Mele Cascades
Mele Cascades, Port Vila: the waterfall above Mele Bay, what the entry fee question really is, getting there from town and the tours that stop there, in A$.
Mele Cascades (also called Mele Cascades Vanuatu or Mele Cascades Port Vila) is a series of pools and a waterfall in the rainforest behind Mele Bay, a short drive north-west of Port Vila. You pay an entry fee at the site. No official page publishes the amount or the opening hours, so the honest answer to “how much” is the one on each tour’s listing: some include the entry, some leave it to you. The tour this page books is Peter Ora’s Luxury Shore Tours & Transfers’ Mele Cascades, Snorkeling, and Fish Feeding Tour, A$100 per adult with two adults minimum, A$200 for two (checked November 2026); its entry fees are not included.
The calendar above is the five-hour day: Mele Cascades first, then a fish-feeding stop with a small treehouse, then snorkelling at Hideaway Island, with transport, a guide and a fruit platter. One adult alone cannot book it.
What you find at the cascades
The tours describe the same walk. On Island Breeze Tours & Transfers’ Sky Bridge, Coffee Factory, & Mele Cascades Tour you wander “through lush tropical gardens and crystal-clear cascading pools before reaching the magnificent waterfall hidden within the rainforest”, with time to swim in the pools. Peter Ora’s Waterfalls, Snorkel & Underwater Post Office Tour stops at the “refreshing bottom swimming pool surrounded by tropical rainforest” and adds that you can hike to the upper pools at your own cost. So there is a lower pool that a tour may cover, and upper pools that can cost extra.
The two tours that pair the cascades with snorkelling at Hideaway Island are marked not suitable for non-swimmers.
The entry fee, tour by tour
The cascades charge entry at the site. No official page gives the amount or the opening hours. What each tour does with the fee:
| Tour (operator) | Mele Cascades entry | Length | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| Mele Cascades, Snorkeling, and Fish Feeding Tour (Peter Ora's Luxury Shore Tours & Transfers) | Not included: “Entry fees at every stop” are excluded | 5 hours | A$100 per adult, A$200 for two |
| Waterfalls, Snorkel & Underwater Post Office Tour (Peter Ora's Luxury Shore Tours & Transfers) | “Entry fees to included attractions” included; the optional upper pools excluded | 5 hours | A$170 per adult, A$340 for two |
| Sky Bridge, Coffee Factory, & Mele Cascades Tour (Island Breeze Tours & Transfers) | Not included: the cascades entry is at your own cost; the cascades stop is optional | 6 hours | A$160 per adult, A$320 for two |
| Private Customizable Tour with Driver (Peter Ora's Luxury Shore Tours & Transfers) | Not included: entry fees to attractions excluded; Mele Cascades is one of the stops you can choose | 5 hours | A$400 per vehicle |
GetYourGuide prices in Australian dollars, checked November 2026. The first three need two adults to book.
Bring cash for the gate. The Vanuatu Tourism Office’s advice for Efate is that tourist sites take cash only and that ATMs are not always nearby (checked 13 November 2026).
Which Mele Cascades tour
Pick by what else you want from the day:
Port Vila: Mele Cascades, Snorkeling, and Fish Feeding Tour
The cascades first, a fish-feeding stop, then snorkelling at Hideaway Island. The lowest price here; entry fees are yours to pay.
Check dates →Port Vila: Waterfalls, Snorkel & Underwater Post Office Tour
A waterfall swim, coffee and chocolate factories, then the ferry to Hideaway Island and its underwater post office. Pickup at the cruise terminal or your hotel.
Check dates →Vanuatu: Sky Bridge, Coffee Factory, & Mele Cascades Tour
The Vanuatu Sky Bridge above the rainforest, the Tanna Coffee factory, then the cascades as an option. Not for people afraid of heights or over 75.
Check dates →Prices, ratings and review counts from the GetYourGuide listings (checked November 2026). Treat them as the shape of the market, not a quote: the price that counts is the one on the calendar when you book.
Getting there on your own
From town you can take a taxi or a minivan. The Vanuatu Tourism Office says Port Vila’s minivans carry a B plate and cost about 150 to 200 vatu for short trips and 300 to 500 vatu for longer ones, and that taxis carry a T plate, have no meters and the fare is agreed before you set off (checked 13 November 2026). Agree the return too, or the wait.
Mele Cascades, Hideaway Island and The Beach Bar’s Friday fire show are all on the same stretch of coast, so one day on the Mele side can take in two of them. To stay in town:
Nearby
Hideaway Island is just offshore, below Mele village: the homepage’s Hideaway Island section has the boat, the day pass and the tours. The jungle zipline and Skybridge are in the hills above Mele Bay too (things to do in Port Vila).
Mele Cascades with Pickup
Peter Ora's Luxury Shore Tours & Transfers starts its five-hour day at Mele Cascades, then a fish-feeding stop and snorkelling at Hideaway Island. Two adults minimum.
Check dates