Hey. I've booked a liveaboard in the Solomons for August. After the liveaboard, I have just over a week to kill. The liveaboard ends in Honiara. It seems like Honiara isn't necessarily the place to stay for the remainder of my trip. I was going to backpack it around, but having looked at the Lonely Planet, it doesn't seem like there is an awful lot to see/do, not necessarily a bad thing. May head over to Munda for some more diving, fishing and chilling. Any thoughts?
Solomons - where to go/what to do?
- Thread starter MB NZ
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clownfishsydney
Contributor
Some excellent wreck diving in Honiara, see my web site www.michaelmcfadyenscuba.info/viewpage.php?page_id=10#solomons for details.
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NYCNaiad
Dive babble all day long
My 2 cents. Don't stay on Honiara...it is not that nice aside from the wonderful WWII memorials.
Our liveaboard broke down just when we were supposed to be leaving on the trip. So I ended up hopping around the islands & highly recommend it! I stayed on Honiara, Munda, near the Gizo area and on another island resort. I loved Munda! I stayed at Agnes Gateway Hotel which isn't fancy, but you get to dive with Dive Munda. They'll take you to dive remote sites while one of the guys makes you a delicious lunch over a fire on a deserted island. This was the photo I took while we ate lunch:
You can also bounce over to/near Gizo. I stayed at Fatboys Resort which was wonderful & dove with Dive Gizo. The diving there was also out of this world including some fantastic WWII wrecks that few people get to see. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss in more detail.
You'll love the Solomons!
Our liveaboard broke down just when we were supposed to be leaving on the trip. So I ended up hopping around the islands & highly recommend it! I stayed on Honiara, Munda, near the Gizo area and on another island resort. I loved Munda! I stayed at Agnes Gateway Hotel which isn't fancy, but you get to dive with Dive Munda. They'll take you to dive remote sites while one of the guys makes you a delicious lunch over a fire on a deserted island. This was the photo I took while we ate lunch:
You can also bounce over to/near Gizo. I stayed at Fatboys Resort which was wonderful & dove with Dive Gizo. The diving there was also out of this world including some fantastic WWII wrecks that few people get to see. Feel free to PM me if you want to discuss in more detail.
You'll love the Solomons!
Andreni
Contributor
I'm looking for our next dive destination and i'm also very interested in the Solomon Islands... Don't want to hijack your thread but would appreciate more information on the underwater sights. I'm not too much into wrecks and if it's not packed with big stuff as countless sharks, huge schools of fish etc. i'm bored after a few dives.. Is there some macro life on the dive sites?
I try to decide if PNG or the Solomon islands are the better choice for me.. Have been in Fiji recently and was not overwhelmed with the biodiversity there.. My favourite place is still R4 where you can find everything..
Ideas and thoughts are much appreciated. And i'm looking forward to your trip report from August!
I try to decide if PNG or the Solomon islands are the better choice for me.. Have been in Fiji recently and was not overwhelmed with the biodiversity there.. My favourite place is still R4 where you can find everything..
Ideas and thoughts are much appreciated. And i'm looking forward to your trip report from August!
Pacifico
Registered
To OP, I would recommend going to Rennell Island for the 5 days after your dive trip...Although I wanted to make it there during my short stay in the Solomon Islands, I was never able to. This is a massive uplifted coral atoll with beautiful cliffs. There is a fringing reef all along the island. Form my research, there has yet to be anyone that has taken any udnerwater images of the reefs surrounding Rennell. That was my plan originally and I wanted to then share these online but, as I mentioned, I never made it to Rennell. I got in touch with a Rennell Island-native that now lives in Australia and he drew me up a map of the island marking where the best snorkel spots were. I think your experience on Rennell would be very unique - note that the inhabitants of Rennell are cultrually Polynesians.
To Andreni, I have been to the Solomons but never PNG. I spent 10 days diving on a liveabord in the Solomons in May/Juen 2015. You can read a detailes review I posted on sb:
Trip Report Solomon Islands May/June 2015 - Solomon Island Dive Expeditions
The diving is very varied. If you expect the kind of big fish diving one would encounter in the Galapagos or Cocos, this is not for you. However, i did encounter sharks (blacktips, grey reef and whitetips on many dives. There are several sites that have large schools of pelagic fishes and there is always the chance of seeing hammerheads, silvertips - I even saw a sicklefin lemon shark. If there were something that could be considered singature for the Solomons, it would be the underwater topography: caves, swim-throughs, cuts, each doing wonders with beams of sunlight filtering through the water column - not too mention the hard coral that completely covers the substrate. There are abundant macro opportunities but I would not call Solomons a strictly macro destination - there are. As a selling point, there is one dive site off the small uninhabited Kicha Island that is otherwordly (read my review).
From my understanding, as far as macros/muck diving coupled with reef diving in PNG, Milne Bay might be the best option.
My humble thoughts
To Andreni, I have been to the Solomons but never PNG. I spent 10 days diving on a liveabord in the Solomons in May/Juen 2015. You can read a detailes review I posted on sb:
Trip Report Solomon Islands May/June 2015 - Solomon Island Dive Expeditions
The diving is very varied. If you expect the kind of big fish diving one would encounter in the Galapagos or Cocos, this is not for you. However, i did encounter sharks (blacktips, grey reef and whitetips on many dives. There are several sites that have large schools of pelagic fishes and there is always the chance of seeing hammerheads, silvertips - I even saw a sicklefin lemon shark. If there were something that could be considered singature for the Solomons, it would be the underwater topography: caves, swim-throughs, cuts, each doing wonders with beams of sunlight filtering through the water column - not too mention the hard coral that completely covers the substrate. There are abundant macro opportunities but I would not call Solomons a strictly macro destination - there are. As a selling point, there is one dive site off the small uninhabited Kicha Island that is otherwordly (read my review).
From my understanding, as far as macros/muck diving coupled with reef diving in PNG, Milne Bay might be the best option.
My humble thoughts
Andreni
Contributor
Your thoughts are much appreciated .
My idea to go to the Solomon Islands is based on your trip report. Thank you very much for this. I'm not looking for an explicit big fish or macro destination but a good mix. And I try to find out if the biodiversity under water is "enough" for my high expectations. So every tiny bit of information is welcome.
True, Milne Bay has to be a great muck destination and in addition PNG offers a huge variety of special dive sites / regions but Solomon Islands is less frequented which makes it more interesting for me ;-)
.My idea to go to the Solomon Islands is based on your trip report. Thank you very much for this. I'm not looking for an explicit big fish or macro destination but a good mix. And I try to find out if the biodiversity under water is "enough" for my high expectations. So every tiny bit of information is welcome.
True, Milne Bay has to be a great muck destination and in addition PNG offers a huge variety of special dive sites / regions but Solomon Islands is less frequented which makes it more interesting for me ;-)
Pacifico
Registered
Super, I am glad the review was helpful. Biodiversity is high in the Solomon Islands and the diving is very varied....you will not be bored and I can't imagine that you would regret going there. Of course, the remoteness of the island and dive sites is a big draw.
Azbuceadora
Registered
If you have an interest in learning about all sorts of sea life you can't go wrong diving with Lisa Choquette at Solomon Dive Adventures Solomon Dive Adventures -- Vacationing and Diving at Morovo Lagoon in the Solomon Islands . Lisa used to own Dive Makai on Hawaii. She has developed an encyclopedic knowledge of the reefs and seems to know many of the denizens personally. She likes to go slow and really explore. I've gone there twice (last time in March) and both times have been spectacular.
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