On most of this site the advice runs the other way. In Vanuatu the local card is genuinely the cheaper buy, and it is not close. Digicel will sell you 6 GB over a week for 600 vatu, about five dollars, and 20 GB over a month for 3,000. Vodafone hands arriving visitors a starter card with a couple of gigabytes already on it and asks nothing for the SIM. The nearest travel eSIM equivalent costs five times as much, because Pacific wholesale rates are brutal and nobody is subsidising them. Buying local also gets you something an eSIM cannot: a Vanuatu number, so a Tanna tour operator or a Havannah Harbour guesthouse can actually ring you back, and access to Vodafone, which no travel eSIM resells. What follows is what each operator charges in vatu this season, what the passport registration involves, where the kiosks are, and the narrow set of cases where paying more for an eSIM is still the right call.
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Digicel and Vodafone, and Which One Reaches Where
Vanuatu runs on two mobile networks and they divide the country between them in a way that actually matters to your itinerary. Digicel Vanuatu arrived in 2008, broke the incumbent's monopoly, and built out hard across the islands. Telstra bought the whole Digicel Pacific group in July 2022 and kept the name, so the shopfronts and the recharge cards still say Digicel. Vodafone Vanuatu is the old state incumbent, Telecom Vanuatu Limited, which took the Vodafone badge in March 2020 after Fiji's Amalgamated Telecom Holdings acquired it. Locals still say TVL and shop staff will know exactly what you mean.
The short version of the difference: Vodafone is the better network in town, Digicel is the better network away from it. In Port Vila and Luganville, Vodafone tends to be quicker and steadier, which is why it is the one most often recommended for a resort holiday on Efate. Push out to Tanna, Malekula or the smaller islands and Digicel is more often the operator with a site standing anywhere near you. Neither is close to universal: this is 83 islands, and the roughly 95 percent population coverage that gets quoted describes where people live rather than where you are going.
Why this page keeps mentioning Digicel
Every travel eSIM sold for Vanuatu, from Airalo, Nomad and Holafly alike, rides Digicel. Vodafone wholesales to nobody. So the only way to put Vodafone's stronger Port Vila signal on your phone is a physical card, and the only way to carry both operators at once is a local SIM in the tray plus an eSIM profile alongside it. In a country that loses its network to weather and tectonics on a regular basis, that second-operator option is worth more than the money it saves.
Vodafone Vanuatu and the Free Tourist Card
Vodafone works the arrivals hall harder than its rival and it shows in the offer. The visitor starter card is free, and it lands with roughly 2 GB usable over the first three days, which covers the taxi ride, the check-in messages and the first evening without you spending anything at all. Staff at the Bauerfield kiosk register it, load it, and check that data is actually flowing before you walk off, which is the part that saves you a morning later.
What Vodafone charges in vatu
The standard prepaid menu starts at 1,000 vatu for 2 GB over 14 days and runs to 3,000 vatu for 10 GB with calls and texts over 14 days, the second of which is the one to buy if you want a working Vanuatu number rather than just data. The data-only WAO plans are better value per gigabyte and start around 1,000 vatu for 7.5 GB over 30 days, climbing to roughly 10,000 vatu for 100 GB over 90 days for long stays. At about 120 vatu to the US dollar, that top plan is near 83 dollars for three months, which is remarkable pricing by any standard and absurd next to the eSIM ladder.
The catch is geography, not money. Vodafone's build concentrates on the two towns and the developed southern arc of Efate, so a Vodafone card is excellent for a Port Vila base with day trips and much weaker for an island-hopping itinerary. If your plan is a resort near Pango or Mele, a few nights in Luganville and a lot of swimming, this is the card to buy. If it is Tanna, Malekula and a boat, read the next section first.
Recharge is easy once you are set up. Credit vouchers are sold in supermarkets, service stations and small stores across town, and the Vodafone shop in central Port Vila keeps normal weekday hours with limited Saturday cover. Sunday, almost everything closes, which is a real consideration if you land on a Saturday night with an empty account.
Digicel Vanuatu, the Island Network
Digicel is the card to buy if your holiday leaves Efate. Its footprint is the broadest in the country and on many outer islands it is the only cellular signal within reach, which is why it is also the network every travel eSIM quietly resells. The SIM itself is a token 200 vatu, under two dollars, and is frequently thrown in with a bundle.
What Digicel charges in vatu
Bundles start at around 600 vatu for 6 GB over seven days, which is roughly five dollars, and run up to 3,000 vatu for 20 GB over 30 days, about twenty-five. Sit that beside the eSIM market for the same country and the comparison stops being a comparison: Airalo wants 29 dollars for 5 GB over 30 days on this exact network, and Holafly wants 53.50 for a week of unlimited. The local bundle is not slightly cheaper. It is a different order of magnitude.
What you are buying with a Digicel card is reach rather than speed. In Port Vila it is perfectly usable and generally a step behind Vodafone. Out at Lenakel on Tanna, at the airstrip villages on Malekula, or along the road north of Luganville, it is the difference between having a phone and carrying a camera. The interiors of the big volcanic islands stay unserved on either network, and the Mount Yasur rim in particular has nothing at all, so a Digicel card manages the gaps rather than closing them.
One practical note for island travel: buy and test your bundle before you leave Port Vila. Digicel retail thins out fast beyond the two towns, top-up vouchers in a village shop are not guaranteed, and troubleshooting a registration problem from Tanna is a phone call you will not be able to make.
The Passport Rule and How the Purchase Runs
Prepaid lines in Vanuatu are registered against an identity document, and for a visitor that means your passport handed across the counter and details entered while you wait. It is a light-touch process by regional standards, usually done in under fifteen minutes, and the airport kiosks run dozens of them off a single arriving flight without much drama.
Buying a card, start to finish
1. Have your passport out. A driving licence or a photo of the passport on your phone will not be accepted.
2. Say where you are going before you say what you want to spend. The Efate answer and the Tanna answer are different networks.
3. Pick a bundle and confirm whether the price includes the SIM, since Digicel's 200 vatu card is sometimes separate and sometimes absorbed.
4. Pay in vatu. Airport kiosks take cards, but town retailers and village shops are far happier with cash.
5. Do not leave the counter until you have loaded a map tile or sent a message. Fixing an unactivated line later means a trip back into town.
Two consequences worth planning around. Everyone in your party needs to be present with their own passport, so one person cannot equip a family while the others mind the bags. And because Vanuatu is a cash economy outside the resorts and the capital, the vatu you draw at the airport ATM is doing double duty: it is your SIM money and your minibus money.
Vanuatu Prepaid and eSIM Options Side by Side
| Option | What you get | Price | Suits |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vodafone starter card | About 2 GB over 3 days | Free with registration | Anyone landing at Bauerfield, no reason to refuse it |
| Vodafone prepaid | 10 GB, calls and texts, 14 days | Around 3,000 VUV | A Port Vila base where you need a local number |
| Vodafone WAO data | 7.5 GB, 30 days | Around 1,000 VUV | The best value per gigabyte in the country |
| Vodafone WAO long stay | 100 GB, 90 days | Around 10,000 VUV | Remote workers and repeat visitors |
| Digicel bundle | 6 GB, 7 days | Around 600 VUV | A week that includes an outer island |
| Digicel bundle | 20 GB, 30 days | Around 3,000 VUV | Island hopping across a full month |
| Travel eSIM, metered | 5 GB, 30 days, data only | About 29 USD, near 3,450 VUV | Arriving connected without a counter visit |
| Travel eSIM, unlimited | Unlimited, 7 days | About 53.50 USD, near 6,400 VUV | Heavy video calling from a Port Vila desk |
Convert the eSIM column into vatu and the shape of the decision is impossible to miss. The 20 GB Digicel month and the 5 GB Airalo month cost roughly the same amount of money, on the same network, in the same country. That is not a criticism of the eSIM providers, who are paying Pacific wholesale rates like everyone else. It is simply the arithmetic, and any page that skips over it is selling you something.
Where to Buy, and When to Pay More for an eSIM
Bauerfield International. Both operators run kiosks in the arrivals area at VLI, staffed for scheduled international arrivals, and this is where the overwhelming majority of visitors should buy. Registration, credit and a live test all happen in one stop while you are still inside the terminal. The Bauerfield Airport guide covers the layout and the run into town.
Central Port Vila. Both networks keep shops along the main seafront strip and the surrounding blocks, alongside a long list of resellers: supermarkets, service stations, the post office and small stores selling recharge vouchers. Weekday hours are normal, Saturday is short, Sunday is closed. The Port Vila guide has more on getting around town.
Luganville, Santo. Both operators have a presence on the main street, and it is the last reliable place to sort a line before heading north or into the interior.
Buy the local card when
Pay more for the eSIM when
The strongest setup for a two-week Vanuatu trip is not one or the other. It is a local card in the tray for price and a local number, plus a small eSIM profile installed before you fly so you are never standing in an arrivals hall offline. Size that second line with the eSIM Finder and keep it small: one or three gigabytes is plenty for a backup.
One last thing that no amount of shopping solves. When the December 2024 earthquake took down the cable landing station, both networks and the entire national internet went with it for about ten days, and in 2023 Tropical Cyclone Judy knocked Digicel and Vodafone off the air across most of the country at once. Two SIMs do not help when the problem is upstream of both. Download offline maps and your accommodation details before you arrive, and know whether your resort has a Starlink dish, because during the last national outage that dish was the internet.
Frequently Asked Questions
Digicel or Vodafone, which card should a visitor actually buy?
It depends entirely on whether you leave Efate. For a Port Vila resort holiday with day trips around the island, Vodafone is the better card: faster and steadier in town, and it gives you a free starter SIM with a couple of gigabytes at the airport before you have spent anything. For a trip that includes Tanna, Malekula, Pentecost or a boat, buy Digicel, which has the broader island footprint and is frequently the only network with a site anywhere nearby. If your itinerary covers both, the two cards together still cost less than one week of unlimited eSIM data.
How much does a week of data actually cost in vatu?
Very little by international standards. Digicel's entry bundle is around 600 vatu for 6 GB over seven days, roughly five dollars at about 120 vatu to the dollar, and Vodafone's data-only WAO plans start near 1,000 vatu for 7.5 GB over a full month. If you also want calls and texts on a Vanuatu number, budget about 3,000 vatu for Vodafone's 10 GB fortnight. The SIM itself is 200 vatu on Digicel and free on Vodafone's visitor card, so the bundle is effectively the whole cost.
Do I have to show my passport to buy a SIM in Vanuatu?
Yes. Prepaid lines are registered against an identity document and the passport is the only one that works for a visitor, so bring the physical booklet rather than a photo of it. The process is quick, usually under fifteen minutes at a staffed kiosk, and the assistant handles the paperwork while you wait. Everyone in your group needs to be present with their own passport, which is worth knowing before one person volunteers to sort out four phones.
Can I buy a card if I arrive on a Sunday or late at night?
At the airport, usually yes, because the kiosks at Bauerfield staff up around scheduled international arrivals rather than keeping shop hours. In town, no. Port Vila largely closes on Sunday and shortens Saturday, so a weekend arrival that skips the airport kiosk is looking at Monday morning before it gets a working line. This is the single most common reason a Vanuatu visitor ends up glad they installed a small eSIM before flying.
Will my Vanuatu SIM keep working if a cyclone hits while I am there?
Possibly not, and that is worth taking seriously rather than treating as a remote risk. Tropical Cyclone Judy took both Digicel and Vodafone off the air across most of the country in 2023, and Cyclone Lola destroyed tower sites on Pentecost the same year. Outer island repairs can take weeks because the equipment has to travel by boat. No SIM you buy changes that, so the useful preparation is offline maps, downloaded confirmations, a charged power bank and a clear idea of where the nearest satellite dish is, whether at your resort or the provincial office.