Hideaway Island Resort Review

We loved staying here... friendly staff, well serviced, good quality food, best snorkling beach ever!

Great place to stay very easy to get to other places on the island food great rooms very good great staff

This was one of our favorite stay in Vanuatu or even on our world trip. The best house reef I have ever seen. They really take care of it and a lot of signs mention not to stand or touch corals which helps to train tourists. The island offers snorkel gear, kayaks, SUP, etc. The gears are well maintained and free of use for hotel guests. You also can go diving (extra costs) and I can highly recommend that dive spot. The restaurant is straight at the beach and the advantage of staying on the island is that there are only a few people in the morning/evening before the day tour guests arrive/leave.
Now, you need to know that the standard rooms are basic and the toilet/showers are shared. There are two combined toilet/shower cabins for around 6 rooms. Therefore, the cabins are heavily used and not always clean. Additional toilet/shower cabins could help to improve that.

Wonderful staff, excellent diving & snorkeling, best curry

Great diving right off the beach and no boat trips longer than 10mins to Dive sites! Best place for going underwater in Vanuatu! Also have only Nitrox in Port Vila (Big bonus when trying to smash out a dive trip!) Good gear, great staff and always cold beer for after the dive

Good snorkeling in safe water, pleasant boat trip across and staff are welcoming. Entry fee applies at 1200 vatu (AUD $16 or so) per adult, boat trip included. Boat runs back and forth all day. Bar ok priced drinks (local Tusker Ale at 500VT)...food ok too. Plenty of shaded spots. Read other reviews whining about fees....going to say Fitzroy or Green Islands in FNQ for day trip will set you back way more! Well worth it.

This place is a must go! Take the kids put on the goggles and walk into the fish. Great value for money! 1 metre into the ocean and theres the coral and fish. Fantastic snorkeling and probably better diving.

Had a brilliant day here. It was pouring rain but the sea life and the post office were amazing.

Just returned last night after Another 6 nights on the island. Managers Mark & Sue are
so helpful. The staff are wonderful. We go there for a few days of R&R to get away from
the city life. Perfect beach, snorkeling is one of the best we have seen. Will be
back next year for a bit longer at the bar on the beach.. Have the beer ready Josh.

Great visit! ! Snorkeling great.... go on a boat but be ready to look for best offer!

Amazing resort. 20mins from Port Villa with free 24hr ferry. Snorkeling was amazing. Bar on the beach had a great vibe and the underwater post office was too hard to resist

Very good if you want to chill out without fuss. Catch the ferry which runs regularly at a cost pp of 1250vt. There is a bar, snacks, snorkeling gear etc. and lots of tables and loungers. Coral badly damaged from the storm but they are working to regenerate it. Broken bits mounded on shore but easy enough to walk on otherwise use the steps to walk barefoot down to the water.

The staff here are always friendly and helpful. It's nice and relaxed but still will run. You can't help but chill the moment you set foot on the island.

Went for a day visit.
Views are amazing, food was ok.
Not worth the cost to visit in all honesty.

Any small island. Nice to have a good day. Possibility to eat on site and dive. ....

Nice island but not sure it's worth the entrance fee. The beach on the main island is as nice. The underwater post office is amazing though

Lovely staff, lots of seating options and stunning nature

Good place to relax at the beachside bar whilst watching the kids play in the water.

Beware double charges and half truths.

New management have changed the activity prices for Scuba diving to Accumulating Prices, Ie $25AUD for shore dive (tank and gear hire only) is now considered to include a dive charge (add $85) even when no instructor or boat is included. Yep $111 just to step into the water 10mtrs from the shop for a shore dive.

It s annoying enough, but when you ask in advance and get the price for a shore dive, Byo gear, and get used to paying the price without any change (website, shop price chart or otherwise) it s pretty evil, particularly when you consider most people are paying $100 for the local taxi before they are locked into whatever deal is on offer .

It s an ok dive, though don t expect something special enough to offset the mercenary pricing.

Very picturesque, but if you want sand that is easy on your feet, stay around the Beach Bar

It's a nice little tropical Island with a bar, cafe and accomodation. The public amenities do need attention, the toilets were all overflowing when we were there. The prices at the bar are fair and they accept AUD$. The beach is coral so you need to wear shoes to even go for a walk. They do a good coffee with beans sourced from the local Tanna Coffee Co-operative.

Marine sanctuary and resort!! Some awesome snorkeling and diving. Fantastic restaurant and awesome tours. You can kayak and paddle board! Simply divine. Try the tusker lemon and you will instantly feel the holiday!

Only stayed for a few hours to snorkel. Fishes aplenty, with the added surprise of an underwater post box! Well worth a visit to explore the corals.

This is one of the best hotels around Port Vila! The hotel is based on a small island accessible through small ferry-boat. Cute bungalows and nice beach, very private and romantic. One of the best bungalows is the one with a seeming pool in the yard - the best views on sunset. If you love diving it is another reason to go there. The dive center is just here, on the island with dive sites accessible in 5-10 min on a boat. Being here between seasons or at low season gives you a chance to have exclusive dives with great dive masters. Very much recommended

We were in heaven from the minute we arrived at Hideaway Island which we chose for our Wedding Anniversary. From the minute we flew in to Port Villa we were welcomed so warmly. We arrived at the jetty to be taken to Hideaway and we were greated by Jessy, who is a true Gentleman, nothing was to much trouble and you looked after us like Family, you had everything sorted for us even when you knew you re would not be there in person, thank you for introducing us to Ian what an amazing person also, Ian went up and beyond his job for our Wedding Anniversay and we can not thank you enough it is one anniversary we will never forget. To all the boat drivers you to were helpful and friendly each and every time we got on the boat.
To all the Staff at Hideaway Island, from the Reception staff to the bar staff and the dive shop staff, words can not describe how each and everyone of you made us feel for the 8 days we were there. We arrived as strangers and the day we left it felt like we were leaving Family, at that point we knew we wanted to bring our kids back so we booked straight away.
To Brian and the boys in the Dive Shop you boys are a true reflection of you beautiful Country, Brian well what can I say, you convinced us to doing our Open Water dive ticket, even thought I was so apprehensive about doing it you made my decision so easy, I wasn t sure after the 3rd dive though but I am so glad you did, you gave us the best experience anyone could ever ask for and what better place to do it then in Paradise.
We have made some friends for life since this holiday. We had an amazing room and views, yes there are some maintance that needs doing but no place is perfect it is what you make of it.
To Stan and Sherie, you guys were also amazing, the resort will not be the same without you, where else do you get to sit and have a drink with the Managers, no where that I have ever been before, so thank you and good luck on your new adventure will definitely be catching up with your next year.
I cannot say enough about this place go with open views and enjoy the serenity that this place has to offer, it may not be 5 star to some visitors but in my opinion but each and everyone of the Staff make it 5 star. k
Keep up the amazing work you do and see your all in September 2019.
From Brad Rowen

We stayed on Hideaway Island for five days. You get the benefit of staying on a small island while being only half an hour away from Port Vila if you want to do some shopping or join a tour. We had a bungalow right above the beach, which felt very private, with good snorkeling straight off the beach. Lunch and dinner options were not extensive, but there was a reasonable choice; quality and price was reasonable.

If you're after luxury, Iririki Island Resort is the place to go. But if you want somewhere a bit smaller with more of an "island feel" you'll like Hideaway Island. The only downside if you're planning to "chill out" on the island, is that it does get a lot of day-trippers.

A very laid-back and comfortable resort on its own island. The resort has a wide range of accommodation styles from shared dormitories to luxury villas, all with an island charm. We stayed in a bungalow with ensuite bathroom. We had a queen-size bed in its own room and bunk beds in the main living/dining area. Good food in the bar/restaurant where a light breakfast is part of the package.

We really enjoyed the snorkeling and scuba diving on the reef. We've already booked again for next year.

What a great day we had with all the kids , snorkling boating eating drinking and just having alot of fun and the staff all over the island were fab

Nice place (by local standards) but overpriced ....

Tje place is beautiful, but the staff are sour pusses... especially the guy named Josh.

This is a nice little island to visit, I haven't stayed there so can't comment on the accommodation but the beach is nice and the snorkeling is very good. The equipment you can hire is great equipment for a great price. The underwater post office is a bit of a gimmick.

Awesome place, with a very good bar, and a beautiful reef, with a lot of life and diversity. Perfect for day trips, did not try the housing or the restaurant.

Loved this island. I like the idea of the world first underwater post office where there is special water proof post cards you can actually post underwater to the post box. Its not that deep and they have snorkelers to hire.

The island is great but the service at the bar is horrible; took over an hr to get drinks and lunch, got overcharged and was promised that my change would brought over and it wasn't. When we went to the bar to ask for the change they refused because there had been a change over in shifts.

First, you have to make it there, we paid 1,000 on the way in (kinda on the expensive side as we found out later) and 500VT on the way out (a good price for tourists)

There is an entry fee of 1,250VT.

You can post your post cards which are 400VT each. There were no indication as to where it was, and we found something pretty much like a post office under water, but there was no indication as to if that really was the place to post or if the box thing was where we were ment to out the card in. I suppose what else could it be, so we went for it.

You can rent the eye snorkeling equipment for 8$ (more for fins but don't know how much) IT IS ABSOLUTELY TERRIBLE. The first one they gave me water entered instantly with no way to make it tighter (we tried, trust me). Next one, the breathing thing was pirced. Third one, same problem as the first. By then we just gave up. So BRING YOUR OWN SNORKELING EQUIPMENT.

The thing is; the snorkeling equipment is a really important part of the experience. So that put a significant impact on ours...

The food is okay, as is the drinks. You're not allowed to bring your own (as they want to make $) and it's pricey ... obviously at a place like this.

The corals are beautiful and bright. There are SO MANY FISHES which is bloody brilliant. There are also many other marine invertebrates (sea starts, sea cucumbers, giant clams). We spotted a seahorse. The entire reef area is covered with all kinds of life.

Again I repeat: BRING YOUR OWN EQUIPMENT.

Great snorkeling amongst hundreds of tropical fish. Just squeeze a piece of bread in your hand and you will have lots of fish swiming around you.
Manager of this place Mark is a champ. Great guy.

Clean Basic Accomodation. Shortage of amenties but maintained. Good food. Beautiful views, relaxing. All staff are friendly and helpful. Great place to visit.

The water is clear n lots fish. Good for snorkelling

Great day snorkelling on reef. Aqua life was super. Easy access to beach. Facilities good including bathrooms, beach bar serving food and drinks. Water warm. Pontoons to rest on. Highlight of trip. Did day trip to island. Water taxi included in day fee of $17. Value!

Stunning coral and underwater marine life at Hideaway Island

The smallest island that has a lot to offer. Well worth a stay or drop in for a day have some lunch there and enjoy the beautiful beach.

Good place to be. Very nice stuff and good food. :)

We spent four days at Hideaway Island Resort in mid-February, and everything was wonderful! We enjoyed snorkeling, swimming, paddleboarding, kayaking and the delicious curries at the restaurant. The staff was exceedingly polite and helpful. It was easy and inexpensive to take the bus from the airport to the ferry. We highly recommend the resort; it was outstanding value for the price.

Tranquil and serene place
Local workers a very nice and friendly, but they are not treated fairly and as equals by some of their employers.
My rating is a reflection of that.
Villagers 5 stars....Employers 1 star

Very nice accommodation
We stayed two times in Hideaway this month and would not miss any minute. The location is quite unique- close to airport and the city of Port Vila but really quiet. The ferry service to mainland runs fine and you can get everywhere within minutes.
The site offers different accommodations - from backpacker rooms till villas with private pool. We rented a simple Bungalow and got a spacious house with 4 beds, private terrace and huge bathroom. Fridge and simple supplies like coffee and tea included. No aircon and TV. What else do you need when you can spend the whole day with snorcheling and relaxing?
The staff is outstanding friendly and did spare no effort to make our stay as comfortable as it could be. They offer a very nice breakfast and also lunch and dinner is very fine. The reef just in front of the beach is having a dazzling variety of fish and colerful corals. It could be reached easily also for beginners as well as the really funny underwater post office.
Really enjoyed our stay and can recommend 100%.

Remote tropical island only reached by boat. Very secluded and good for snorkelling

Fantastic snorkelling. Would very much recommend a visit here for anyone looking to get up close to some tropical fish.
I went here with my 9 year old for a day trip. It cost 1250vt for an adult and my 9 yet old was 600vt for a day pass on the island which includes the ferry. The reef is beautiful and being a marine reserve there are an abundant amount of fish of all kinds to see. The coral is also quite nice in places and has some colour.

You cannot bring your own food to picnic on the island so must use the cafe/bar that is there. Cocktails are pretty expensive so stuck with the tuska beer. I just grabbed a baguette and some chips for lunch which was a reasonable price and quite tasty.

Beautiful place, only had a day trip there, but would love to stay thete

We stayed here for 3 nights over Christmas, whilst many aspects were great- the setting & location for one & the fact you could snorkel right off the island, and on Christmas day they put on a lovely feast for us all. Unfortunately the rooms are severely outdated. The bathroom shower barely worked, the toilet liked like it had been there for 100 years & the door didn't work & there was no ceiling to the bathroom. Given the fact the room was a 1 bed apartment, it had a kitchen but nothing in it. Not a single glass or crockery to be seen. However, what really brings it down is the fact we arranged a pick up from the hotel for one of our friends who arrived late in the middle of the night. We confirmed this pick up twice during the day of pick up, one with reception and once with Sue herself (manager). However at 1am nobody picked my friend up. When we complained about this, and asked for some compensation (it wasn't a pleasant or safe experience for my friend) we weren't even given an apology from Sue, which was really shocking. In fact she looked annoyed! Which I found baffling, and very bad service unfortunately. It really makes me want to put 2 stars but I'll leave it at 3 as we had a nice time overall, just don't expect some of the basics let alone luxury

Friendly personel but the food is very expensive and I woke up filled with bitemarks from bedbugs of some sort

Over hyped. Very disappointing. You will find loads of taxi drivers, boat driver and bus drivers hyping up this island. We decided after our 4th trio to Vanuatu to see for ourselves what the hype was all about? Let me just say I was extremely disappointed to say the least.
Things you need to know before visiting the island. Wear beach shoes!!! The ground is covered broken coral. No soft sand here. You will pay a entry fee. This does NOT cover anything! just entry. Bring your own snorkelling gear or pay around $10 to hire. Eat before arriving. Unfortunately we waited over an hour for our meal and ended up having to cancel it just so the kids had some time in the water before leaving. Our drinks took around half hour. So in all the experience cost us (family of 6) around $130 just for transport there and entry. The island really has nothing special about it. Definitely more beautiful spots in Vanuatu. Blue lagoon, waterfalls, a million beaches! If you really want to see the hyped up island for yourself just expect to pay pay pay!

Wonderful snorkeling
Beautiful views
Friendly staff and people

Underwater post office is cool. 400 vatu per post card. Coral reef out front for snorkeling is OK, far from the best around. Definitely seen some wear and tear. OK spot for an afternoon but kinda pricey. Won t allow you to bring own food/drink either. 1250 vatu to visit island.

We got the boat to this place from the Beach Bar at the bottom of Mele Village. The boat is included in the entry fee of about $15 AUD. Snorkel hire is not free, it's at cost, so the website is not right. However the snorkelling was really good, you don't have to go out too far to see the fish or coral. You can swim to post your underwater postcard too (which only took three weeks to get to the UK!). Sadly the underwater post office was destroyed in the last cyclone but the postbox is still there.
There are bar snacks and drinks but at resort prices, although alcohol not watered down in any way! A relaxing and fun day out. Definitely recommend it as somewhere to visit on Efate!

Chilled beaches good food and amazing scenery. Come later in the afternoon for an even more relaxing experience

Beautiful place to stay! Friendly staff, great events, the reef is beautiful and our rooms were lovely

Beautiful getaway. Snorkelling is amazing. Rooms have lots of insects and ants all over but are done up quite nicely.

The location is great and staff is really gentle. However, the rooms are quite old but clean.<br/>I do get that we pay a premium to stay on that island. But I am not impressed by the premium they are imposing to hotel guests:<br/>1. We tried to arrange transportation with hotel from the airport, but nobody seems to reply to the phone. Arriving in the airport, we heard at the information centre that this hotel covers transportation, but because nobody seems to reply the phone, we should get a taxi (2000 VATU for 3Pax) and the hotel should refund.<br/>2. Turns out, the hotel didn't wanted to refund the transportation.<br/>3. Adding to this, they are asking 4000 VAT (50AUD) to organise transportation back to the airport. (Which is even higher than a Taxi!)<br/>This, added to the fact that we didn't have curtains in the room (e.g. people can see our room via that glass doors), I can only put 2 stars.<br/>This is sad, because this place has alot of potential. But it is not worth the premium we are paying

Outstanding place staff are friendly and helpful. Diving/snorkeling is out of this world. Food is great. Nothing is a problem

Great place to spend the day with activities like snorkeling, kayaking and volleyball. The island has a lot of shadow and places to chill.

The restaurant has some good options, including vegetarian and vegan, as well as a good bar. I got a chicken coconut curry which was delicious.

It's also possible to do scuba diving from the island, but you should book in advance as the staff is really limited.

Lovely resort island. Decent food and the underwater postbox is a lot of fun. Staff are very friendly and eager to help out.

Nice place n amazing beach but giving lower rating because we left some frozen stuff in their kitchen fridge that was lost when we asked for it at checkout!

A great place to relax for the day. Make sure you take sea shoes to walk into the water.

It was the most amazing spot ever and there was always a transport option from the main island to the resort whether you relying on the tide to walk across or the boats that run almost every 2-5 minutes during the day. The scenery was amazing as well, sunsets to sunrise there was always a good photo opportunity. A nice place to play volleyball or a warm opportunity to snorkel and dive. The staff were so friendly and prices were very good at the restaurant on the island. Accommodation was very nice and had a very traditional feel to it. Overall I HIGHLY recommend hideaway island.

It's a lovely island, you can go snorkeling from your doorstep. The food is great and staff is generally helpful, but have a few things to note on the room to improvement side: the rooms are too close to diesel generators and the fans (no aircon) are super noisy as well .. I'm a light sleeper it was impossible to sleep without earplugs. Every time you want to pay with card say for a drink they make you walk from the bar to the reception ... It's not a big deal it's only 50 meteres away, but they should fix this. My major concern though is the rip off that happened last night when we asked to arrange transport to the airport at 6:30am we were made to pay double the price (4000 vatu) we paid for the way in for a taxi (because reception didn't answer the phone 4pm to get it organized by them, so we made our own way there). The price was per person so if we had two more people (it was the three of us) it would have been even more than double. When we questioned the price and asked why can't we have a taxi we were told well you don't really have any other options as it's too early. We raised the concern to the manager, who said he would look into organizing a taxi for the standard price, but he never got back to us. Its not really about the price I just feel this is a bit of unethical practice and not a good customer experience.

I didn't stay at the resort, but I went here to go diving for my 40th birthday :D The dive sites I went to were spectacular and thoroughly enjoyed the adventure. The local dive guides are so relaxed and fun. I'll go back here to dive again next time I'm in Vanuatu

A great place for a get away stay, but could definitely do with some upgrades and maintenance.
I would definitely recommend staying here rather than just a day trip, it was super special to get up and watch the sun rise and then kayak, paddle board and lounge about before it got busy with day trippers.
The snorkeling was great and they are doing awesome stuff with creating reefs.
The basic accommodation was nothing special, but was comfortable. Although the roof fan had broken with wires hanging from the roof and was only replaced with a small pedestal fan which didn't work too well. And the mosquito net was gapping open as well, fortunately we didn't get any mosquitoes.

Beautiful location for relaxing in the sun and snorkling the reef. Great lunch with friendly staff. Perfect location for a day out.

Snorkeling was great but the actual beach isn't pretty or easy to walk on. Not a great deal of seats in the shade so can get awfully warm. Free boat ride to island which is very quick but gives you time to look around. Definately worth a visit.

Very nice, I loved the underwater post office. Nice snorkeling and the food was so good.

Great snorkelling here, spent a couple of days in and out of the water. Glass bottom boat is ok for those not wanting to snorkle. Beach bar provides good food and the staff are very friendly.

We got a bad weather day but it was really nice to snorkel for the 1st time

Amazing place
Staff very friendly
Awesome beach, snorkeling .

I highly recommend this resort. First I would like to thank the manager who organized an alternative emergency airport transfer because after a heavy night rain during our last night the bridge connecting the west side of the island with the airport was damaged, so the hotel manager brought us with a special boat to a safe beach where a taxi driver was waiting for us and brought us to the airport. Fantastic organization! The stay was also amazing! Our beachfront bungalow was bigger than our current appartment where we live in! The snorkeling on the island is also good, the corals are not very colourful, but there are many many fish! We will come back!

Hide away island has some of the most amazing scuba diving around .the are over 20 dive site just mintens from the shore ranging from beginner to expert .if you love to dive hide away island is for you .

Very beautiful beach. Clear warm water with lots of little fish. Relaxing.