Erakor Island Resort — Restaurant in Shefa Province

Hi everyone! ||My husband and I have just spent an unforgettable two weeks on Erakor Island, in the beautiful Erakor Island Resort. I wanted to share with you our experience, as this holiday was truly a blessing and one we will never forget. ||Flights :|We travelled Air Vanuatu from Brisbane to Santo, then from Santo to PV. Everything was on time, Air staff were very accommodating, meals were great and the flight was overall a good experience. The smaller aircraft that flew us from Santo to PV was extremely hot onboard while we were waiting for take off, which I would imagine some people would really struggle with. The airports were also incredibly hot and humid... but what do you expect on a tropical Island? (lol). There were also limited places to eat and drink so keep this in mind. PV and Santo are not Huge built up cities like we have in Australia or the US, and to base unrealistic expectations around this will only lead to disappointment. The locals were very warm and welcoming, and we were offered a taxi trip around Santo during our wait time which really helped pass the time. ||Accommodation :|Wow.. where to begin?! |upon arrival we were met at the airport by a transfer taxi that the resort had arranged for a small fee. Taxi was air-conditioned and the driver was very welcoming and loaded our luggage into the bus.||After a short ferry ride across the lagoon's pristine crystal clear waters, we arrived on the island. Shout out to Alice and Kevin for welcoming us with a refreshing drink and island vibe smiles!|We were then driven to our villa. I was absolutely on cloud nine when I saw how beautiful the villa was, with such a dreamy ocean backdrop. It truly felt like a tropical island paradise and I felt so blessed to be calling this place home for the next two weeks. |The villa was extremely clean, fully screened, had an extremely powerful air-conditioner, a very comfortable king sized bed, huge TV, free wi-fi, room service, PLENTY of towels which I loved, full bathroom amenities, a beautiful tropical outdoor shower with a Tarzan vibe :P , mini kitchen including bar fridge, kettle and tea/coffee making facilities, and microwave. The outdoor area featured a private plunge pool, a queen size day bed and best of all, the incredibly breathtaking ocean view that we were less than ten steps away from. ||Staff :|I can not speak highly enough of the staff at Erakor Island Resort. Everyone was so humble and welcoming, very accommodating to our every need and went out of their way to ensure that we were having a great time. We truly felt as though we were staying in a home away from home.||Activities :|The resort provides snorkeling gear, kayaks, and stand up paddle boards all free of charge. There is also a ping pong table, football table and a playground for children. The resort also has an amazing pool overlooking the lagoon waters surrounding the island. The resort also offer a free 24hr ferry service to and from the mainland. ||Snorkeling : |Despite some reviews about Erakor's snorkeling, I have to say that my husband and I spend about %90 of our time snorkeling around the island. We took our own gear as we enjoy snorkeling a lot and there is nothing quite like your own gear. Yes, like some reviews say, there are a lot of starfish. But "only" starfish? This wasn't our experience at all. We would spend hours snorkeling, and sometimes loose complete track of time. There are so many beautiful corals, thriving with vibrant marine life, countless tropical fish, sea cucumbers, different kinds of eels, different kinds of crabs, and of course, Erakor's famous starfish. We could tell that some of the coral has taken on damage due to the cyclones, but honestly this is to be expected, and did not draw from our experience whatsoever. The entry to the lagoon can be a bit harsh on the feet, so make sure you pack reef shoes. At the back of the island where the lagoon opens up to the ocean, there is a wonderous coral drop-off. We swam out to it while a tour boat was feeding the fish. A truly special moment. ||Spa :|big shout out the the lovely masseuse who delivered a full body massage that was out of this world. I have had a lot of massages, but this by far was the best. It wasn't just the massage itself... it was all of the little things that were added to make the experience unforgettable. The energy was relaxing, nurturing and had me stumbling back to the villa. (thankfully it wasn't that far to walk! ha!) Erakor resort is blessed to have such a special lady.||Restaurant :|We ate at the restaurant for two weeks solid and did not get tired of the food. The resort offers free buffet breakfast each morning with a wide arrange of menu items that the chef cooks fresh. The all you can eat buffet includes pastries and mini cakes, fruit juice and water, coffee and tea, plenty of cereals, fresh tropical fruits and toast with different spreads. Then there is a hot breakfast menu which is included that offers a wide selection of cooked breakfast items. My husband and I ate a huge breakfast each morning which kept us going until dinner time. Shout out to Joanna, Elsie and Rory and all of the other restaurant staff who made our mornings and evenings welcoming and full of laughs. You guys really added so much to our experience. |Food seemed to be accessible at all times which was truly amazing. You hear about so many resorts who offer food strictly at certain times, this wasn't our experience. ||Over the two weeks we didn't feel like we had to leave the island at all. *HUGE shout out to Kevin, Andrew and Dan the man for driving us everywhere on the island in the buggy. We really appreciate you guys. |If you are looking for a holiday which is crammed full of site seeing and various adventure activities, you can take a trip to the mainland. But if you are looking for an authentic island vibe holiday, based around pure relaxation, rejuvenation and stunning scenery... Erakor Island Resorts is the place to go. ||We cant thank the staff enough for making our trip truly special and one we will never forget. Erakor island is now our home away from home and you are all like family to us. Lita, Natalie, Dan, Kevin, Andrew, Joanna, Elsie, Rory, Alice and everyone else at Erakor.. Thankyou. We cant wait to see you...

After months of planning, I was up for an adventurous trip around Efate Island, but as soon as we arrived at Erakor Island Resort, my plans changed. It was so relaxing staying on our tiny island (plus we had just had 4 days of adventure on Santo before our arrival).||You just don’t want to leave Erakor Island. Port Vila itself is a busy place. Our only experience of the town centre was driving through it in a van to and from the airport, but that was enough. The resort offered me the opportunity to relax and unwind, as well as for my teenage boys to get involved in watersports, play pool, volleyball and ping pong, not spending too much time on their phones.||We didn’t go to any restaurants other than the one on our resort. Had we stayed longer than 4 days, we would have as, although the menu is extensive, it’s good to have some variety.||We did arrange a morning trip to Off Road Adventures (buggies we think was a better choice than quad bikes) and an afternoon trip to the Blue Lagoon – not on the same day, which might have saved some money in terms of drivers (driver for afternoon = Vatu 12,000). All of this was organised by the beautiful guest service staff, Lita and Natalie.||We stayed in a 2 Bedroom Beachfront Vila. These Vilas are closest to all the amenities, which I was nervous about in terms of noise. Turns out it was perfect for picking up paddles for kayaks, swapping beach towels and bringing drinks to our deck for happy hour and sunset views. We stayed in Villa #1. Villas 2-4 would have been preferable in terms of privacy, but we didn’t have a problem. We read some reviews about breeze on the eastern side of the island and agree that the beachfront vilas on the western side of the island are preferable to the other cheaper accommodation options. ||On our first night, we stayed in Sunset Villa, due to some work being done in our smaller vila. This is a great accommodation option, with a lounge, 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. The verandah and outdoor dining setting gets the best breeze on the island, as it is in the centre of the island, with close access to the beach on either side. It’s not a far walk to dining. Guests who stay in further accommodation options tend to use the buggies to transport them around the island. ||The snorkelling off the island is not great, but is entertaining. Due to cyclones, there is limited diversity in coral, especially harder established corals, however there is a diversity of fish (and eels) and yes …. a lot of starfish (because the water is clean here).||Out teenage boys loved swimming out to the pontoon, the kayaks, the SUPS, the pool table, the ping pong and silly rides on the pool slide into the refreshing swimming pool. We will definitely be back to take a break from the busy world, perhaps when our boys have families of their own, as this resort caters to all types of families (and beginning families too with some honeymooners joining in the fun!)||Not to be missed is the Melanesian Night. We expected a show similar to ones we have seen in Fiji. Well, that was not the case! The choreography of the fire dancers and choice of tunes was spectacular - a fusion of a night club with an expensive circus act! Plus the string band was entertaining and played their set of glass bottles cleverly – think Mix 106.5 and wedding tunes!||A big shout out to Annie in the restaurant, and Lita and Natalie (mentioned before), whose friendly faces reminded us that we should be happy, happy, happy and relaxed …. which we definitely felt throughout our...

Erakor Island is a beautiful and relaxing party of Vanuatu and the resort has everything you need to stay put and have fun. Especially with young children. I travelled here for a 7 day holiday with my wife, 4 and 2 year olds who had the best holiday here. All the staff are so friendly and caring, great with kids. Getting to the island was seamless with our airport transfers included in our room package. The rooms are clean and spacious and we could walk off the back porch into the warm, turquoise water full of starfish, fish and coral.

I booked the Go Troppo package and the inclusions are awesome. Full access to snorkelling and kayak gear, a pizza and movie night on the beach, spa massages, full breakfast, resort credit and Melanesian feast and fire show. For me the culture of the local people is something that western culture has lost in terms of family bonds and community and it's on display during the feast especially. Such beautiful people. But I really enjoyed the movie night on the beach with as much pizza as we could eat, it was quite fun.

This is one of the only snorkeling and swimming spots around and people come across on day trips. It's not hard to understand why. The coral is in good condition (unlike the silting and physical harm that happens to coral in places like Thailand) and the sea life abundant. Plenty of clown fish. My pick for snorkeling is off Sunset beach at the end of the island, although I only discovered it the last day we were there. The kids absolutely loved the new pool by reception too.

The restaurant serves good food with a wide selection, although the cooked breakfast menu was probably the most disappointing part of the experience. But there are plenty of fruit and pastries/cereals as well. The massages in the Aqua Spa were good and well priced.

Some suggestions and things we will do differently next visit (which will happen!): buy bottled water, insect repellant, insect spray and snacks for kids in town before getting to the resort, or early in the holiday. Bottled water is 600VT at the restaurant but only 110VT in town. wear rock shoes in the water around the coral (a must, and which we did anyway). get to lunch early at 11am if you have kids that lose it when they get hungry (mine certainly do) as the service and food cooking is not the quickest. But it's island time, all part of the experience. we preferred to take a taxi into Vila rather than a bus with our small children as it's personal, air conditioned, not shared with others and convenient to be picked up and taken to various places.

A thoroughly enjoyable and relaxing experience. Great value for money and we will definitely be going back. This island and the local people...