The Solomon Islands could also be only a three-hour direct flight from Brisbane, but few folks – save for divers, birders and WWII historical past fans – appear to learn about it. Located between Papua New Guinea and Vanuatu, solely 26,000 go to the island archipelago yearly. However those that do? They’re going to be sure to learn about it.

After my first go to in late 2024, I match firmly into this class. For those who’ve talked to me lately, you’ve heard me rave in regards to the considerable marine life, the unimaginable tradition (there are greater than 70 languages spoken!) and the way surprisingly straightforward this nation is to discover. 

Certain, you won’t discover opulent resorts with swim-up bars and youngsters’ golf equipment, nevertheless it’s nonetheless potential to whereas away your days swinging from a hammock and splashing within the sea.

However for these of us (learn: me) who aren’t significantly good at doing nothing in any respect, I’m happy to declare the Solomon Islands often is the South Pacific’s subsequent nice journey outpost. Within the “Hapi Isles,” it is potential to surf, dive and snorkel above pristine reef methods, hike by among the most biodiverse rainforest on the planet and be taught extra in regards to the wealthy Melanesian cultural traditions – all in as little as one week.

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Dreaming your personal Solomon Islands getaway? This weeklong itinerary will see you exploring the gritty capital metropolis of Honiara and island-hopping your method by the postcard-perfect tropics of the Western Province.

When to reach

It is a year-round vacation spot. However relating to precise arrival occasions, you’re not precisely spoilt for selection. Solely 4 direct flights arrive per week from Brisbane, Australia, with one other three flights coming from Nadi, Fiji (the area’s major hub, with connections to Tokyo, Singapore, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Vancouver). Practically all land in Honiara between 5pm and eight:30pm. Select a lodge with an on-site restaurant to make life straightforward when you land.

Tips on how to get from the airport

Honiara Worldwide Airport is simply 12km (7.5 miles) from most main inns within the capital metropolis’s middle, however the quick distance can take greater than half-hour throughout rush hour. Many inns provide airport pickup, however taxis (about SI$120/US$14) and personal transfers (from SI$280/US$33) are additionally out there from operators resembling Hapi Isles Tours & Transfers.

For those who do determine to guide a switch or tour on your time in Honiara, use Fb or electronic mail to coordinate your go to. Like many companies within the Solomon Islands, tour operators are unlikely to have a devoted web site or on-line reserving engine.

Getting round

With 992 islands to discover, don’t restrict your self to Guadalcanal (one of many six major islands, the place Honiara sits). Island hopping – particularly to the sun-soaked shores of the Western Province, recognized for its elegant snorkeling and diving – is comparatively straightforward:

• Home flights: Solomon Airlines providers over 20 locations, together with Munda and Gizo within the Western Province. Flying is the quickest technique to get round, however it may be lower than dependable – delays are par for the course. If potential, guide buffer days into your itinerary for potential flight cancellations.

• Banana boat: For shorter distances, these open-air vessels are a veritable pleasure cruise on fair-weather days. You’ll zoom previous coral cays by unbelievably blue waters, whereas flying fish race alongside your boat. Nevertheless, the colourful boats might be decidedly much less nice in tough surf or heavy rain. Count on to pay about SI$1500 (US$176) per day for a constitution.

What to pack

• A backpack: The type of bag you convey is simply as vital as its contents. For home flights, pack mild; checked baggage is restricted to 16kg (35lb). Backpacks – lined with a rubbish bag to maintain every little thing inside dry – are simpler than hard-shelled suitcases to lug on and off banana boats.

• Clothes that covers your head, shoulders, knees and toes: The Solomons don’t get almost as many vacationers as neighboring Fiji or Vanuatu, however most locals nonetheless gained’t balk on the sight of your naked thighs, particularly in beachside settings. The exception is in conventional villages, the place it’s respectful to put on a shirt that covers your shoulders and lengthy pants or a skirt. Your longs will do double-duty within the evenings when the mosquitos come out to play. (Speak to your journey physician about anti-malarial medicine.) Pack a hat to maintain the solar off your face whereas travelling by banana boat and a pair of path sneakers or climbing boots for adventures within the inside.

• Snorkeling gear: Some lodging can have gear that you could borrow, however it might be worse for the wear and tear and measurement choice might be restricted. For those who’re a severe snorkeler, convey your personal masks and fins. (Bonus: if it begins pouring when you’re touring by banana boat, you’ll be able to strap in your masks to get by the deluge.) A rash guard or swim shirt will assist shield you from the robust solar.

• Strolling poles: Mountaineering trails within the Solomon Islands are usually rugged and might not be nicely trafficked or maintained. For those who plan on heading into the highlands, take a set of sticks to regular your self on.

• Money: Wi-fi is extra widespread than you may assume (you’ll be able to thank Starlink for that improvement), however that is nonetheless largely a cash-driven vacation spot. Exterior of the most important inns in Honiara, debit and bank cards are ineffective right here.

• An excellent guide and a deck of playing cards: Little runs on schedule within the Solomon Islands. With cellphone reception all however nonexistent in lots of areas, you’ll be able to’t depend on a stable scroll to move the time. As an alternative, be sure to’re armed with an excellent guide, a deck of playing cards or a real appreciation for staring off into the yonder. 

The place to remain

In Honiara, it’s potential to check-in to a flashy lodge with air-conditioning, swimming swimming pools and eating places. Elsewhere, lodging ranges from fundamental motel-style models to resort-like – however nonetheless comparatively rustic – overwater bungalows. A number of of our favorites in Honiara and the Western Province embody:

• Heritage Park Lodge: Centrally positioned, that is considered one of Honiara’s bougiest retreats, beloved by expats and locals alike for its waterfront swimming pool and bar. A number of eating places and a small fitness center spherical out the choices.

• Fatboys Resort: Located within the Western Province – only a quick boat trip from Gizo City – that is the last word spot to flop and drop. Spend your morning snorkeling straight off the aspect of the overwater restaurant, your afternoon hitting up among the most interesting surf breaks within the South Pacific, then spherical out your day consuming sundowners from the deck of your overwater bungalow. Rooms fluctuate in measurement and facilities; if air-conditioning sits excessive in your want checklist, double-check that it’s included.

• Imbu Rano Lodge: Nestled excessive within the highlands of Kolombangara Island, this wilderness lodge is favored by visiting scientists and birdwatchers for its sweeping views of the encompassing cloud forest and extinct volcano craters. An outpost for outside adventures together with climbing, “wilderness” is the important thing phrase right here. There isn’t any connectivity, little electrical energy and shared bogs are in a fundamental concrete block beside the principle constructing. However who wants frills when the surrounds are this good?

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Day 1: Discover the Solomons Islands’ capital metropolis

Morning: To keep away from the warmth of the afternoon, head out early in your first full day. It’ll solely take about three hours to hit up Honiara’s highlights, both by foot or as a part of a devoted tour.

First, survey the produce at Honiara’s Central Market. The stalls unfold out into the parking zone, promoting every little thing from recent fish and ngali nuts (a neighborhood favourite, they offer macadamias a run for its cash) to secondhand clothes. Hold an eye fixed out for multicolored necklaces strung with shells – that is “shell cash,” the normal forex of the Solomon Islands, which is prized and stays in use right this moment.

Then, take a spin by the close by Crafts Marketplace for intricately carved picket souvenirs, earlier than dedicating about 45 minutes to exploring the Solomon Islands National Museum. End your tour on the American War Memorial, the place the battles of Guadalcanal are inscribed on giant stone tablets. WWII historical past not your factor? It’s nonetheless definitely worth the journey for the memorial’s vantage level excessive on Skyline Ridge, with the complete metropolis unfold out under.

Afternoon: For those who’d desire a full-day tour, ask your information so as to add on an tour to Mbonege Seaside, about 35 minutes northwest of Honiara. There, you’ll discover the Kinugawa Maru, a WWII shipwreck that sits in water shallow sufficient to wade out. Convey snorkel gear and money to cowl the seashore person charges. (Prices can fluctuate, however count on to pay round SI$30/US$3.53 per individual.) Afterward, get pleasure from a seaside sundown meal within the Heritage Park Lodge’s waterfront pool space.

Day 2: Go to a standard village and geothermal wonders on a day journey to Savo Island  

Morning: Savo Island is barely about an hour-long banana boat trip throughout the Iron Backside Sound (so named for the handfuls of ships and planes that sank there throughout WWII) from Honiara. However with its enduring cultural traditions, this volcanic outpost feels a world away.

Coordinate your go to by Savo Sunset Lodge, who might help prepare for a cultural efficiency in neighboring Kuila village. Whereas English is the nation’s official language and most islanders converse a comparatively easy-to-understand Pijin, the villagers converse Savosavo, an endangered Papuan language.

Afternoon: Strap in your boots – it’s time to hike with a neighborhood information upwards by Savo’s dense rainforest. You will have two choices: A 30-minute journey to a geothermally heated waterfall and scorching spring, which is claimed to heal illnesses. Or, should you’re feeling courageous, it solely takes 4 hours to trek into Savo Volcano’s crater, the place you’ll witness gurgling geysers and steaming fumarole fields.

Day 3: Escape to Munda, your gateway to the Western Province

Morning: Catch the earliest flight from Honiara to Munda, your first cease within the Western Province. Ensure you get a window seat for the 50-minute flight – hovering above the white-sand seashores and in depth reef methods offers you a stable concept of why this space is famend for its fishing, snorkeling and diving.

Upon arrival, seize one thing to eat from the Agnes Gateway Hotel’s overwater restaurant, earlier than checking-in with the on-site tour operator, Go West Tours. It would transport you by banana boat throughout the scenic Vona Vona Lagoon to Kunda Hite, also called Cranium Island.

On this shrine-like island, skulls of chiefs and their conquests from the head-hunting previous are surrounded by ceremonial objects, together with examples of shell cash and conch shells as soon as used to summon villagers. A sacred web site, the island can solely be accessed with a neighborhood information, who could undertake kastom (customized) proceedings to make sure its spirits welcome guests.

Afternoon: Hop again within the banana boat to journey previous white-sand seashores and palm-fringed islands and onwards to Kolombangara Island. Take time to soak within the scene of electrical blues and greens, the place volcanic cones dusted by clouds rise within the distance and large faculties of fish dance under.

Upon arrival at Ringi Cove, you’ll be collected by a 4WD, which can carry you thru a large forestry plantation and excessive into untouched cloud forest. Sitting at an elevation of 400m (1312ft), that is Imbu Rano Lodge, your lodging for the evening. Rooms are fundamental and there’s no connection to the surface world right here; all there may be to do is watch mist drift previous the island’s volcanic craters and plush rainforest and the day fade into evening.

Day 4: Hike deep into Kolombangara Island’s cloud forest

Morning: As you drink your morning espresso and watch the pink glow of daybreak illuminate the day, maintain your eyes peeled for the world’s uncommon and endemic bat, butterfly and chicken species – together with mountain pygmy parrots – flying previous.

Gas up for the lodge’s hottest guided hike to Myles Falls. It’s potential to swim on the base of those hovering twin falls, however you’ll be moist earlier than you even get there – the four-hour round-trip stroll entails a steep descent into the Vila River valley and dozens of river crossings. (Put on path sneakers or boots that you simply’re comfortable to get moist.) Alongside the best way, your guides will level out historic, terraced gardens. These are proof of a time from the head-hunting previous, when islanders lived within the dense rainforest to guard themselves from enemies fairly than uncovered alongside the coastlines, the place most individuals dwell right this moment.

Afternoon: After returning to the lodge to bathe and pack up, catch your 4WD switch adopted by banana boat onwards to the Gizo space. Whereas there are numerous resorts to select from, Fatboys Resort on tiny Mbambanga Island is a favourite, because of its overwater restaurant and bungalows.

Days 5 and 6: Snorkel, dive and surf within the waters round Gizo

For the subsequent two days, it’s a matter of selecting your personal journey, with a protracted checklist of water-based actions out there.

Most come to the Western Province for its wreck diving, with Gizo City-based clothing store Dive Gizo guiding journeys to lots of the space’s numerous WWII planes and shipwrecks. However the waters right here additionally boast among the richest concentrations of fish and highest marine biodiversity on the planet, alongside unimaginable visibility. You don’t even must get within the water to see the coral gardens and fish under – the water is that clear. However don’t miss the prospect to strap on a snorkel masks to discover websites such because the Grand Central Station, off the northwestern tip of Njari Island. A merging level for oceanic currents, bigger marine life – together with sharks and trevally – might be discovered within the waters under.

Diving could also be what put the Western Province on the map, however I’m calling it now – that is additionally the South Pacific’s subsequent nice surf vacation spot. It’s received all the proper components, together with uncrowded waves and constant left- and right-hand breaks. The surf right here is so good that the Australian surfers I met begged me to not write about it. (Sorry, mates; it’s a secret too good to not share.) The scene remains to be comparatively nascent, so convey your personal board and wetsuit should you’re eager to provide it a crack.

For these on the lookout for one thing to do on dry land – aside from soaking within the solar and watching the aquamarine waters lap on the shore – strive a wander by Gizo City’s market. This offers one other likelihood to pattern native produce, like rose apples – a refreshing deal with that’s harking back to biting right into a crisp watermelon.

Day 7: Wave goodbye to the Hapi Isles

In your ultimate day within the Solomon Islands, catch a flight from Gizo again to Honiara, the place you’ll be able to join onwards to your subsequent vacation spot. Wave goodbye to the Hapi Isles and begin planning your subsequent vacation again. You’ve visited solely eight of the nation’s islands – that means there are nonetheless 984 extra to discover.

Jessica Lockhart visited the Solomon Islands on the invitation of Tourism Solomons. Lonely Planet doesn’t settle for freebies for constructive protection.