The Solomon Islands are east of Papua New Guinea, West of Fiji, and southwest of Hawaii. There are 992 islands out here and more than half are unoccupied. Melanesians first appeared on the islands over 30,000 years ago. So, scuba diving is a more a recent event. More importantly, around the islands are cuts, tunnels, caves, and the longest lagoon in the world. Coral reefs and sandy flats make the perfect backdrops to take images of frog fish, ghost pipefish, pygmy seahorses and small crustaceans. For many scuba diving activists this would be enough to fill a bucket list. However, the Solomon Islands became the host site for the battle of Guadalcanal in World War II. During 6 months of fighting, some 100 ships and 600 aircraft were destroyed, sunk, or damaged beyond repair. Enjoy our blog article: Enjoy our blog story:
110,000 Reasons to Go Liveaboard
Diving the Solomon Islands
Morovo Lagoon is so large that it has inner islands of which some are man-made.
Twin Tunnels are macro creature filled lava tubes where you can go down one and up the other. There are inland pools that cut through the jungle and break out into open water. Large pelagics are viewed around
Mary Island and mantas like to roam
Devils Highway. Around the Solomon Islands you'll see soft corals, hard corals, cuttlefish, octopus, squat lobsters, crabs and more. Schooling fish include bigeye jacks, trevally, and bumphead wrasse. As for the war, the Imperial Japanese navy left transport ships, a submarine, supply ships, and even a flying boat. The Americans left bombers and a wildcat. When the Americans finally left the Solomon Islands they scuttled most military supplies at
White Beach.
There is also the
Wreck of the Ann and a couple of fishing boat wrecks to view. Arnavan Islands have a turtle reserve, so plan on seeing lots of hawksbill turtles.
Accommodations, Attractions, Activities
Liveaboards allow you to view the most dive sites at one time. There are some land-based resorts in the Solomon Islands, but you will have to fly between the islands to visit certain dive sites. Bring anti-malaria pills especially for times when you are near land. The Vilu War Museum and the American War museum are a must see. You can walk through a rain forest, encounter water falls, or swim in a river. If you have time, you can visit archaeological caves and see skulls collected by former head hunters. Finally, you can go to a local village market or purchase items right from their small craft to your big boat.
