heritage teak villas repurposed into spacious waterfront suites.

Fresh produce can be surprisingly hard to come by on some Pacific islands – with imported, processed foods taking up a lot of room on supermarket shelves. Organic, homegrown produce is still largely the order of the day in Vanuatu however, as is on show at Port Vila Markets – where locals come to sell and stock up on island-grown produce. These waterfront markets are open nearly 24 hours a day, although the morning is the best time to see very chilled-out vendors sitting behind tarps and baskets piled high with oversized vegetables, tropical fruit and fresh flowers. A handful of food stalls also cook up hearty local dishes to order. For a crash course in Vanuatu cuisine, join an Island Food class at B&B and cooking school Papaya Loco, where Portuguese expat Marcus Xavier shares dishes taught to him by local village mammas. Bring your swimmers for a dip at their private beach afterwards.

Vanuatu has white-sand beaches and turquoise lagoons to rival the best Pacific islands, but some of the archipelago’s most striking swim spots are hiding inland. Freshwater springs in shades of milky blue and startling azure, Vanuatu’s blue holes have strolled straight out of a daydream. Visit Efate’s on days when cruise ships aren’t docking, and you’ll likely share your oasis only with local kids launching themselves into the water with rope swings. On wild Espiritu Santo, the island with the most blue holes, kayak through mangroves and up shallow streams to find deserted blue holes wrapped in dense rainforest.

Coffee and cocoa are two of Vanuatu’s most important crops, particularly Arabica coffee grown on the island of Tanna, and cocoa from the many tiny organic farms on far-flung islands. Gaston Chocolate is one of the island’s finest purveyors of bean-to-bar chocolate; the French- and Australian-owned chocolatier works hand-in-hand with family-owned cocoa farms to source ethical beans for its range, often flavoured with locally grown ingredients like combava citrus and nangae nuts. Visit the shopfront on Port Vila’s mainstreet to watch the team tempering chocolate and pouring bars on-site – its beautifully packaged bars make perfect souvenirs.