In Port Vila, days are generally warm and night are cool. April to October are the best months to visit Vanautu as temperatures hit the highest mark at the 70’s Farenheit. A wide-rimmed hat and a sun screen with high SDF protection (preferably over 45) is highly recommended. Lately, temperatures have increased and it doesn’t cool down over night. You won’t need a coat but expect rain at night and, just in case, pack a light raincoat or a sweater.

From December to March (Summer season) it can get really hot and the temperatures hit the 90’s Farenheit. It will rain, without doubt pack that raincoat and a good pair of shoes. It is also cyclone season that can begin as early as November and go through to April. The upside is that it is low season and you can get real deals in your vacation packages. It depends on how many adventure you are up to. You might be lucky and cyclones are not so strong.

Anyway, follow the cyclone alerts as they are regularly updated by the local governments. Also, you can check the cyclones routes and strength at : http://www.meteo.nc/ , http://www.met.gov.fj/ , and http://www.npmoc.navy.mil/jtwc.html .

An additional comment, be prepared to enjoy the sea year-round, the water is always warm.

The cyclone period can be at any time. I checked with the weather station here. Their records show that the only month there has NEVER been a cyclone is September. That was records dating back to Oct 1959. I asked where are the records before then? That is when a really big cyclone hit and flattened the weather station and blew away the records. The rainy season is often always misquoted too. Independence is celebrated July 31st. You can generally bet that it is raining then. It is not so much the temperature either that varies, it is averaging at 24°C. It is the humidity that can be uncortable. From close on 15 years of living here, end Janurary to late Feb can be very uncomfortable unless you have air-conditioing at night. During the day, we all tend to swim a lot!  Today,  (Oct 25th, 2006) whilst we are watching  cyclone Xavier lurking not too far away, it is a pleasant 24°, right on the average. There is no wind, and it is raining a little. So a good chance it may always rain at anytime, that is sound advice to pack a light raincoat. But if you get wet, so does everyone else, and it is not cold. I guess the sea temperature depends on what you are used to. I find it too cool to swim at mid to late year, but people from colder climates absolutely love it.  There has only been two cyclones that have wrecked Port Vila, the forementioned one in Oct 1959, and Uma, in 1987. None had deaths that I know of,  that may have be corrected. Earthquakes can read very high on the Richter scales, yet  generally do zero damage. They are very deep down in the ocean.  Someone "played" with Tsumani alert system after the boxing day disasters of Thailand and Indonesia etc., so now we get false warnings. There is nothing to worry about, unless a really monster cyclone hits, then you will be taken to safey in any case. The entire place is built and equiped to handle the trials and tribulations of Mother nature.