Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
897km²
Area
235km
Coastline
647m
Highest point
Mount McDonald
50,000
People
29°C
Warmest sea
February
1,814km
To the mainland
When to go to Efate
Best for the beach in January and from July to October.
The sea is warmest in February (29 °C) and coolest in August (26 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Vanuatu island
Efate is an island in Vanuatu. It covers 897 km², with 235 km of coastline. Its highest point, Mount McDonald, rises to 647 m. About 50,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,814 km away.
Getting there
- Bauerfield International Airport (VLI)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at VLI airport (Port Vila)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesElluk Plateau - Erakor Island
- 1,814 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- January and from July to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Efate.
- 36beachesEton Beach, Mele Beach, Annchor Inn Car Park and 33 more
- 5viewpointsTop blo hill, Tp blo hill, Summit and 2 more
- 2lighthousesPango Point Lighthouse
- 5ferry terminalsErakor Island, Elluk Plateau and 3 more
- 1marinasYachting World
- 3named peaksMt MacDonald, Rumakimala, Quoin Hill
- 2waterfallsMele Cascades
- 2dive centresBig Blue Dive Shop, Proper Dive Zone
- 4surf spotsShark Bay surf break, Faat Faar surf beach, Emis Point surf break and 1 more
- 5campsitesSecret Beach, BAMBOU Beach, Havannah beach Camping and BBQ and 2 more
- 83hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 122restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Efate in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Efate, each with its own numbers.
4beaches and covesCoastya
16mountainsPeakyas
Highest point
318m
Ebaonapkas
according to Peakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.8°C
Baie Elaboé
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
4 beaches
on Coastya, the beach atlas
- Mele Beach28.7°C
- P̄alao Baycove28.7°C
- Baie d’Enamcove28.7°C
- Baie Elaboécove28.8°C
16 mountains
on Peakyas, the mountain atlas
- Ebaonapkas318m
- Mount Bernier318m
- Monts Tomblet
- Mount Etumow
- Mount Tafa Ki Malao
- Tanguéléguélé
- Mélé Lama
- Montagne Matéra
8 more on PeakyasOpen Peakyas ↗
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 144 m above the sea. 72 % of it is below 200 m.
- 28 %0–50 m
- 44 %50–200 m
- 26 %200–500 m
- 2 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
50 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Port-Vila35,901 people
- Pango2,485 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Night low (°C) | 27 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 24 | 24 | 25 | 26 | 27 |
| Sea (°C) | 28 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 26 | 27 | 28 |
| Rain (mm) | 197 | 174 | 232 | 204 | 110 | 98 | 69 | 61 | 58 | 94 | 110 | 139 |
| Wet days | 20 | 20 | 23 | 21 | 16 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 11 | 14 | 16 | 18 |
| Sun h/day | 7.9 | 7.6 | 7.1 | 6.3 | 6.0 | 5.5 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 7.3 | 7.4 | 8.1 | 8.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 20 | 21 | 20 | 23 | 24 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 25 | 25 | 24 | 22 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.1 | +0.1 | +0.5 | −0.3 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.2 |
| 2021 | +0.4 | +0.3 | −0.4 | +0.1 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.8 |
| 2022 | +1.0 | +0.2 | +0.5 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.7 | +1.8 | +1.7 | +1.3 | +2.1 | +2.1 |
| 2023 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.9 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.2 | ±0.0 | +0.3 | −0.2 | −0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.7 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.3 | ±0.0 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.7 | +0.9 | +0.9 |
| 2025 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +1.3 | +1.3 | +0.9 | +0.9 | +1.5 | +0.8 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Epi
Vanuatu444 km²833 m107 km away
ErromangoVanuatu893 km²259 m144 km away
AmbrymVanuatu674 km²1,334 m161 km away
Malakula IslandVanuatu2,048 km²879 m185 km away
TannaVanuatu564 km²1,084 m226 km away
Pentecost IslandVanuatu492 km²617 m215 km away
Aoba IslandVanuatu404 km²1,496 m260 km away
Malo IslandVanuatu182 km²163 m258 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q266594) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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