Ratua Private Island Resort

Built from vintage teak salvaged from villages up to two centuries old, the villas at Ratua stand along a beach on a 146-acre private island off the south coast of Espiritu Santo. Reaching it takes a short flight into Santo, then a thirty-minute boat ride past Aore Island. Fourteen guests can gather in the Courtyard Villa's shared central space; the resort overall holds a maximum of 42. Beachfront Villas pair two teak buildings around an open patio, their bedroom and bathroom linked outdoors, while the Two Bedroom version adds a third structure for families. A Beachfront Glamping Marquee stands at the sand's edge with an en-suite and a semi-outdoor shower. Below the water, a house reef runs close enough to reach on foot, and turtles surface regularly along it. You can snorkel it directly from the beach. Guides lead trips further out for game fishing, and a mangrove-lined river paddle ends at the Malo Blue Hole, a clear, deep pool inland. Meals draw on a 50-kilometre radius: reef snapper and yellowfin tuna from local fishermen, vegetables from the resort's own garden, chickens raised on the island. Evenings run to a kava ceremony at the nakamal, or simply the beach after dark, where no light pollution leaves the Milky Way visible overhead.