Vanuatu National Museum — Attraction in Shefa Province

The Vanuatu Cultural Centre (or “Kaljoral Senta” in Bislama, a Creole language) is situated in Port Vila. It was founded on 1959 by the Condominium administration. This small but very well resourced museum aims to record and promote the traditional indigenous cultures of Vanuatu in their various aspects, not only from sand drawing to music, land diving, other customary practices and indigenous knowledge, but also the country’s contemporary arts and music. The National Museum contains a large section of traditional artifacts, from masks and slit gongs, to mats and scale models of outrigger canoes; as well as examples of prehistoric shells, fossils and pottery, and animals and birds from every island. The collection at the Museum includes archaeological items, including artifacts used by the first people to settle these islands over 3000 years ago. If you’re looking to purchase something special to remind you of your trip to Vanuatu, look no further than the Museum Shop at the National Museum. All items are made by traditional means and materials and come from all over the Vanuatu archipelago. It’s a great way to learn about Vanuatu and its history and culture. A must-see for a visit to Port...

The National Museum is unfortunately a disgrace. Vanuatu is a very poor country and the poverty of the locals is sad to see, especially with the many expats who live here in a tax haven and don't pay a cent in taxes. The museum is small, the exhibits are well laid out and unfortunately everything is dirty.

With all due caution as far as expectations are concerned, there is plenty of water for cleaning in Vanuatu. The windows of the display cases are completely dirty and you can hardly see some of the exhibits. So are some of the contents of the display cases.

The entrance fee of 1,000 VUV is very exaggerated, like all entrance fees in Vanuatu. The fans on the ceiling are unfortunately switched off despite the humid weather. It shouldn't really be a problem to find enough traditional clothing, utensils, statues and much more in Vanuatu to be exhibited here.

The country's history also offers enough for an exhibition. Unfortunately, most museums in the small Pacific states are similarly disappointing.

The huge Chinese-built presidential palace in Vanuatu is of course more important. It's sad how easy it is to take such states by surprise and see where their...

We spent a lovely hour at this small museum, checking out the cultural artefacts and displays. We definitely recommend paying the little extra for the guide (we paid $15 each adult for museum entry & guide), he will do sand drawing for you while telling stories and it’s so beautiful and intricate! This was the highlight of our visit, our guide Levi impressed us with his awesome sand drawing and I loved that he chatted to us about Vanuatu history and culture while he did it. There are displays of insects, stuffed animal, cultural masks, effergies & more. Bear in mind this is a small museum and don’t expect state of the art displays, instead you get a lovely cultural insight while you peruse at...