Café Tropicana

The café calls itself the Swiss army knife of restaurants. Alongside the kitchen it books whale swims, diving, fishing, sailing and land tours without charging a fee, rents cars, scooters and kayaks, lends SIM cards and phones, and runs a laundry that uses only rainwater. It acts as port captain for several international cruising associations and arranges provisioning, ready-to-heat meals for yachts and duty-free fuel.

Everything is baked on the premises, and the brownies, chocolate cake and vanilla coffee are the café’s own favourites. The espresso is made with Kingdom Koffee beans, ground to order, and the smoothies use tropical fruit. Breakfast is served all day, and lunch brings burgers, pizzas and Asian-inspired soups and curries. The café holds a full liquor licence, so a smoothie or coffee can come with a shot of something stronger.

Neiafu lies on the Port of Refuge, the deep-water harbour on the south coast of Vava’u where most visiting yachts anchor. Café Tropicana is on the main road above the waterfront, about 100 metres from the customs office and under 200 metres from the main wharf and ferry terminal, so it is an easy first stop after clearing in.

The tourism board lists the café as open from 7am to 2pm on weekdays and from 7am to 1pm on Saturday, while a recent guide gives food until 2.30pm and drinks until 4pm. Both list Monday to Saturday only. There is fast wifi, a book swap and a reference library, and the café sells local crafts, charts and Kingdom Koffee to take back to the boat.