Things to Do on Tanna Island
Where the Coffee
Comes From
Tanna Island sits in the southern arc of Vanuatu — a place of raw volcanic energy, ancient culture, and extraordinary biodiversity. It’s also where No Label Coffee’s beans are grown by small shareholder farmers on the fertile slopes surrounding Mount Yasur. If you’re thinking of making the journey, here’s what awaits.
Stand on the Rim of Mount Yasur
The world’s most accessible active volcano — erupting daily, lighting the sky red after dark.
Yakel Kastom Village
A living community unchanged for thousands of years. No electricity, no internet — just ceremony and song.
Port Resolution Beach
Tanna’s most beautiful stretch of coastline — white sand, crystal water, ocean bungalows.
Sulphur Bay Hot Springs
Geothermal pools at the ocean’s edge. Eat food cooked in the earth, soak in mineral water.
The Blue Cave
Swim through an underwater entrance into a cavern where sunlight turns the water electric blue.
Louniel Waterfall
A 40-metre cascade deep in the jungle, finishing at a remote black sand surf beach. Half-day hike.
Mount Yasur — The Accessible Volcano
Yasur has been erupting continuously for hundreds of years, and at just 361 metres it’s the most approachable active volcano on earth. You can drive within walking distance of the rim, then hike up with a guide to look directly into the lava lake below. At night the crater glows red, illuminating the ash cloud above in a way you’ll never forget.
Tours depart morning and evening. The evening experience is unmissable — you’ll hear the deep booming explosions before you even see the glow.
Yakel Kastom Village
Made famous through the Oscar-nominated film Tanna, Yakel is a living kastom community where modern technology is deliberately absent. Community members greet visitors with traditional dance, singing, and stomping. There are no shops, no TV, no schools in the Western sense — just an unbroken culture stretching back thousands of years.
Always visit with a local guide. Similar experiences are also found at the villages of Latapu, Ikunala and Imaio.
The Blue Cave & Outer Reef
The waters around Tanna have exceptional visibility. The Blue Cave is reached by swimming through an underwater entrance into a cavern where sunlight streams through and turns everything a vivid electric blue. Further out, the outer reef hosts sea turtles, blue-spotted rays, moray eels, and reef sharks. The wreck of The Fijian (sunk 1916) is a favourite dive site.
Louniel Waterfall & the Jungle Interior
Thick rainforest covers much of Tanna’s interior. The hike to Louniel Waterfall drops 40 metres in a postcard-perfect cascade, and the trail continues to a remote black sand surf beach on the island’s exposed east coast. Hot springs at Sulphur Bay and Iwea offer a quieter, geothermal alternative — food cooked underground, face painting, and soothing mineral pools.
Grown on These Slopes
The same volcanic soil that makes Mount Yasur so dramatic gives Tanna Island coffee its distinctive mineral character. Our beans are grown by small shareholder farmers — 1 to 4 hectares each — on the slopes surrounding the volcano.
Shop Tanna Island CoffeeFly into Port Vila (Efate) from Sydney, Brisbane or Auckland, then take a 45-minute domestic flight to Whitegrass Airport on Tanna. Tours and transfers can be arranged through your accommodation.
Best Time to Visit
April to October (dry season). Volcano is spectacular year-round, but roads are much easier in the dry months.
How Long to Stay
Minimum 2 nights for the volcano and a village. 3–4 nights gives you time to properly explore the island.
Getting Around
4WD is essential. Most resorts arrange tours. Vanuatu Ecotours run highly regarded guided experiences.