---
title: "Living in Port Vila as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/port-vila
description: "Vanuatu's harbour-side capital: duty-free, cyclone-prone and small"
dataset: 2026.10.7 (2026-10-13)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Port Vila, Vanuatu

Port Vila scores 57.5/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 690 of 1000 cities. There is no open cost-of-living figure yet; expect no dedicated nomad visa, and no reliable internet measurement.

Port Vila is a small harbour town on Efate with reef diving, kava bars and a relaxed Melanesian pace, about three and a half hours by air from Brisbane. A magnitude 7.3 earthquake in December 2024 damaged the centre and cyclones are a yearly risk, so infrastructure and internet can go down for days.

Known for: Harbour and Iririki island, Blue holes and reef dives, Bislama and kava bars, Cyclones and earthquakes.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 57.5 |
| Cost of living | — |
| Safety | 89 |
| Healthcare | 44 |
| Internet | — |
| Visa ease | 52 |
| Getting there & around | 23 |
| Climate | 67 |
| Air quality | 100 |
| Quality of life | 28 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | — | country | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 0.33 | country | 2020 | [^4] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 82.3 | country | 2025 | [^5] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 52 | country | 2023 | [^6] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 66.3 | country | 2021 | [^7] |
| Median download (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | — | city | 2024 | [^8] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^9] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^10] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | 120 days / 120 days / 120 days | country | 2026-02 | [^11] |
| Non-stop destinations (VLI) | 6 | city | 2026-10 | [^12] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 40 | city | 2026-10 | [^16] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 2 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^13] |
| Comfortable months | 8 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^14] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 4.1 | city | 2023 | [^15] |
| Human Development Index | 0.621 | country | 2023 | [^17] |
| English proficiency band | — | country | 2024 | [^18] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 27.7 | 197 | 80 | no |
| Feb | 28.1 | 173 | 80 | no |
| Mar | 27.9 | 232 | 81 | no |
| Apr | 27.4 | 204 | 81 | no |
| May | 26.3 | 110 | 79 | yes |
| Jun | 25.5 | 98 | 80 | yes |
| Jul | 24.5 | 69 | 78 | yes |
| Aug | 24.3 | 61 | 78 | yes |
| Sep | 24.7 | 59 | 78 | yes |
| Oct | 25.4 | 94 | 79 | yes |
| Nov | 26.1 | 110 | 79 | yes |
| Dec | 27.1 | 139 | 79 | yes |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Bauerfield International Airport | VLI | 6 | 6 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 6, of which 6 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Nadi](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nadi) (55.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nadi-vs-port-vila)
- [Apia](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/apia) (54.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/apia-vs-port-vila)
- [Papeete](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/papeete) (66.7) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/papeete-vs-port-vila)
- [Nouméa](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/noumea) (71.2) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/noumea-vs-port-vila)
- [Kuta (Lombok)](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/kuta-lombok) (56.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/kuta-lombok-vs-port-vila)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Port Vila as a digital nomad?

We do not have a reliable monthly cost figure for Port Vila yet.

### Is Port Vila safe for digital nomads?

Port Vila scores 89/100 on safety. Vanuatu records 0.33 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2020) and a political-stability score of 82.3/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Vanuatu have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Vanuatu as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US can stay 120 days visa-free.

### How fast is the internet in Port Vila?

M-Lab did not record enough speed tests in Port Vila in 2024 to publish a median.

### Is Starlink available in Port Vila?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Vanuatu (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Port Vila. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Port Vila and how many nonstop flights are there?

Port Vila is served by Bauerfield International Airport (VLI) with 6 nonstop destinations, of which 6 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

### When is the best time of year to be in Port Vila?

The most comfortable months are May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov, Dec. Mean temperatures range from 76°F (24°C) in Aug to 83°F (28°C) in Feb (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Port Vila or Nadi: which is better for digital nomads?

Nadi is the city with the closest factor profile to Port Vila in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Where to stay in Port Vila](https://navoy.io/hotels/vanuatu/port-vila) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: Victims of intentional homicide per 100,000 population (national data, latest year), United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, dataUNODC. UNODC data, free to reuse with attribution. https://data.unodc.org/datareport/hom-victim (retrieved 2026-10-12)
[^5]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^10]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^11]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^13]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^14]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^16]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^17]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^18]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/port-vila