Mount Yasur Volcano, Vanuatu

Mount Yasur (Tanah, Vanuatu) is an active volcano on the Pacific Plate that has been continuously erupting for several hundred years. Most Yasur eruptions tend to be mild and constantly toss out volcanic bombs with loud thunderous sounds.

Interested travelers from the US must be prepared to fly to the South Pacific region with several stops to reach mount Yasur:

Initial journey to Nadi, Sydney or Auckland.
From Nadi, Sydney and Auckland to Port Vila (VLI)
Port Vila to Tanah (TAH)
It is best to break the journey in Port Vila due to frequent flight cancellations or change of flight timings.
Two one-way trips are better due to the same reason.

Fiji Airways from LAX/SFO to Nadi

Fiji Airways from LAX/SFO or YVR to Nadi (NAN) can be booked for either 80K AA miles or 75K Alaska miles. The image below is from the old Alaska chart for 55K miles (https://awardcracker.com/new-alaska-mileage-plan-sweetspots/).

Alaska Mileage Plan: Free one-way stopover to reach Port Vila

Nonstop flights from the US to Australia & New Zealand

These flights are hard to come by and are only available from the west coast U.S.

Flights from Sydney, Auckland, Nadi to Port Vila

Flights from Port Vila to Tanah (TAH), Vanuatu

Air Vanuatu operates flights to Tanah from Port Vila (VLI).

Best months to visit mount Yasur

The summer months of Vanuatu extend from November through to March. Summer is also Vanuatu’s wet season (most of the rain falls over January, February and March). Rain showers are typically short lived and won’t impact your holiday plans.

While the volcano is active all the time, I recommend traveling in the months of September or October due to nonstop flight availability from VLI to TAH. You are restricted to Saturday flights for the remaining months (post-Covid change) and will end up spending a week in Vanuatu to catch a return flight.

Tanah Accommodations

The only accommodation I recommend in Tanah is the Rockwater resort (https://www.rockwaterresort.com/en/). (Booking.com link). I was able to book the 4th night free there with the Citi Prestige concierge (pre-Covid 19 days), but that option may not be cheaper or available now. I see that the resort is also listed on the Capital One travel portal to earn 10 x points.

I recommend spending at least 4 nights in Tanah so you fully experience the local attractions (volcano, snorkeling, banyan tree, blue hole). One should ask for accommodation to arrange airport pick up/drop-off and all other trips, which is inexpensive and safe.

Things to Do on Tanna Island