Louniel Beach

Louniel Beach

Louniel Beach
4.5
About
Louniel Beach is a surf beach ideally placed at the centre of the long stretch of beaches located on the northern sweep of the north-eastern side of the island. Louniel beach is a black sand beach reminiscent of the northern west coast beaches of the north island of New Zealand such as Piha and Muriwai. The coastline is covered in large plantations of Coconut palms and numerous Pandanus trees.Louniel beach has rolling surf, like its New Zealand counterparts, but its tropical setting makes the water temperature much warmer. The beach itself is not flat but - falls away fairly quickly allowing swimming in close to the shore. The black sand reminds one of powder snow and you can sink up to some depth in places. There are a number of underwater volcanic fumaroles just out to sea which results in various parts of the beach being covered in wavy patterns of pumice beads.A walk along the full length of Louniel beach takes about an hour and shows a different side of Tanna, most visitors don't get to see and appreciate. Getting to the beach is up over the transverse road from the whitegrass plains, to the cross roads in Middlebush. From there the road to Fetukai, leads onto the road down to the beach itself - the ride providing an exceptional view of the large Banyan trees and tall tree ferns amongst the dense tropical rainforest.Just before walking down onto the flatland adjacent to the beach, visitors can view the entire length of the beach from an escarpment immediately above it. The view is breathtaking, with My Yasur Volcano smoking in the background. Louniel Beach provides a contrasting experience to a trip to Tanna and one which ultimately ends up being a highlight to any visit to Vanuatu.
Suggest edits to improve what we show.
Improve this listing
What is Travelers’ Choice?
Tripadvisor gives a Travelers’ Choice award to accommodations, attractions and restaurants that consistently earn great reviews from travelers and are ranked within the top 10% of properties on Tripadvisor.
Are you currently on your trip?
Help us find experiences available for you.

The area

Address
Fetukai Road Fetukai, Tanna Island Z3C9B CQV4L Vanuatu
Reach out directly

Most Recent: Reviews ordered by most recent publish date in descending order.

Detailed Reviews: Reviews ordered by recency and descriptiveness of user-identified themes such as wait time, length of visit, general tips, and location information.


4.5
4.5 of 5 bubbles7 reviews
Excellent
2
Very good
5
Average
0
Poor
0
Terrible
0

Jeff206
Samut Prakan, Thailand713 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2019
This beach is located on private land (which ironically is where I was staying when on Tanna) so access was not tricky although it was still a bit of walk down the mountain until you reach sea level.

However, the coast scenery is very stunning and the black sand beach itself is very long and big, (not to mention hot under your feet when you're barefoot!)
In fact,this beach instantly reminded me of beaches I've seen in both Hawaii and New Zealand as they too both have volcanic activity at their zones.

I didn’t go swimming in the ocean, but did take a quick dip in the river that fed into the ocean. The only people I saw when I was there was there, were friends of the guide that took me down to the beach.
Written December 14, 2019
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Zorro5991
Brisbane, Australia113 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Oct 2017 • Couples
This is not a beach that you arrive at inadvertently. The road to get there will test your resolve and decision to visit it. However, your determination will be rewarded in the end.
The beach is a very decent stretch of fine volcanic sand and the sea also appears black. Once in the water, you will see that the water is actually crystal clear and only appears murky because of the black sand. You can see to the bottom clearly. Lying on the beach after a dip you will feel that the sun's rays appear to be on steroids. The black sand attracts more than white sand and you will bake like a cake if you stretch out for too long. Best take some cover with you or seek some shade before you turn out like a lobster.
The fresh water spring just off the beach feeds into the sea and is great to dip into.
We took a guided tour there from Whitegrass resort. Lunch was provided from a cooler box as there are no facilities at this venue. Well worth a visit while at Tanna Island.
Written October 26, 2017
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

macf1an
Sofia, Bulgaria59 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Sep 2015 • Solo
Long and fine black sanded beach, fresh water spring just a few meters from the ocean, great for cooling down your feet (the black sand gets very hot). There's no reef in sight so expect big swells with even the slightest breeze. Bring your own supplies as there is rarely anyone there, let alone a place to shop. You can clearly see the devastation Cylcone Pam left after herself .. huge trees torn and thrown like matches. It will take nature decades to fix that, since the locals won't.
Written September 30, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

gillianlf
Melbourne, Australia346 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Nov 2015 • Couples
We organised our day trip here through our resort - White Grass and had a great time. The day was warm, although a bit grey and windy but my husband still took a boogie board out and really enjoyed himself. We went for a walk along the long black sand beach -so different to all the white sand beaches at home, and could see the smoke in the direction of Mt Yasur. We ate our lunch on the beach, freshly made rolls and vanilla slices with bottled water. Due to the drought the fresh water spring flowing down was very shallow but enough to rinse off the sand. Well worth doing while you're on Tanna
Written November 28, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Manda456
Tuggerah, Australia20 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
Jul 2015 • Family
We booked this tour through the resort we were staying being Whitegrass. Chief Jack accompanied us down to the beach. It takes about 15 minutes to walk from the car to the beach. A picnic lunch of sandwiches, bottled water and a muffin was included. Due to the rain we ate lunch in a cave on the beach. Once rained passed we were able to explore the black sanded beach. The sea was quite rough on the day we attended and we were not able to bodyboard. Our daughter 7 yrs was amazed by the black sand. Getting back to the car from the beach was all uphill and a little steep in some parts.
Written July 13, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

Maree W
Brisbane, Australia19 contributions
4.0 of 5 bubbles
Dec 2014 • Couples
We again booked our tour to Louniel beach through White Grass Resort where we were staying. The tour was an all day affair starting at 8:30a.m. and finishing about 2:30 p.m. We were blessed with the driving skills of Phillip and were guided by Reuben who despite having only a small amount of English did a magnificent job of engaging us in conversation and sharing two beautiful spots with us - the waterfall and black sand beach. Both places require a walk and the suggestion from White Grass is for a reasonable level of fitness - this advice is sound and although we mangaged the walks we were slower than the locals and suffered a little from the humidity. Take plenty of water to do the walks more easily. The trip to the waterfall is quite steep at the end and of course what goes down must get back up. The bamboo rails that Reuben tested with his machete made the walk just that more manageable. Take your time and all should be well. The black sand beach was also a treat and we thoroughly enjoyed walking along the shore and bathing in the fresh water stream that meets up with the ocean - we hadn't realised that this was the water from the waterfall we had visited earlier. We were given plenty of time to enjoy the beach and on,y left when we let Phillip and Reuben know that we were ready (packed picnic lunch from White Grass was included). When we dropped off Reuben the rest of the village came to meet us and were genuinely welcoming and thrilled to have shared their special part of paradise with us. Well worth the walking and an experience to remember.
Written January 2, 2015
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.

john p
adelaide31 contributions
5.0 of 5 bubbles
May 2014 • Couples
Crystal clear water, fish you normally see only in a aquarium and local people so nice and friendly that you like to take them home... a wonderful day and experience.
Written December 17, 2014
This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews as part of our industry-leading trust & safety standards. Read our transparency report to learn more.
*Likely to sell out: Based on Viator’s booking data and information from the provider from the past 30 days, it seems likely this experience will sell out through Viator, a Tripadvisor company.
Is this your Tripadvisor listing?
Own or manage this property? Claim your listing for free to respond to reviews, update your profile and much more.
Claim your listing

Louniel Beach - All You Need to Know BEFORE You Go (2025)

All things to do in Tanna Island
RestaurantsFlightsVacation RentalsTravel StoriesCruisesRental Cars