Ratua Private Island

The images wont do it justice not unless you experience this one of a kind island for yourself. It is truly paradise on earth and made for a very special holiday for our family. What makes Ratua so special? It has to be the many experiences that you just become in awe of. The traditional villas give you a taste of how island living should be, blending in perfectly with the tropical environment. And these villas are located only a few short steps away from your own private beach, perfect for a morning snorkel. Experiencing sea life will not stop their, and swimming / paddleboarding with the turtles is an unforgettable experience (and yes, one of my turtle encounters took place only 50 metres off Ratua Island.....truly jaw dropping). The poise and grace of these turtles only adds to the tranquility that you are surrounded with on the island. Even if the water is not your thing, although it is pretty hard not to dive in with 4 different shades of beautiful blues staring back at you every moment on the island, there is plenty to keep you busy on land. We enjoyed an incredible spa treatment in the over water spa while our daughter experienced navigating the island on horse back followed by a very unique end to their horse riding trek....swimming with the horses! yes, you heard me right! What makes all of the above experiences possible...the people. Our hosts were incredible and we are grateful to have met them. The people of Ratua play a critical part in making the Ratua experience what it is and i can not fault them. All our needs were taken care of and we already miss the beautiful people we met (I must admit it was quite emotional leaving by boat on the last day). It truly does feel like the land that time forgot...we would return in a heart beat. I think you will be hard pressed to find any place on earth that delivers the unique experience that Ratua does... Go on.... "time is the only currency you spend without knowing your final balance"....and time spent on Ratua is sooooo worth it

We didn't get there! We were left standing on the wharf! We'd arranged to go to Ratua for the weekend - we'd made arrangements, organised transport, done shopping and packed all our things. We arrived at the wharf at 9am as instructed. At 9:15, with no boat in site, we sent a message asking if the boat was on its way and were told our booking had been cancelled and staff sent home because there weren't enough guests this weekend. Nobody had thought to let us know. We said we were disappointed to not have been told earlier, and they said that it would not have been financially viable for them for us to come. This was in spite of us having agreed to pay a considerable amount for transport, accommodation and meals, and also requesting information on other packages we could purchase while there. I just hope the staff were still paid and all the food they told us they'd prepared didn't go to waste.

We have just had an incredible 6 night stay Ratua Resort. I still can not get over how flat the water is there, it made snorkelling a dream. The staff were friendly, always with a smile on their face, they organised wonderful activities for us and the food they made was absolutely delicious (an all inclusive resort) The spa is seriously gorgeous, a villa over the water and the masseuse are brilliant. We stayed in Buffalo a vintage teak villa with its own beach, we loved spending the evenings sitting on the veranda watching the sunset and watching the fish jumping around and we can’t forget all the turtles 🐢 What more could you ask for.

It’s been over three weeks since we left Ratua Island and there hasn’t been a day gone by, that I haven’t thought about our stay. In sharing photos with friends and family I hope I have spread the word that this is a very special and unique place to stay in Vanuatu. We were blessed with almost having the place to ourselves, this perhaps in part due to the run up of the collapse of Air Vanuatu. In hindsight we were very lucky in slip in and out of Santo unlike many who got stranded. Having said that, Vanuatu but more especially Ratua Island, is a wonderful place to get stranded ! If one didn’t have to get back to the rat race it really wouldn’t matter if there were no planes !! We found the island offered a lovely mix of nature and culture. The temp was 30 degrees, mostly cloudy but that didn’t seem to matter. The 200 plus year old Balinese houses are so unusual and unique. We enjoyed our daily walks, swims and snorkelling. Both of us had a horse ride and I even had a swim with my horse. Time slowed down, we read books, observed nature and just enjoyed sitting around doing not much at all. We also enjoyed talking to Resort owner Leah and her wonderful staff of local Vanuatuans. Special thanks to Patricia, Sam, Johnny, Henry, Ollie and Edwige. We glimpsed our cooks but didn’t learn their names. They gave us a lovely variety of delicious food, morning, noon and night. So thanks ! We did have one tour away from the island. We crossed over by longboat to Malo Blue Pool with Henry as our guide. I’m glad I overcame my fear of deep water to do that. It was worth it. We would love to return one day. We’ve never been to anything like Ratua Island Resort before. It is a one off. I’m sure I’ll carry on thinking about our holiday for sometime yet.

Ratua Island Resort is one of those rare places which lives up to its advertising. This is a truly eco-luxe barefoot resort. We spent a week here happily swimming, snorkelling, reading, eating and sleeping. We could also have gone horse riding but I had a bung ankle and wasn't up for that kind of vigorous exercise! You get to Ratua by flying into Luganville and then by being taken to a small dock where a speedboat will whisk you across the water (about 30+ minutes) to the resort. We were greeted by Ollie with welcome drinks, dancing and singing from some of the staff and a very attentive Boy (the resort dog). Brett and Leah, the owners, made us so welcome and went out of their way to ensure that we had a fabulous time. I am genuinely very grateful for their attentiveness and hospitality. The 200 year old villas, brought across from Indonesia, are simply gorgeous. Each villa has a bedroom (or two) and a separate pavilion bathroom, air- conditioning, and a stocked mini-bar. Ours had a lovely verandah and a dock sitting out over the water where we sat with drinks in hand and saw turtles sticking their heads out of the water at dawn and dusk. Sometimes you can see dugongs and we were told that manta rays had been seen out by the deeper reefs. What sets Ratua apart is a combination of the setting - beautiful buildings, easily swimmable beaches where you can find turtles, dugongs and manta rays amongst the coral - and the most wonderful staff. Ollie, the bar tender, is a joy and makes a mean cocktail. Edwige backed up Ollie in providing food and drink service. The kitchen (thank you Colleena and Noelle) presents beautiful, tasty food with plenty of choice. Patricia made sure our villa was maintained beautifully. Cyclone Harold did some major damage to the resort which has largely been repaired now. The owners, Brett and Leah, have taken the opportunity to make substantial improvements which I can't wait to go back to check out.