Throughout much of the Pacific drinking kava is a big deal. Many hotels carry kava to varying degrees of strength for tourists, but if you want to have the real McCoy then you need to head to a Nakamal.
What’s a nakamal you ask? Well quite simply it is a Kava Bar, and much like a booze bar they come in all kinds of different shapes, sizes and indeed quality.
Click the link to read about betel nut.
What the Kava?
Kava is the South Pacific’s answer to chill vibes in a cup. Made from the root of the kava plant, this earthy, peppery drink is a traditional ceremonial brew across islands like Fiji, Vanuatu, and Tonga. It’s not about the taste—think muddy water with a zing—but the effect: a relaxing, almost numbing sensation that leaves you mellow without the hangover.
Locals gather around a tanoa (kava bowl) to drink and share stories, making it as much about community as the drink itself. And it kinda gets your high, so we suggest at least giving it a try!
What the Nakamal
A nakamal in Port Vila is a traditional kava bar, found all over the city and across Vanuatu. These simple, open spaces are where locals and visitors gather to drink kava, a mildly sedative beverage made from the kava plant’s root. There are dozens of nakamals in Port Vila, ranging from small backyard setups to larger, more established spots.
People go to relax, socialize, and unwind after a long day. The layout is basic—wooden benches, dim lighting, and a counter where kava is served in coconut shells. Most nakamals also have a “washemout” station, where drinkers rinse their mouths after kava to remove its earthy taste, a practical and traditional part of the experience.
Strength and taste at the Nakamal
If you are at one of the better nakamal’s or kava bars then there will usually be at least three vendors there selling their wares. These come in different sizes which also denote strength. This is measured by how many coconut shells it would have taken, although you tend to have it these days in a porcelain bowl.
It is also served in a bit plastic bottle, depending on how messed up you want to get. Again these are in varying degrees of strength and are aimed mostly at those looking to do a takeaway from a nakamal. In my experience at least 1 litter of this stuff is enough to get you plenty merry.
Using a washemout at the Nakamal
What truly ground my gears about doing kava in Nauru was the complete lack of mixers when having it. Lets make no bones here kava tastes really bad and without a mixer, or rather chaser you will likely be sick.
In Vanuatu and indeed as I have experienced in Kiribati there are people in the nakamal whose job it is to sell food, and, or drinks to aid with washing out your pallet. Hence washemout in their version of Tok Pisin.
Again these vary in quality and variety deepening on where you drink your kava, but regardless cost very little. In Pandanas Nakamal the food mostly consisted of fruits like pineapple and mango which did a great job of washing out the kava flavour. They also had chicken gizzards and the like, which despite being the street food guy I was actually too scared to try.
When to visit the Nakamal
Makamal’s in Port Vila, such as our favourite Pandanas tend to open every night from just before sunset. In Vanuatu at least there are far more kava bars than beer bars with this being the weapon of choice for people to relax after work.
And come relax after work they do with all of the nakmals we saw being completely full for sunset. This is very much a communal thing and one which locals and expats alike truly enjoy after work and in the early evening. In this respects it is not all they different from happy hour at a regular pub, although with people being slightly more mellow, which leads us to the next question! How does kava make you feel?
How does kava make you feel?
Kava does not have a huge effect unless you drink quite a lot of it, but when you do it gives you quite the mellow “buzz”. In this respects it has much more in common with weed than say alcohol, as well as other “uppers” that are against the law.
It is though very much its own thing and unlike weed, or hash does not come with any form of paranoia, unless you drink crazy amounts. Therefore in our mind at least kava is not only well worth trying, but doing so at a nakamal is about as authentic a Vanuatu experience as you are every likely to get.
You can visit a nakamal on one of our bespoke trips to Vanuatu, as well as on our Least Visited Countries Tour.
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