Getting to Espiritu Santo is half the magic of this trip, and it starts with one of my favourite kinds of flights — the kind where you don’t have to think about it. We flew Solomon Airlines direct from Brisbane, no stopover in Port Vila, no juggling connections with three kids and two grandparents in tow. It’s a genuinely easy three-hour hop, and there’s something almost surreal about the fact that you can leave Brisbane mid-morning and be wheels down on a tiny Pacific island, surrounded by jungle and turquoise water, before lunch. The time difference is barely worth mentioning, just an hour ahead, so there’s no jet lag to manage and no lost morning recalibrating-tired kids. For a family trip with six of us spanning three generations, that direct flight made the whole holiday feel achievable rather than like an expedition. We landed at Santo-Pekoa International Airport to that kind of Pacific welcome that immediately tells you you’ve arrived somewhere special, and from there it was a short transfer straight to our home for the next four nights.
That home was Turtle Bay Lodge, a boutique stretch of beachfront on the east coast of Santo, and it turned out to be exactly the right call for a multigenerational crew like ours. The lodge has a proper laid-back, barefoot-luxury energy — a PADI dive centre on-site, kayaks and paddleboards for hire, quad bikes if you’re feeling adventurous, and the Salty Dog Bar and Restaurant right there for whenever hunger strikes — which, with three kids, is approximately every ninety minutes. We stayed in two interconnecting Sea View Family Rooms, and the layout genuinely made the trip work. Each room is split into two separate spaces, each with its own ensuite, ceiling fans working alongside the natural ocean breeze, a fridge, and tea and coffee making facilities. Doors open onto a private veranda just twenty metres from the water, looking straight out over the lodge’s snorkelling reef. With six of us under two interconnecting roofs, everyone had somewhere to retreat to and unwind, whether that was my parents wanting an early night or the kids needing somewhere to decompress after a big beach day. Breakfast was included each morning, which meant zero negotiating with small humans before my morning tea had kicked in.
Here’s how the four nights unfolded. We arrived in the early afternoon on day one, just enough time to settle into our rooms, let the kids loose in the pool, and ease into island time with dinner at the Salty Dog.
Day two was dedicated to chasing every shade of blue this island has to offer, and it did not disappoint. We stared at Riri Blue Hole with a Canoe down the river. It’s often called the prettiest blue hole on the island, and I’m not going to argue; the water is so clear it barely looks real. Then we headed to Matevulu, which is the biggest and deepest of them all, with a rope swing hanging off an old banyan tree that had every kid in our group, and one very enthusiastic grandparent, lining up for a turn. We also loved the waterslide that was so much fun!
From there we wound through Port Olry, a postcard fishing village with its own stunning stretch of beach, this is where we had lunch. Then we went to Champagne Beach, which lives up to the hype completely, with soft white sand and that impossible turquoise water, barely another soul in sight.
Day three was all about the Mount Hope float, a genuinely magical experience that sounds simple on paper and ends up being one of those trip highlights everyone still talks about. You float down a calm, glassy river under a canopy of jungle, completely unhurried, kids included, and it’s the kind of slow, soak-it-in activity that just doesn’t exist back home.
Day four was about earning our lunch. We kayaked out from the lodge around a local island. Then we got in the car and headed to Nanda Blue Hole. This was my favourite of all the blue holes, with so many fish and even a cute little café.
On our final morning after checking out, we visited a local school, which turned out to be one of the most grounding parts of the entire trip. Watching my kids interact with local kids, swap a few words, and kick a ball around is the kind of moment that puts the whole holiday in perspective and reminds you exactly why we travel with our children in the first place. From there, we made our way to Million Dollar Point, the WWII site where the US military famously dumped truckloads of equipment into the sea rather than ship it home. You could see so much, even from the beach.
Four nights at Turtle Bay Lodge gave us the perfect mix of adventure, slow days, and genuine cultural connection, all wrapped up in an accommodation setup that worked for three generations travelling together. Next stop was Ratua Island Resort.
This was the first time I’d flown internationally with all three kids without my husband by my side. If you’ve ever done the solo-parent airport shuffle (even with the grandparents), you’ll know exactly why that detail matters. Juggling four passports, boarding passes, and the kids’ bits and pieces through Brisbane and into Vanuatu solo could have been an absolute mess, but this trip I had my Pairre passport wallet doing the heavy lifting. Every passport had its own spot, boarding passes tucked in exactly where I needed them, no frantic bag-dig at the check-in counter while three small humans orbited around me. It sounds like such a small thing until you’re the only adult in the queue and you need everything just to work, and honestly that one piece of organisation took so much stress off the table before we’d even boarded. If you’re a mum who travels solo with your kids even occasionally, do yourself this favour.
Enjoy!
Disclaimer: This trip was made possible in part through a collaboration with Turtle Bay Lodge and Solomon Airlines. As always, all opinions, experiences, and overly enthusiastic blue hole commentary are entirely our own. This blog post is a paid collaboration with Pairre.