Mine also are in baskets without any medium, but that may not be right for you.
Vandas NEED to dry quickly between waterings in my opinion, but need frequent waterings (or rain) during growing season. Growing with medium slows the drying, especially if you live in a high humidity area. Personally, I would only use bark based media if I were in a pretty dry area. I would only use sphagnum if I were in northern Minnesota during winter and the relative humidity was really low in the growing area., but that's just my opinion.
The medium you choose affects the care you have to give. Baskets mean more frequent watering, adding a few pieces of lava or charcoal doesn't affect watering much except giving more substrate for the roots to grow on. Bark mix decreases the frequency of watering. Sphagnum will decrease it further, but you really have to watch for overwatering and rot.
When you see a Vanda, a typical characteristic is the long hanging roots. Whatever medium you choose (if any), the Vanda will leave behind quickly (if it's happy). You then have a dilema. You have long aerial roots hanging down that need frequent watering, and you have the roots in the basket that need less water because of the medium surrounding them. How will you handle that when it happens.
You can see from the variety of answers you have gotten, that many of us grow differently, and all with enough success to recommend "our way". Now you have to pick "your way" and learn..
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