Big Blue Vanuatu Scuba Dive is situated right on the waterfront in the centre of Port Vila, Vanuatu. They are a fully accredited 5-star PADI resort. Big Blue have two fast boats: a larger boat – The Lady which takes ten divers, and a smaller boat (6 pax) and about 12 crew and guides of different nationalities and ages. And a very friendly bunch they are!
They do the full scope of underwater activities from snorkeling through Discover SCUBA Diving and a range of PADI courses. They also have all the gear that you could possibly need, both for sale and for hire. Big Blue Vanuatu can accommodate snorkel and diving groups at dive sites like the Two Bommies – useful to know if you want to take the rest of the non-diving family out for the day. Conversely, they can also take serious divers to dive the Semele Federesen which is a 40m wreck.
We think …
Big Blue Vanuatu is definitely the best dive shop in town – and the friendliest – by far, able to cater to divers staying a a range of hotels and resorts in Port Vila, so you can choose accommodation to suit your budget.
The shop is right next to the renowned Nambawan Café on the waterfront.
Vanuatu
Ramada Resort by Wyndham
This newly built 4 star beachfront resort is conveniently located just a few minutes from downtown Port Vila and nestled on the cliffs of Erakor Lagoon. Catering to all travellers, these self-contained apartments with panoramic views of the Lagoon are an ideal place to stay during a holiday in Port Vila. The Lagoon Suite can sleep up to 2 adults and 2 children and includes a fully equipped kitchen, separate bathroom, a bedroom and lounge area plus a large balcony. Two Bedroom Apartments are available with spectacular views of the Erakor Lagoon and can accommodate up to 4 adults. These apartments have two bedrooms and two bathrooms, a separate lounge and dining area, fully equipped kitchen, washing machine and dryer, and an extra large balcony. Studio apartments sleep 2 adults and contain a kitchen, balcony and garden view. The Ramada Resort has a pool and pool bar, spa facilities, a restaurant, sports bar, kids play area, and WiFi.
Chantilly’s on the Bay
With a beautiful waterfront view, Chantilly’s on the Bay is ideally located just 3km from the airport and a short five minute walk to city centre. There are 20 beautifully appointed and self contained apartments in this hotel, each with its own private balcony, giving guests spectacular harbour views. The accommodation consists of 12 large studio apartments and 8 one bedroom apartments. Bistro at Chantilly’s offers local and international cuisine and is open for breakfast, lunch and dinner everyday. Guests have the option of dining indoors, by the pool, or a table can even be organised on hotel’s own private beach. For casual drinks and snacks, the Banyan Beach Bar is located by the water and is open from 3pm every day.
Breadfruit Apartments
Conveniently situated near the town centre in the Nambatu region, Breadfruit Apartments are well appointed, self contained studio style apartments. Each apartment is serviced daily, includes air conditioning, has high speed internet, and satellite tv. The bedding configuration is made up of either a king sized bed, or twin share with 2 single beds. All apartments contain their own ensuite bathroom and kitchenette. The property on which the Breadfruit Apartments are located is securely gated and surrounded by lush tropical gardens with a swimming pool and sun lounges by the pool. The seafront and shopping precinct is a 10 minute stroll away, and just 2 minutes from Port Vila’s main supermarket and the well known L’Houstalet restaurant serving up a delicious array of French cuisine.
It’s pretty relaxed diving with Big Blue Vanuatu. Call them in advance and find out what’s going on at your level of diving. Whether you’re snorkeling from a boat, doing a Discover Scuba Diving course, or going out for a boat dive, turn up in good time and they can get you kitted out with any gear.
Once you’re ready, it’s a very short walk to the jetty that’s right in front of the shop. There’s plenty of room for taking a dry bag, and you can store your camera safely in the cabin. Depending on where you’re diving it’s a 30 to 40-minute ‘cruise’ across Mele Bay. You are unlikely to experience any significant ‘wave action’ so sit back and enjoy the trip.
Once on site, there’ll be a dive briefing, and divers will be dropped before any snorkelers. Underwater, it’s pretty relaxed and the dive guide will take you on a tour of the best features of the site, and point out any local critters. The guides are all experienced and can take an air-pig to the boat and come back and continue the dive with other guests as required.
The dive ends at the rear ladder, and it’s an easy climb back into the boat. Once back at the jetty it’s a short walk to the wash down tubs and you can hose yourself down at the same time. The two best things about Big Blue are the friendly staff… and the fact that it’s right next to the Nambawan Café so you can have an ice cold Tusker while you write up your dives.
With over 20 unique dive sites, you can dive for weeks in Port Vila and still see something new and interesting on every dive. Final site selections are made on the morning of the dive trip, taking into account the wind, weather, tides, experience level of the divers on board, and where anyone may already have dived with us.
Some of Big Blue’s more popular dive sites:
Twin Bommies
A fabulous reef dive centred around 2 adjacent coral bommies that attract large numbers of fish. The reef extends as a plateau in 12-18 meters before dropping over a drop off down to the white sand at 25-30 m. Butterfly fish swim in and out of the yellow and blue staghorn coral. Colourful nudibranchs and leaf scorpionfish can be spotted on the rocks. Sea turtles are commonly spotted on night dives.
Kate’s Corner
This dive starts on a reef top interspersed with patches of sand. From there, we explore the site’s interesting topography drops, dropping over a crest to a wall with gullies. There are lots of nooks and crannies to find shrimp and morays and a wide variety of reef fish shelter in the reef’s abundant structure. An easy swim through filled with glass fish is interesting feature of this site.
West Side Story
Over in the Mele side of the bay, this reef comes to within 6m of the surface. To the west of the reef, long fingers covered in yellow, blue and green staghorn coral drop down to a depth of 30m plus. This site is very colourful, with clouds of damsel fish dancing above the staghorn and an abundance of anaemomes. This site is also home to morays and crayfish and we occasionally see reef sharks here.
Konanda Wreck
A 45 meter ship, formerly an island trader, was badly damaged by Cyclone Uma in 1987. Later the Konanda was sunk as a dive wreck. An excellent wreck for your first wreck dive or for the wreck addict. Sitting upright on a sandy bottom in 26 meters, still intact, the Konanda is a wreck divers delight. Safe penetration is possible in the holds, cabin and bridge areas, making it a fun dive.
Star of Russia
You’ll find few other opportunities to dive a 90 meter long, square rigged sailing ship, as this is likely the only remaining intact ship of it’s vintage. The Star was built by Harland and Wolf (builders of the SS Titanic) in the early 1800’s. The steel hull sits upright on a sandy bottom in 34 meters of water. The wooden decking has perished allowing divers easy access to the wreck. It’s not only loved by divers, schools of fish circle inside her and bat fish can be found outside, hanging around the mooring line. Crocodile fish are often found sitting on the flat beams. This is another wreck in deep water, so a dive for the experienced.
Semele Federesen
This inter-island cargo vessel was deliberately sunk in 1985 in approximately 30m of water. Cyclone Uma in 1987 moved her down the reef to her present position. She now lies in sand bwtween 38 and 55m with the top of the wreck at 30 m. The visibility on this dive is often spectacular sometimes reaching 40 to 50m. It is an stunning dive but the depth means it’s one for those with experience.
The Cathederal
An amazing limestone cavern dive which emerges through a rock pool. The cave is wide and open and is lit by stately shafts of sunbeams filtering down through the open roof. Entry to the Cathedral is in 22m of water. After visiting the cavern we exit and follow a wall outside until meeting up with the boat again. You’ll be sure to encounter many species of shrimp, nudibranchs and leaf scorpionfish. A very comfortable dive if the seas are flat but swells and current can make the cavern a little tricky. As such, this dive is weather dependent.
Pink Panther
This reef is named after the abundance of giant pink anaemone that home to families of “Nemos”, a favorite for photographers. There are plenty of other coloured anemones too! The reef top sits at about 8 meters and a wall drops down to 90 meters plus. Diving along the wall at about 25 meters, you can see morays and crayfish and keep a watch out on the blue for bigger visitors to the reef.
Yankee Juliette
Named after a plane sunk at this dive site for a wreck, Yankee Juliette is a great site for macro. Banks of reef drop down to a sandy bottom where quite divers will be rewarded by witnessing garden eels coming out to feed and gobies standing guard at the entrance to shrimps in their burrows. There are also plenty of fish and crates amongst the hard corals.
Pricing for Big Blue Vanuatu
| Staying at Chantilly's on the Bay valid to 31 March 2024 | AUD | VUV | |||
| 7 Nights Studio Room Double with 10 dives | 146375 | VUV | | | 146,375 | |
| 7 Nights Studio Room Single with 10 dives | 212875 | VUV | | | 212,875 | |
| 7 Nights One Bedroom Apartment Double with 10 dives | 156875 | VUV | | | 156,875 | |
| 7 Nights One Bedroom Apartment Single with 10 dives | 233875 | VUV | | | 233,875 | |
| Staying at Ramada Resort by Wyndham valid to 31 March 2024 | AUD | VUV | |||
| 7 Nights Lagoon Suite Double with 10 dives | 240875 | VUV | | | 240,875 | |
| 7 Nights Lagoon Suite Single with 10 dives | 415875 | VUV | | | 415,875 | |
| 7 Nights Studio Apartment Double with 10 dives | 170875 | VUV | | | 170,875 | |
| 7 Nights Studio Apartment Single with 10 dives | 275875 | VUV | | | 275,875 | |
| Staying at Breadfruit Apartments | AUD | VUV | |||
| 7 Nights Breadfruit Apartment (Double) with 10 dives | 100000 | VUV | | | 100,000 | |
| 7 Nights Breadfruit Apartment (Single) with 10 dives | 126000 | VUV | | | 126,000 | |
| This resort's prices are in VUV. The AUD prices shown are based on the current exchange rate. The price paid in AUD will be based on the actual exchange rate at the time any payments are made. | |||||
| Pricing includes pickup from some local hotels and resorts, tanks, weights, dive guide and light refreshments. | |||||
| The per person pricing above is indicative only: we show 7 night with 10/12 dive packages at high-end and lower-end rooms (singles & doubles) for the purposes of comparison. We can give you a price (and availability) for any combination of nights/dives you wish to undertake, which will include any discounts due to you as part of that package, and any exclusions, or items payable at the resort. Please use the [Enquire Now] tab to give us your exact requirements and we'll give you the best deal we can. |
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