2026 Club Holiday to Santo, Vanuatu
Details
Tue 06 Oct 2026 11:00 - Tue 13 Oct 2026 13:00
Event information
Registrations for this event are closed.
Brisbane BSAC Trip to Espiritu Santo, Vanuatu
Espiritu Santo is a world class diving destination. It has everything you could ask for in a dive destination – clear waters, drop-offs and canyons close to shore, dozens of ship and plane wrecks and an abundance of coral reef. The most famous shipwreck at Espiritu Santo is the SS President Coolidge. Other sites include the USS Tucker and Million Dollar Point, Fan Gardens and range of coral reefs.
Our trip will have:
- 7 nights at Deco Stop Lodge, rooms with air-conditioning and ensuite
- Deco Stop Lodge website
- Incudes: standard 13-dive package (below)
- Includes: continental breakfast, airport transfers, WiFi and all taxes.
- Excluded payable locally: Meals other than stated, whoopie juice, tips, optional tours/activities, personal purchases.
Diving and Activities
- Operator: Pacific Dive
- Standard package: 8 shore dives, 4 boat dives and 1 night dive on the Coolidge
- Includes: air-filled tanks, weights, boat and guides; transfers from the hotel
- Technical and additional diving: To be arranged with Pacific Dive - costs will vary based on dives, gas and other requirements.
- 1 day tour including Champagne Beach, Port Orly and Nanda Blue Hole
- Excluded payable locally: Gear hire; Nitrox
Airfares
- Airfares: IE Solomon Airlines and Air Vanuatu
- TUE 06 OCT 09:00 12:50 IE 726 Brisbane - Santo
- TUE 13 OCT 13:50 15:40 IE 727 Santo - Brisbane
- Economy Class Fare with 30kg checked baggage
Costs
- Standard room twin/double occupancy: $4,095
- Deluxe room twin/double occupancy $4,195
- Non-diver price: $2,599 - standard room twin/double share
- Single supplement in standard room: $900
- Non-refundable deposit of $1,200 by 20 May
- Balance payable by 6 August 2026 to DivePlanit. All payments are non-refundable.
- Any changes requested after the initial deposit incur an $250 change fee. Changes resulting in a reduction of invoice value of more than 50% are considered a cancellation.
Travel agent
- Organised by Diveplanit Travel Pty Ltd - you will recieve a link to their registration and payment site when you register for the event.
Is this trip for you?
The trip is open to divers of all certification levels. You could do all trip dives above 20m and enjoy your trip but it's fair to say you'll probably see more if you're certified, competent and confident to dive to 30m (Advanced Ocean Diver), 40m (Sports Diver), or higher. Check out the info below to find out more.
The SS President Coolidge
The most famous shipwreck at Espiritu Santo is the SS President Coolidge, a 22,000 ton ocean liner converted to American troop carrier that was sunk by (American) mines near Luganville during WW2. The ship was purposely run aground for evacuation and has since settled onto the reef on its side. The Coolidge is nearly 200m long with the bow at 20m and the stern at 60m. You can swim to the bow from the shore in less than a few minutes. There are almost 60 different dives you can do on the wreck ranging in depth and complexity. The Coolidge has consistently been voted by divers as one of the most accessible and best wreck dives in the world. There are guns, cannons, jeeps, helmets, trucks and personal supplies left by soldiers, as well as the beautiful porcelain statue of “The Lady”. Diving Vanuatu on the Coolidge delivers on the “Wow” factor.
This is a good article and video from 2019 on recreational dives on the Coolidge and surrounds: Santo and Coolidge article by World Adventure Divers
Check it out: more Coolidge info
Answers to questions
Q. Can we amend the standard dive package? A. Yes. DivePlanit advises we work out who is going and make a plan to amend some dives.
Q. How many divers per guide? A. Maximum 4 divers per guide on any dive. For tech penetration, 'often' reduced to 2 per guide.
Q. What about 15l cylinders? A. They don't have 15l cylinders but 5.7l stage cylinders are available.
Q. How much for nitrox (any mix)? A. 10 Vatu (about $0.10) per litre or about $25 per 32% 11 litre cylinder, by my calculation.
Q. What is the cost difference between the Coolidge (shore) dives and boat dives? A. $5 per dive i.e. we can swap 2 shore for 2 boat for $10.
Q. What is the cost to swap a day dive on Coolidge for another night dive (we already have one booked)? A. $40
Q. What is the list of sites we can dive?
- SS President Coolidge (shore)
- Million Dollar Point (shore)
- Boat dives: a huge variety that can be selected for group experience and interests e.g. MV Henry Bonneaud, wall and coral reef diving at Bokissa, Tutuba and Aore Islands.
- (Check out the Pacific Dive website for more info.)
Q. What is the standard itinerary for 13 dives?
- Day 1: Arrival
- Day 2 (7 October): 2 shore
- Day 3: 2 boat, 1 shore
- Day 4: 2 boat, 1 shore
- Day 5: 2 shore, 1 night
- Day 6: 2 shore
- Day 7: No diving - day tour
- Day 8 (13 October): Departure