We came to Sunrise from staying elsewhere in Port Vila.
Vanuatu as a country is expensive to travel around in, and if you are a traveller who likes a bit more independence and to do things yourself, it can be harder due to the cost of travel, lack of regular set public transport etc.
We arrived really early in the morning, and for most of our stay was looked after by Helen, the relief manager, who was truly excellent. She introduced us to the area, anything we might need and gave us a quick tour, before inviting us to breakfast until our cabana was ready.
The staff at Sunrise Beach are one of the gems of this resort. They make every effort to learn your names, and help with any bookings, tours or any problems you might have. Helen checked in every breakfast and dinner to make sure everything was going well.
All the staff were excellent, including at front of house, cleaning, general maintenance.
We stayed in a Queen Cabana which was furnished in a tropical style. AC is provided at an extra cost but we definitely didn't need it, and there were a total of 4 fans in the room! There is a complimentary tea and coffee and kettle in the room as well. It was lovely to be able to sit on the outside deck too. The cabanas also had TV's with some movies already loaded. There is wifi which is a little patchy at times but to be expected. The rooms were serviced each day and left with lovely little touches like flowers.
There is snorkelling equipment, lifejackets, reef shoes, noodles, hammocks, SUPs and kayaks available to use and to take on trips out, which was amazing. The snorkelling equipment was in good condition. The SUPs were proper stand ups, not the inflatable ones and very secure, likewise the kayaks were ocean kayaks and really easy and stable to use. The reef outside the resort is beautiful and the water very warm. It is always sheltered too, so no big waves. We saw several lionfish and luckily, a dugong and its calf!
Breakfast is a buffet, of fruit, bread, muffins, cereal, tea and coffee. There is a great dinner menu including curries, fish, and steak, but also local foods such as laplap which need to be prepared in advance. It was great to try these and the food was excellent. We were kindly treated to a beachfront setting with champagne for our honeymoon which was really lovely of Clare and Michael.
Sunrise is about 15 mins from Luganville, and airport transfer is included.
If you want to go into town, a taxi costs 1000Vatu.
We ended up getting a taxi into town one day and hiring a car for 2 days, arranged by Helen, from Espiritu Santo Hotel, which was 9000Vatu a day.
This allowed us to go up to Port Olry, Champagne Beach, Nanda Blue Hole and into town with a bit more freedom and cheaper.
Theres also diving available at SS Coolidge, and we also went snorkelling at Million Dollar Point. Buses between town and Million dollar point are 150 Vatu each way pp.
The main supermarket in town is the LCM which is closed on Sundays.
We had an amazing stay at Sunrise and couldn't recommend it more, it was the personal touches and amazing staff that really made it for us!
