Solomons Trip Rept Part 1

[caymaniac]

My brother is a Physician and works in 7 different nursing homes. His take is that there are so many people who regret not doing things that they were able to do when they were healthy and not going on that trip to a foreign destination to see what was there. I don't want to have those regrets, so I'll keep going to the gym, and I'll keep dreaming of new places to go, and I'll keep saving for that far off destination even if it means I'll have to work longer....maybe I'll never be able to quit, who knows. If I had the money to go to the Solomons now, I'd go. So, Peter, don't feel you're the only one who uses his hard earned money to go on trips.
All the best, Happy New Year

 

[Tim Ingersoll]

My brother is a Physician and works in 7 different nursing homes. His take is that there are so many people who regret not doing things that they were able to do when they were healthy and not going on that trip to a foreign destination to see what was there. I don't want to have those regrets, so I'll keep going to the gym, and I'll keep dreaming of new places to go, and I'll keep saving for that far off destination even if it means I'll have to work longer....maybe I'll never be able to quit, who knows. If I had the money to go to the Solomons now, I'd go. So, Peter, don't feel you're the only one who uses his hard earned money to go on trips.
All the best, Happy New Year

Amen brother.

 

[vetdiver]

We should rename this thread "Carpe Diem"!!

(Must admit, it is nice to hear there are others who feel this way...most of our friends think we're nuts.)

Caymaniac, thought you were gonna come with us on the Bilikiki....

 

[caymaniac]

We should rename this thread "Carpe Diem"!!

(Must admit, it is nice to hear there are others who feel this way...most of our friends think we're nuts.)

Caymaniac, thought you were gonna come with us on the Bilikiki....

I wish....
Well, we dove two areas in PNG and spent time in Oz and Hawaii, I need to have more money to go the Solomons :>(. We could have gone, but with the expense of a wedding for our son it ate up all our funds, we could have had a really nice trip! Instead, he gets a really nice trip

 

[reubencahn]

Peter, how much are flights from Brisbane to Honiara?

 

[vetdiver]

Our agent is quoting us $650 (USD) per person until March 2006; we're waiting for the June schedule/pricing to be released. Ouch!

I have also heard that it is very wise to stay overnight in Brisbane on the way home, as the Solomon Air flights are commonly delayed up to 3-4 hours. Would love to hear others' thoughts on this - we're staying in Brisbane the night before and after.

 

[peterjmaerz]

It was right around the $650 mark for me. But, hey, since thousands of ducats were flying out of my bank account anyway, what was another 6 bills? (By the way, by comparison, I was just researching flights to Provedenciales Turks and Caicos from Ft. Lauderdale. That hour-and-a-half flight is also going for 5 or 6 hundred bucks, with occasional discounts to $350).

I experienced brief delays both out- and in-bound with Solomon Airlines. They leased aircraft from Vanatau Air. The planes were spotless and relatively comfortable with full meals served. The flight is 3 hours each way (with a one hour time zone shrinkage on the way out).

My connecting flight from Brisbane to Seoul on my reutrn home left me about 3 hours in between flights. Two things I learned:

1) After landing on Solomons air, one must reclaim bags in Brisbane, take them through customs and then check in as any passenger would leaving BNE. It took a number of queries to the very friendly immigration cops in Brisbane to figure this out. So, don't follow the signs for transit passengers...

2) I had forgotten from previous experience in Cairns that one must go through a final "immigration" check before heading to security and then on to departure lounge. I damn near missed my boarding call by being stuck in that line for 20 minutes.

Hope this helps.

Best,

 

[vetdiver]

SNORT!!! True, at this point, what's another $1300? I can't believe I just said that...maybe I should stop whining, we're using miles to get to Australia, after all...

Your info just made me doubly glad that we decided to stay in BNE before going home. Thanks so much.