Vanuatu

Vanuatu is a chain of some 80 islands in the South Pacific, in Melanesia, between Fiji and New Caledonia. Most journeys begin on Efate, where the capital, Port Vila, sits on a sheltered harbour. Around the island are calm lagoons and white-sand beaches, and on the north-west coast lies the bay of Havannah, with the islands of Moso and Lelepa just offshore and Nguna a little further north.

To the north is Espiritu Santo, the largest island, known for long white beaches such as Champagne Beach and for its blue holes — clear freshwater pools in the forest — while small private islands sit just off its coast. The coral reefs around the islands are made for snorkelling and diving. On Tanna, Mount Yasur is visited at dusk with local guides.

The food is simple and fresh: fish and lobster, tropical fruit, coconut, root vegetables and laplap — grated root vegetables baked in banana leaves with coconut cream. Santo is known for its grass-fed beef, and the islands grow their own coffee and the cocoa for local chocolate. It is warm all year: the cooler, drier months run roughly from May to October, the hotter, wetter season roughly from November to April. Vanuatu suits couples and anyone after a quiet beach-and-reef escape.