Only 12 kilometres from the centre of Port Vila and an easy two minute ride by ferry from the mainland is the appropriately named Hideaway Island and Marine Sanctuary Resort. It is a small coral atoll that's about as close as you'll get to a Robinson Crusoe island escape in the South Pacific. Power is generated around the clock on the island, water is fed from the top of the pristine Cascade waterfalls and outside of the office there are no phones or faxes. Edged by white sands, coral beaches and fringed with palm trees, the island is surrounded by warm crystal waters teeming with friendly fish living amongst the pastel-coloured Plate Corals, unique to this area.

There is also plenty for the non-diver to do. A day on the island can be as busy or as quiet as you want to make it. As well as snorkelling and scuba diving, you can try sailing and beach volleyball, or use it as a base for a myriad of other tours and activities such as game or reef fishing, visiting the Cascade Waterfalls or having a round of golf. If you prefer a more relaxing holiday, you can always just sit back, relax and enjoy the fare of our world-class chef as you enjoy the view of beautiful Mele Bay.

To fully appreciate the extent of the Marine Sanctuary's wonderful reefs and marine life...you just have to visit.  The reef has been protected as a Marine Sanctuary for 15 years.   The fish are very friendly  - it’s like an underwater “aquarium” of untold splendour right off the beach and you can hand feed hundreds of  the tame fish just metres from the shore. 

Here  are some of the dives in store for you within minutes of the Resort:

Hideaway Wall:  A drop off to 50 metres.  The colourful wall features wonderful bright and wholly intact plate corals and numerous nooks and crannies which house resident lobsters in significant numbers.  Our resident Tital Triggerfish (Jack) likes a little morsel every now and again, so have no fear - you can hand feed him.

Clown Colony:  As the name depicts, sea anemones and their variety of resident anemone clown fish (30 - 40 colonies).  This dive is full of vibrant, fully intact corals of indescribable colour.

Gotham City:  A wonderful rise of reef in about nine metres of water with a large bommie that houses a resident Maori Wrasse, Teira Batfish and Barracuda.  Throw in a few  (friendly, non-biting) reef sharks, great coral, and bingo... it’s a dive for everyone’s palette.  Watch out for the Batfish as these suckers love to be fed and are nibble happy!!!

Sea Whip City:  A gutter that houses many large and small gorgonians.

Night Diveson “The Bommies”.    A chain of coral bommies ranging from 10 - 30 metres.  It’s a good day dive...but an even better night dive right from the shore!  All manner of marine life is encountered.  Don’t forget to wave to all the folks in the restaurant as you parade past.

Cavern Dive -“Ghost train”. This dive is also known as Blacksand Caves.  It consists of interconnecting gullies that are a perfect starter for divers wondering what it is like to cave dive.

Anchor Reef: A recent exploratory dive off Hideaway revealed an exciting new dive site featuring spectacular corals, including some nice soft corals, fish and even an old anchor believed to have come off an old trading vessel. Now known as Anchor Reef, the site is a sea mount that starts in 5 m of water, with crayfish, spectacular hard and soft corals, bat fish and  large schools of black snapper.

Wreck Dives!
MV Aloara
On Friday 9th November 2001 a new wreck was created close to Hideaway Island.

The MV Aloara, a 30 metre retired island trader was successfully sunk close to the very popular snorkelling and dive site “Coral Gardens”. The new wreck has been very popular with divers since the sinking and already schools of fish are moving into their new home.

Bonzer 111. Hot on the heels of the sinking of the Aloara, the MV Bonzer 111 was sunk. The vessel is a 21.6m retired tug boat that was used to haul timber by a Malaysian logging company. It had been out of work for several years already when it was decommissioned and offered to Hideaway to sink as a dive wreck. Now sitting snugly on the bottom in 22 metres of water near Clown Colony, this is a perfect first wreck dive, and also great fun for the wreck dive addict