Diving the Solomon Islands

Solomon Islands scuba diving features

WWII era wrecks
mangrove caverns octopus
schooling jacks

SOLOMONS TOP DIVE SITE:
Barracuda Point

DESTINATION OVERVIEW
The Solomon Islands in the Western Pacific are not particularly well known in tourist terms and because access is really only from Australia, fewer divers get the chance to venture there than would like to. It's a shame as the Solomons recently became included in the Coral Triangle.

Once you descend underwater you can see why: marine diversity is high, there are coral covered reefs and steep walls, secretive critters and schools of pelagics. Small cave systems lead beneath the coast and you can surface inside shallow mangroves where archerfish hover amongst the roots.

This area is also important historically as it was the location of some of the longest battles of World War II. Around many islands, there are remnants littering the sea bed and some very interesting wreck dives. What's particularly good about them is that, outside of Guadalcanal, they're not all that deep so you can spend a decent amount of time exploring. There's even a fascinating munitions dump with trucks, barges and stray ammunition littering a calm bay.

Land side, the islands are just lovely – over 900 beautiful specks of land covered in deep green forests pepper the ocean – and the local villagers are very friendly.

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Seasons
Year round
Visibility:
5 – 40 metres
Water temperature:
25 – 29º C.
Deco chambers:
Honiara and Townsville, Australia

Flights from Brisbane or Nadi (in Fiji) to Honiara with Solomon Airlines, Air Pacific or Virgin Blue.

Dive operators and accommodation options
Bilikiki Cruises

PROS AND CONS
From Europe the best way to get to the Solomons is via Brisbane in Australia. It's a long way so allow a stopover. Flights are scheduled daily except weekends. If you are coming from the US there are flights via Nadi in Fiji and even Port Moresby. Honiara is a small, dusty and busy city and accommodation standards are low, so unless you want to see some of the historical WWII sites, hop straight onto your liveaboard, the two that ply these waters, both run by Bilikiki Cruises, are very good. Although there are land based resorts, a liveaboard is the best way to see a cross-section of Solomons diving.

SCUBA DIVING
It's pretty difficult to sum up diving in the Solomons. Not because it isn't good – it is, very – but because there is nothing absolutely specific about it. And therein lies it's charm. In other places you can encapsulate a dive site or region by saying this is the best muck, or the ultimate in soft coral reefs or whatever. However, Solomon Islands diving is just the opposite of all that as it has a little bit of everything.

OPINION
Although getting to the Solomons takes more than the usual amount of planning it is a genuinely worthwhile scuba diving destination. We travelled on MV Bilikiki so we saw a broad selection of the available diving right across the country. The boat also arranged several local village visits. The people are friendly, the children typically shy but highly amused by their visitors.