Ambrym Island Vanuatu
Vanuatu

25 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Ponant (4 Cruises)

Seabourn Cruise Line (15 Cruises)

Silversea Cruises (6 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

On the beach, feet in the water. There is no quay and no terminal: expedition ships anchor offshore and zodiacs land passengers, most often near the village of Ranon on the north coast. The crew advises what to wear, amphibious sandals and rolled-up trousers.
Because it was born of ash. Ambrym owes its colour to one of the most active volcanoes in the South Pacific, whose vast ash plain covers the island's interior. Ni-Vanuatu call it the black island, and also credit it with a reputation as the island of magic.
No. The craters are reached by a multi-day trek with local guides across the interior ash plain. A cruise call plays out entirely on the coast, in the shoreline villages.
A ritual reserved for initiated men, of which Ambrym is one of the last strongholds. Dancers wear a tall conical mask in vivid colours and a cape of dried banana leaves covering them completely. The ceremony enacts the old story of good and evil, and nobody knows who is beneath the masks: custom forbids it.
An art inscribed by UNESCO on the list of intangible cultural heritage. With one finger, never lifted, the artist traces in minutes a continuous interlace that tells a legend, a route or a message. The demonstration is among the highlights of the call.
Carvings. Ambrym's craftspeople, renowned throughout the archipelago, shape standing drums and tree-fern figures that turn up even in European museums. The pieces offered to passengers are made on the spot, by the very people selling them.
None in the usual sense: no shops, no posted timetables, no cash machine. Everything runs to the village's rhythm, and residents often wait for visitors with rows of flowers planted along the shoreline.
The vatu, Vanuatu's currency. People speak Bislama, the archipelago's lingua franca, along with English and French, a legacy of the Anglo-French condominium. Bring small denominations in cash: nothing here is paid by card.
This is an expedition call: wet zodiac landing, no services, no facilities. Children who accept walking and heat will find it a memorable encounter, but the call suits neither very young children nor reduced mobility.
May to October, Vanuatu's dry season, cooler and less rainy, which is also outside the cyclone period. From November to April, swell and tropical depressions complicate zodiac landings.