Route Description - Best of Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands are home to some of the best reefs in the world and the diving is spectacular, diverse and colourful, There is not just one type of diving but an array of different habitats and ecosystems. There are pelagics and critters, wrecks, caves, amazingly healthy coral gardens, sand slopes, mangroves, walls and sea mounts.
Boarding time on the first day is normally around 4 PM. Disembarkation is around 8 AM on the last day
The Solomon Islands has an amazing array of varied, rarely-visited dive sites. Bilikiki Cruises does not have a fixed itinerary for dive sites but goes to the best spots possible for the conditions and the interests of guests.
On a 10-night or longer trip, you also visit the Marovo Lagoon area of the Western Province. On longer trips, the Bilikiki will stop at other villages to see the famous wood carvings of the area. Here you will have to chance to see and buy handmade carvings and other amazing traditionally made items.
Village visits are arranged during the surface intervals so as not to affect the number of dives offered per day.
There are 4-day dives and a night dive offered, and although there is no fixed itinerary here is an example of some of the dive sites which we normally do if the conditions allow.
Russell Islands
Leru Cut: A channel back into Leru Island forms a breathtakingly beautiful reef formation which when dived at the right time of day has amazing beams of light and fantastic photo opportunities. Surface at the end and see the vine-covered cliffs and jungle before descending and exiting onto a sheer wall of fans and soft coral.
White Beach: The site of an American WWII base where trucks, bombs, and ammunition was dumped into the sea. Both a fascinating historical dive and a fantastic macro site in an unusual mangrove location.
Mirror Pond: A stunning pond reflecting the jungle overhead. Outside on the reef is a sheer wall where snappers and trevally hunt and pygmy seahorses hide in gorgeous gorgonian fans. The shallows host a stunning coral garden where crocodile fish, cuttlefish, and anemone fish live.
Karumolun Point: The chief of Karumolun Island has banned all fishing and collecting on this dive site for five years creating a local marine protected area. This point has great soft coral, a big school of jacks, barracudas, and lots of sharks, often eagle rays are seen here too. The macro side of this dive site is fantastic as well with disco clams (electric file shells), nudis, cuttlefish, crocodile fish, and ghost pipefish among the things seen.
Mary Island
Divers often refer to Mary Island as the “best” dive of a trip. It is an uninhabited island with a stunning amount of hard corals and fish life. The schools of fish are amazing here, especially when joined by sharks, turtles, and Bumphead parrotfish. You usually stay here for the whole day.
Florida Islands
Twin Tunnels: This large seamount, in the middle of the channel between Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands, has two tunnels that drop vertically straight down from 12m and exit in a cave at 35m. Swimming out of the cave to the sheer wall there are schools of fusiliers with grey reef sharks cruising by. It is also home to some amazing coral, cuttlefish, octopus, and mantis shrimp plus schools of snapper, tropical fish, and an amazing array of anemonefish.
Devils' Highway: The best place in the Solomons to dive with manta rays. A channel between two islands funnels water to form a strong current and an adrenaline-filled dive. Drift along the reef top, duck under the reef wall, and watch as up to a dozen mantas swim close by in formation to feed. They are often joined by sweetlips, jacks, and Bumphead parrotfish.
Maravagi Bay: A macro divers delight! A calm protected bay offering all sorts of great macro subjects such as nudis, demon stinger, scorpionfish, cockatoo wasp fish, various pipefish, cuttlefish, juvenile batfish, various anemonefish, shrimps, and crabs. Plus a few giant clams and a small wreck packed with batfish and bream.
Japanese Mavis Seaplane: A Japanese seaplane sunk during WW2 which sits upright on the bottom at 30m, it is an impressively large, mostly intact plane. This site is also excellent for macro subjects with reef top pipefish, twin spot gobies, and spine checks anemone fish.
Marovo Lagoon Area
Kicha: Not only is this dive site a truly stunning example of hard corals and sea fans, but it is also teeming with fish life. Friendly batfish follow divers around, schools of jacks and barracuda circle around the point while giant Bumphead parrotfish chomp on coral. All this amazing color and beauty passes by to a soundtrack provided by the underwater volcano Kavachi which is only 15 miles away.
Mbulo Caves: A series of interconnecting caves and swim-throughs with beautiful sunbeams and a magical atmosphere. There is also staggering hard coral and tropical fish on the reef outside.
Wickham Island: There are a lot of amazing dive sites around this island. It has something for everyone with soft coral points, huge sea fans, sharks, and rays. Plus great places to look for small stuff such as pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, crocodile fish, snake eels, and many different species of anemonefish.
Japanese Maru #2: A Japanese cargo vessel sunk by American bombers in WW2 is a stunning photogenic wreck covered in black corals. A deck gun lies hanging over the side of the ship and trevally and groupers hunt the decks.
Marine Life: The Solomon Island waters are very nutrient-rich, and they support the entire food chain from microscopic creatures to major predators. You'll have a good opportunity to see a variety of sharks, mantas, dolphins, turtles, and barracuda in uncountable numbers. In shallower waters, you'll see almost every tropical creature imaginable, and some that will stretch your imagination. Cuttlefish, octopus, schooling lionfish, and amazing numbers and varieties of anemonefish, not to mention amazing varieties of anemones. You'll see more varieties of coral than almost anywhere, and all this in 82 - 85ºF waters.