Overview
About Solomon Islands
Lying east of Papua New Guinea and threaded along the fringes of the Pacific’s Coral Triangle, Solomon Islands feels like the South Pacific the day before the guidebooks arrived. This scattered nation of nearly 1,000 island are pure, salt-tinged theater—moss-drenched highlands plunging into lagoons stained turquoise and cobalt, Second World War wrecks resting in crystalline shallows, and stilted villages where shell money still counts for more than banknotes. The air hovers at a warm 25–30 °C most of the year; you’ll arrive drenched in humidity and leave drenched in epic stories.
Few archipelagoes wear their history so openly. Guadalcanal’s rusting Sherman tanks and broken Zeroes speak to the savage six-month naval campaign of 1942–43, while Malaita’s ara’akwa ceremonies and Choiseul’s old skull houses remind you that inter-island headhunting and chants have been traded here for centuries. Today those legacies coexist with laid-back resort life on Gizo’s lagoon, technicolor coral walls off Marovo, and the inky deep of Rennell Island, the world’s largest raised coral atoll.
Yet the real pulse of Solomon Islands is in its people—villagers who paddle outriggers at dawn, turn moma (earth-ovens) for Saturday gatherings, and croon ukulele harmonies that glow like blue kava by nightfall. Tourism is still intimate and low-key: you’re as likely to share a reef with Japanese nurse sharks and a village chief as with Instagram throngs. Pack sturdy boots, reef-safe sunscreen, and a solid sense of adventure; the Solomons reward every ounce of curiosity you bring.
What to see & do
Top attractions
Marovo Lagoon
Strung between the volcanic cones of the New Georgia group, Marovo Lagoon is one of the world’s largest and most spectacular salt-water lagoons. Its jade and sapphire waters are studded with jungle-covered islands, some rising steeply like green cathedrals, while coral reefs shimmer beneath the surface. This is the spiritual and daily heartland for communities renowned for their masterful woodcarving, shell-money traditions and centuries-old navigational skills. Visitors arrive by canoe, motorboat or small plane, and immediately sense a place that operates by tides and traditions rather than timetables, where the underwater world can match the drama of the terrain above. Certified dive sites and snorkeling spots reveal coral walls, bommies, manta rays and a kaleidoscope of reef fish, while kayaking and village-hopping along the shoreline offer insight into a lifestyle tightly woven with the sea.
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Lake Tegano
A UNESCO World Heritage Site and the largest lake in the insular Pacific, Lake Tegano is a primordial wonder that feels as though it has been plucked from a lost world. Situated on the remote island of East Rennell, this vast, brackish expanse of water is a sanctuary of biodiversity, its surface often shrouded in a mystical morning mist that slowly lifts to reveal a labyrinth of limestone islets and dense, primeval forest. The lake’s waters are home to endemic species found nowhere else on Earth, including the elusive Rennell flying fox and a unique species of sea snake. For the intrepid traveler, a journey to Lake Tegano is a profound immersion into raw, untamed nature—a place where the silence is broken only by the call of rare birds and the gentle splash of a dugout canoe, offering an unparalleled glimpse into the ecological heart of the Solomon Islands.
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Rennell and Bellona Coral Reef
UNESCO-inscribed East Rennell is the world’s largest raised coral atoll, its ancient reef forming a brooding, jungle-shrouded lake—Lake Tegano—that feels like a portal to a lost world. Dense rainforest covers most of the island and shelters endemic birds and a fascinating, resilient culture that has remained only lightly touched by modern life. Reaching Rennell is an expedition in itself; irregular flights and the absence of luxury infrastructure mean visitors trade convenience for authenticity. Once there, expect vivid underwater realms, raw coastline and lagoons, and nights under some of the darkest skies in the Pacific. This is not resort tourism; it is a properly remote Pacific experience where nature, culture and climate all test the traveler’s mettle. ‘Island at the end of the world’ is an overused expression, but Rennell keeps earning it.
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Tetepare Island
Tetepare Island is the South Pacific’s last great wilderness—a 120-square-kilometer sanctuary where nature reigns undisturbed. This uninhabited island, protected by a community-led conservation initiative, is a haven for rare wildlife, from the elusive Tetepare white-eye to nesting leatherback turtles that haul themselves onto moonlit beaches. The island’s interior is a cathedral of ancient rainforest, where buttressed trees tower overhead and the air thrums with the calls of endemic birds. Along the coast, coral reefs explode with life, offering some of the most pristine diving and snorkeling in the region. Kayak through mangrove channels, hike to hidden waterfalls, or simply lie on a deserted beach and listen to the symphony of the wild. Tetepare is not just a destination; it is a privilege—a chance to witness the Pacific as it was before the modern world arrived. For the intrepid traveler, it is the ultimate escape.
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Savo Island
Rising from the sea like a green-cloaked giant, Savo Island is a place where myth and geology collide. This volcanic island, just a short boat ride from Guadalcanal, is home to bubbling hot springs, steaming fumaroles, and a crater lake that shimmers with an otherworldly hue. The island’s interior is a tangle of dense jungle, where megapodes—ancient, chicken-sized birds—bury their eggs in the warm volcanic sand, a ritual unchanged for millennia. Local villagers, guardians of the island’s secrets, lead visitors on guided hikes through the steaming landscape, sharing stories of ancestral spirits and the island’s fiery origins. The surrounding waters are a diver’s dream, with coral walls plunging into the abyss and schools of barracuda swirling in the blue. Savo is not just a destination; it is an immersion into a world where nature’s raw power is on full display, and the line between legend and reality blurs with every step.
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Skull Island
Tucked away in the shimmering waters of the New Georgia Islands, Skull Island rises from a backdrop of impossibly blue ocean and vibrant reef life, a place where the raw beauty of the Solomon Islands collides with some of its most evocative anthropology. Once an ancient shrine site adorned with ornate, revered skulls and ancestral offerings, the island pulses with a spiritual energy that feels both magnificent and macabre. Travelers brave the short boat ride from Munda to find a dense jungle interior where history whispers from every rustling leaf, offering a rare, unvarnished glimpse into the ritual life of the traditional ‘headhunters’. A magnet for divers and culture-seekers alike, the island’s fringing coral reef is a kaleidoscope of tropical marine life, while the relics found within its thickets deliver a striking reminder of the archipelago’s complex, fascinating past.
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Tenaru Falls
Tucked deep in Guadalcanal’s interior, Tenaru Falls is a tall, slender veil of water plunging dramatically into a jungle-ringed gorge. Reaching it requires a trek along a forest trail, sometimes through river passages, creating a sense of real discovery; you arrive feeling you’ve earned every moment under the falls. The surrounding forest is rich with birdlife and tropical vegetation, and local guides often infuse the walk with stories of village life and WWII history. The falls’ natural pool offers bracingly cool relief after the humid hike, while the mist and surrounding cliffs give the site an almost cinematic atmosphere. Basic infrastructure means the place retains a rawness that more developed destinations lack; you leave feeling you’ve experienced Guadalcanal as few visitors do.
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Bonegi Beach
Just a short drive from Honiara’s bustling center, Bonegi Beach unfurls like a postcard from a bygone era. Bonegi I and II, separated by a rocky headland, offer contrasting moods: one a gentle crescent of sand lapped by turquoise shallows, the other a wilder stretch where the Pacific’s power is on full display. Beneath the waves, the rusted bones of wartime ships and aircraft lie scattered across the seabed, creating an underwater museum that draws divers from around the globe. Snorkelers can glide over coral gardens teeming with parrotfish and clownfish, while history buffs explore the ghostly remains of landing craft and fighter planes. Above the tide line, coconut palms sway and local families picnic under thatched shelters, their laughter mingling with the rhythm of the surf. Bonegi is more than a beach—it is a living archive of war and peace, where the past and present coexist in sun-drenched harmony.
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Langa Langa Lagoon
Stretching out like a luminous jewel box off the coast of Malaita, the Langa Langa Lagoon is a microcosm of Solomon Islands culture, where the legacy of the past actively pulses beneath the crystal-clear waters. Revered globally for its striking shell-money craftsmanship—traditional currency painstakingly fashioned from the brilliant, iridescent seeds of the Romu shell—the here-and-now is continually woven into timeless tradition. Visitors to the lagoon’s stilt villages are greeted with exuberant hospitality and impromptu displays of the arts: women weaving pandanus mats and men shaping ancient tools, set against a stunning backdrop of blue-green water framed by lush, mountainous islands. It is a visual and cultural feast, a place where the rhythmic dip of a paddle and the gentle lap of wave against a wooden prow serve as the only soundtrack to a way of life that has remained beautifully, stubbornly unchanged for centuries.
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Vilu War Museum
On a sun-bleached stretch of Guadalcanal’s coast, Vilu War Museum stands as a haunting open-air shrine to the Pacific War’s fiercest battles. Rusted Sherman tanks, shattered Zero fighters, and the skeletal remains of landing craft rise from the jungle like relics from a forgotten age. Each artifact is carefully labeled with the unit, date, and story of its final mission, transforming the landscape into a three-dimensional history book. The museum’s founder, a local historian with deep family ties to the conflict, often guides visitors through the site, weaving personal anecdotes with military detail. The air hums with cicadas and the distant crash of surf, lending an eerie tranquility to the rusting hulks. It is a place of reflection, where the weight of history is palpable and the cost of peace is etched in steel. For anyone seeking to understand the Solomons’ wartime legacy, Vilu is an essential pilgrimage.
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Logistics
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Best time to visit
The dry season (June to October) brings steadier trade winds, clearer seas, and lower humidity—ideal for diving and hiking. Cyclone risk is minimal outside November to April, though rainy-season showers are usually brief and can freshen up lagoon dives and waterfalls. Sea temperatures hover around 28–30 °C year-round, so you’ll rarely need a wetsuit.
Getting there & around
Honiara’s Henderson International Airport (HIR) is your main gateway, with Fiji Airways, Solomon Airlines and Virgin Australia providing regular regional hops. Once in-country, short-haul flights by Solomon Airlines and charter planes link Honiara with Gizo, Munda, Auki and outlying provinces; expect late-notice cancellations when weather turns. Public PMVs (modified minibuses) and speedboats offer cheaper island-to-island rides, while resort transfers often include a scenic 8–12 m skiff. Road conditions deteriorate quickly off Guadalcanal’s main strip, so hire a local driver when possible.
Food & drink
Start with a plate of laplap—taro or sweet potato mash wrapped in banana leaves and slow-baked with coconut cream—and you’ll understand local confidence in earth-ovens. Fragrant flying fish, whole coconut-crusted crab, and banana-leaf parcels stuffed with reef snapper appear on every village table, usually teamed with tangy lime and chilli. Fresh coffee is rich but seldom exported; kava (‘ava’) root paste is the go-to social drink, served in coconut shells at dusk.
Language & etiquette
Solomons Pijin is the lingua franca, understood even in the most remote provinces, and a greeting of “Aftanun, wanem sitiuen blo yu?” will usually unlock a smile and a directions chat. Avoid solo night walks in town centres; locals refer to narrow village paths as “wantok” trails and might steer you away from unvisited groves. A small cash donation or presentation of tobacco and betel nut at village gates is customary and very much appreciated.
Money
Currency & payments
The Solomon Islands Dollar (SBD) is the official currency; Australian dollars (AUD) are widely accepted in Honiara and Buala, but expect change in SBD and steep exchange-rate markups at outlying guesthouses. ATMs are scarce outside Honiara, so load up on cash before island-hopping. Tipping is not a national tradition, but rounding up a restaurant bill or leaving a 5–10 % token for guiding services is welcomed. Major credit cards work at upmarket lodges in Gizo and Honiara, but carry cash for market stalls and village homestays.
Stay aware
Safety considerations
Most villages welcome tourists if you book through a licensed local operator and ask permission before snapping portraits of elders or sacred sites. Tap water is not reliably safe; stick to bottled or filtered supplies. Cyclones and localized flooding occasionally cut ferry routes between May and November. Notify the High Commission of your itinerary if venturing beyond Honiara and Guadalcanal. Standard first-aid, sun sense, and a good headlamp are strongly advised.