Turtle Bay Beach House

AirBnB Espiritu Santo Vanuatu

Things to Know Before you Go

Turtle Bay Beach House specialises in longer term AirBnB Espiritu Santo style accommodation. We are located in one of the most beautiful spots on the island – Turtle Bay. All our beachfront accommodation is self-catering, we do not include breakfast. We keep our prices down by only doing direct bookings (week minimum). We do not do bookings through third party providers like Trip Advisor, AirBnB, Bookings.com, Expedia because they take up to 20% or more commission. Instead we pass on these savings to you, the customer. 

We’ve designed your AirBnB style accommodation (cottages, bungalow, house) to be an oasis of peace and tranquility – lush tropical gardens leading directly to your own private beach area and overwater deck, traditional sculptures and artworks, a large grassy area for kids to play on, a sandpit/sun lounge area, a giant overwater hammock, large shade trees, a kayak ramp and even an outdoor bamboo rain shower. Check out all of our amenities HERE

For tips and advice to ensure your AirBnB Espiritu Santo holiday at Turtle Bay Beach House goes smoothly please see below….

AirBnb Espiritu Santo Vanuatu

Tips and Advice

Kayaks/SUPs/Snorkel Gear

These are free to use – please take good care of them. They are located next to Turtle Cottage. Do not leave them in the sun and clean and put them away after use. Snorkel gear is located in the laundry.

Laundry

Our on-site shared laundry is free to use, however if you would like Marie to wash, dry and fold your clothes for you it’s an additional 2000vt charge. The laundry also contains picnic mats you can use, large washing bowls, eskys (cooler boxes) and a selection of games. The washing line is located next to the water tanks (right).

Overwater Deck/BBQ/Giant Hammock

The overwater deck is a shared use area. The gas BBQ is free to use on the deck and is located in the cupboard. Please clean and return it to the cupboard after use. The switch for the fan/light is on the left (you must turn on the power switch directly below this as well). The other light switches are located on the right as you walk in. The giant hammock is not a trampoline. Please don’t use it this way or you will either break it or get injured.

Satellite Internet/Phone Service

Vodaphone is the only service that works at the house. Local sims and credit available from Vodaphone office in town. Most of the local phone providers are notoriously unreliable but the best deal is a 500vt weekly unlimited calls deal with 2 GB data from Vodaphone. We have a dedicated satellite internet dish at the house which is included in the price of your accommodation. Ask Willie for our internet password – please note this is for basic internet use – emails, facebook, some video messaging, it is not for on-line gaming or constant streaming of movies as the service is limited to 50mb per month. If you use it all up no-one else will have any and then we will forced to increase our prices to pay for this additional cost.

Blue Holes

You can either kayak or drive to the nearby blue holes. Cost is 1000vt per person and 500 vt for kids. There are two just south of us and one just north of us. You can kayak to Matevulu the nearest one – allow 2.5 – 3 hrs return.

Eating Out/Takeaway

Turtle Bay Lodge is a short walk away (just north of us). Apart from good food and a bar, they also have wifi and a pool you can use if you buy food/drinks etc. The next nearest restaurant is Black Pearl 15 minutes south and then Barrier Beach Resort (another 5 minutes S). You can also order takeaway meals from Natanara Kitchen but you will have to order a day in advance and pick it up from their place (about 10 min south). Look them up on Facebook or email them on natanarakitchen@gmail.com .

Rubbish

Please use red bags (available from LCM Supermarket) when putting your rubbish into the green bins at the back of the house. These are pre-paid rubbish bags so we can use the Council tip to discard them. The other smaller bin is for the recycling – Tusker Beer bottles, Cascade Spring Water/plastic water bottles. If you want to recycle your aluminium cans you can drop them off to the Daming Store in Luganville near the fruit and vege markets. Do not put them into our recycling bin!

AirBnB Espiritu Santo Vanuatu

Electricity

Electricity is included in the price of your accommodation but keep in mind it is very expensive on Santo. We please ask that you turn off fans and lights when you go out so we can keep our prices reasonable. If there’s a power failure, switchboards are located in each building and main switchboard is in the laundry.

Drinking Water

Water is supplied to our holiday house and cottages by a pump in the laundry. The water at the property is safe to drink – it’s either filtered rainwater or underground bore water filtered through limestone – the Beach House also has an additional filter on the cold water tap.

Taxis/Transports/Car Hire/Airport Transfers

There are always plenty of taxis at the airport to transfer you to your AirBnB Espiritu Santo at Turtle Bay. We suggest you call ahead and organise Jubly to pick you up – he’s our No. 1 taxi Driver. Second best is Tusty. Contacts are below. Generally the cost should be around 3000vt.  We suggest you take the opportunity to do all your food/drinks shopping in Luganville along the way as there are no shops in Turtle Bay. catching daily local transport is easy, Just walk outside the property onto the main road and wave down a local bus or transport into town (you’ll see them going by every morning). Cost is around 300vt one way pp. Same goes for the return (usually in the late afternoon). Taxis are around 2000vt one way into town. We recommend Jubly for taxi 7106846 or Tusty 7755280 or Luke at Paradise Tours for car rental/day tours. Turtle Bay Lodge also hires quad bikes and cars.

Supermarket/Vege Market/Fish Market

The main Luganville fruit and vege markets are open 7 days a week and are located at the south end of town. Stalls adjacent to the market sell cheap takeaway and sit down meals. The fish market is at the back of the market near the river. You can also try an Aussie lady Hayley who lives at Natanara (10 min drive south) who has a commercial fishing boat and can supply you with fresh fish. Her contact is 5433373. The main supermarket is LCM in the middle of town but you can also try the Daming Stores (one around the corner from Luganville fruit and vege markets and the other at the north end of town) and the Sunshine Stores (one next to markets). There’s a scattering of other smaller markets around Luganville – ask your driver to show you them if you can’t find what you need in the first one. Every Sunday morning there is a local fruit and vegetable stall that sets up south of Riri River Bridge here at Turtle Bay (7 min drive south from house). There’s also plenty of roadside stalls north on the way up to Champagne Beach (about 30 min drive). 

On-Site Managers

Willie and Marie live at Turtle Bay Tree House (30m south) and are here to help you with any issues and problems as well as to welcome you and get you settled into your AirBnB Espiritu Santo accommodation. They are not here to be your personal tour or transport organisers (if you want that please choose to stay at Turtle Bay Lodge). Willie’s contact is 7788590 Marie’s contact is – their day off is Saturday their church day.

Kava Bars

Our nearest local kava bar is about a 5km drive north (look for the coloured light). There is also a small shop there with basic foods and supplies. Kava time is 5pm onwards. On a Wednesday its worth driving to Seahorse Kava Bar for the weekly get together of expats. (head south for 20 min until you see The Ranch horseriding centre).

Tea/Coffee/Toilet Paper/Soap/Garbage Bags

We generally try to provide you with the basics when you first arrive but after that you are on your own. Nearest shop is 5 km north. We are not a resort, we are self-contained AirBnB style accommodation and are priced accordingly.

Breakages and Other Domestic Issues

If something doesn’t work, missing or needs fixing please let Willie know. Same goes for any breakages. We try to provide you with everything you need for your stay. Please leave it as you found it. This applies to dirty dishes, pots, rubbish etc. Clean up before you leave. Thank you.

Additional Cleans/Linen Changes

We do not do daily cleans or linen changes unless requested. If you are staying longer than a week Marie will supply new towels etc at the end of the week. If you would like a basic daily clean from Marie (floors swept/dishes done/beds made) we can organise this for an extra 2000vt extra a day. Any additional linen changes are 2000vt per room. Please speak to Willie if you wish to organise this.

Noise

Please be respectful to other guests sharing the property with you and give them their privacy. If for any reason there is a problem with noise from our neighbours or other guests please inform Willie and he will deal with it.

Diving/Fishing/Boat Tours

Our AirBnB Espiritu Santo style accommodation is located within walking distance of Turtle Bay Lodge which offers diving along with Eco-Dive (just behind Turtle Lodge) – there are a range of gerat dive sites near us. Eco-Dive may also be able to take you out to the islands for a boat tour/snorkel tour. We do not recommend Dany Island for snorkelling (too expensive) but instead recommend Mavea Island. Call Johnny Riri 7358478 or Quenster 7606136 for cheap local boat tours. For fishing try Fabrice at Island Fishing Santo 7740536, Bob at Bob’s Gamefishing and Boat Charters 5601645 or Ru at Pacific Reef Sports Fishing 7376211. 

Medical

If there are any medical emergencies while staying in our AirBnB Espiritu Santo call Medico Santo on 36400 or after hours 7736400 – office is in Luganville. Or for an ambulance call Pro Medical 26996.

There’s lots more useful information on our FAQ page and blogs or visit the Vanuatu Tourism office in town (it’s located on a side road off Club Sanma – phone 36616).