Live destination map

◆ Country guide · Melanesia

Solomon Islands, the lagoons and the wrecks of Iron Bottom Sound

An archipelago east of Papua New Guinea where the turning point of the Pacific war was fought, and where its ships still lie in the water off the capital. Solomon Islands is wreck dives in Iron Bottom Sound, the reef-enclosed Marovo Lagoon, shell money made by hand on Malaita, and a raised coral atoll holding the largest lake in the insular Pacific.

721K

People

28,896 km²

Area

Provinces

Region

Best months

Jun · Jul · Aug · Sep

Ideal length

10–14 days

Budget / day

Set by flights and boats between islands

Language

Pijin & English

Getting around

Domestic flights

When to visit Solomon Islands

One dry season and one wet one, and the months worth booking are all in the dry half.

Full month guide →

Jan

Feb

Mar

Apr

May

Jun

Jul

Aug

Sep

Oct

Nov

Dec

Best: June to September, the heart of the dry season and the clearest water for the wrecks Good: May and October, the shoulder months either side of it Wet: November to April, the rains and the cyclone season, riskiest from December to February

Quick answer · where to go in Solomon Islands

Give Honiara two or three days: the Central Market, the Vouza memorial, and dives on the Japanese transports in Iron Bottom Sound. Then go west. The Western Province is the core: Munda on Roviana Lagoon, Gizo near Kennedy Island, Marovo Lagoon behind its double barrier reef, Tetepare off Rendova. For custom, cross to Auki and Langa Langa Lagoon on Malaita. East Rennell takes planning. Expect kastom fees, and read the Honiara advice before booking. Ten days covers Honiara and one lagoon.

Jump toMap Fun fact Stereotypes Famous faces Food FAQ

Fun fact

One number worth knowing

Between five and ten per cent of Solomon Islanders are naturally blond, and Europe has nothing to do with it. A Stanford team traced the colour to a variant of one gene, TYRP1, that islanders carry and Europeans do not, published in Science in May 2012. Same hair, two unrelated genetic causes.

Stereotypes, sorted out

The clichés you have heard, what is actually true, and how to behave once you land.

"The blond hair must come from European sailors."

The realityIt does not. A Stanford study published in Science in May 2012 traced the blond hair of five to ten per cent of islanders to a TYRP1 gene variant that Europeans do not carry. The colour matches northern Europe. The genetics are separate, and local.

"It is a war museum and nothing else."

The realityThe wrecks earn the attention: the water off Guadalcanal took dozens of ships in 1942. The stronger case is lagoons and custom. Marovo covers some 700 square kilometres behind a double barrier reef, Langa Langa still makes shell money, and East Rennell holds the insular Pacific's largest lake.

"It is too unsafe to visit."

The realitySmartraveller asks for normal precautions nationwide and a high degree of caution in Honiara, where protests became riots in 2006 and November 2021. Crime is the everyday risk, sharks and crocodiles are common, and wartime ordnance still turns up. Read the advice before booking.

"English will get you everywhere."

The realityEnglish is official but, on the CIA World Factbook’s estimate, spoken by only one or two per cent of people. Pijin is the common tongue, beside some 120 indigenous languages. English works in Honiara’s hotels and dive shops; in a village, a few words of Pijin go further.

Blond hair from passing sailorsNothing to see but war wrecksToo dangerous to visitEveryone speaks EnglishHeadhunters and skull shrinesJust like Fiji, only further away

Cultural notes that actually help

Ask before you walk onto a beach, swim at a waterfall or anchor over a reef. Land and water belong to communities under custom, and a kastom fee to the landowners is normal.
Pijin opens doors that English does not. English is official, but only one or two per cent of people speak it.
Shell money is currency before it is craft. On Malaita it still settles bride price, so treat a string on a market table accordingly.
Leave old metal alone. Wartime shells still wash up on beaches after storms; report them and do not touch them.
Take local advice before swimming anywhere unfamiliar. Sharks and crocodiles are common.
Betel nut, chewed with lime and a pepper pod, is part of daily life and piled on the market tables in Honiara.
More than nine in ten people are Christian, across the Church of Melanesia, the South Sea Evangelical Church, the Catholic Church and others, so plan village visits around services.

Names behind Solomon Islands

The islanders who led it and fought for it, and the outsiders whose stories happened here. Pick a field.

Jacob Vouza

Coastwatcher bayoneted and left for dead in 1942, who crawled back to warn the Marines.

Peter Kenilorea

First prime minister, who led the islands to independence on 7 July 1978.

Manasseh Sogavare

Four-time prime minister. The 2021 Honiara riots began with a petition for his removal.

Biuku Gasa

Scout who found Kennedy’s PT-109 crew in 1943 and suggested the coconut-husk message.

Eroni Kumana

Gasa’s partner in the PT-109 rescue, who carried the coconut message to Rendova.

Jeremiah Manele

Prime minister since 2 May 2024, chosen by parliament after that April’s election.

David Tiva Kapu

Governor-General since 7 July 2024, the King’s representative in the islands.

John F. Kennedy

Future US president whose PT-109 sank in 1943. He swam to Kasolo, now Kennedy Island.

Álvaro de Mendaña

Spanish navigator who arrived in 1568 and named the islands for King Solomon’s riches.

Must-try Solomon Islands food

Root crops from the earth oven, fish, coconut and the nut the forest drops in season. Pick a category.

Motu

The earth oven: root crops sealed between hot stones under banana leaves.

Cassava pudding

Grated cassava and sweet potato bound with coconut milk. The favourite pudding.

Slippery cabbage

A leafy green cooked in fresh coconut milk with ginger and salt.

Taro

The root islanders love most, and usually the first thing into the motu.

Sweet potato

The everyday starch and a top crop, boiled, roasted or cooked in the motu.

Breadfruit

A seasonal staple, roasted whole over coals or boiled, served beside almost any main.

Reef fish

The staple meat, sold raw or grilled at Honiara’s Central Market, the biggest fish outlet.

SolTuna tinned tuna

Canned at Noro since 1973. The tins reach every village in the country.

Ngali nuts

Canarium nuts, in season from August, roasted in leaves with hot stones. Cheap at market.

Betel nut

Chewed with lime and a pepper pod, and piled in mounds on Honiara’s market tables.

Solbrew

The local beer, brewed in Solomon Islands and sold as a lager and in a few other styles.

Know before you go

The essentials for planning a Solomon Islands trip, starting with the permit, the advice and the kastom fee.

Currency

Solomon Islands dollar (SBD)

The national currency, at about 8.4 to the US dollar across 2023 and 2024 on the CIA World Factbook’s figures.

Language

Pijin, English and some 120 more

Pijin is the common language. English is official but spoken by one or two per cent, beside some 120 local languages. Honiara’s hotels and dive shops use English; elsewhere, Pijin helps.

Visa

Visitor’s permit on arrival

US and most Commonwealth and EU citizens get a visitor’s permit on arrival, up to 90 days in twelve months. Bring a passport valid six months past departure, an onward ticket and proof of funds.

Travel advisory

More care in Honiara

Smartraveller advises normal precautions nationally and a high degree of caution in Honiara, where protests became riots in 2006 and November 2021. Petty and serious crime occur. Check before booking.

Wartime ordnance

Leave it where it lies

Unexploded Second World War ordnance remains at Hell’s Point, behind Honiara, in the New Georgia group, Tulagi and the Russells, and washes up after storms. Touch nothing metal; report it.

Kastom fees

Ask first, then pay the landowner

Communities own land and reef under custom, including the water off a village. Beaches, falls like Tenaru and moorings can carry a fee. Some dive operators pay it; on your own, ask first.

Health

Malaria and dengue

US advice describes mosquito-borne diseases, malaria and dengue among them, as widespread. See a travel clinic about malaria before you fly, and insure for medical evacuation.

In the water

Get local advice first

Smartraveller notes that sharks and crocodiles are common. Ask locally before swimming anywhere you do not know.

Getting around

Planes and boats between islands

The Factbook counts 36 airports and airstrips, with ports at Honiara, Noro, Gizo, Tulagi, Yandina and Ringgi Cove. Fly or sail between islands; roads stay within one. Seghe serves Marovo.

Solomon Islands travel FAQ

Do you need a visa for Solomon Islands?+

Most visitors do not arrange one in advance. Citizens of the United States and of most Commonwealth and European Union countries receive a visitor’s permit on arrival, valid for up to 90 days in any twelve-month period, in one stay or several. Immigration expects a passport valid for at least six months beyond your departure date with blank pages, a return or onward ticket, and evidence that you can support yourself. A further three months is possible only where special circumstances justify it. If your passport is not in those groups, check the Immigration Division’s list before you book.

Is Solomon Islands safe to visit?+

Australia’s Smartraveller advises normal safety precautions for the country as a whole and a high degree of caution in Honiara. The Honiara caution has a history behind it: protests in the capital turned into riots in 2006, when Chinatown was burned, and again in November 2021, and demonstrations still gather around parliamentary sittings. Petty crime, break-ins, robbery and sexual assault occur. Two hazards are particular to the islands. Unexploded wartime ordnance remains around Hell’s Point, the ridges behind Honiara, Tulagi, the Russell Islands and the New Georgia group, and sharks and crocodiles are common, so take local advice before swimming. Malaria and dengue are widespread. Read your own foreign ministry before booking and again before you fly.

When is the best time to visit Solomon Islands?+

June to September. The dry season runs from May to October under the southeast trade winds, humidity drops, and water clarity for the wrecks is at its best from June to October. August is the driest month. May and October are good shoulder months. November to April is the wet season and the cyclone season, with the highest risk from December to February and February the wettest month in Honiara. The trade winds that make the dry season comfortable can gust past 30 knots, which is worth knowing before a long open-water crossing.

Can you dive the wrecks of Iron Bottom Sound?+

Yes, and it is the reason many divers come. The water between Guadalcanal, Savo and the Florida Islands took more than fifty vessels during the Guadalcanal campaign, and Japanese transports including the Hirokawa Maru and Kinugawa Maru, along with the submarine I-1, lie off Guadalcanal’s north coast at depths from about twenty to sixty-two metres. Dive operators work from Honiara. Visibility is best from June to October, and a kastom fee to the community that owns the water is part of diving here.

What is a kastom fee, and when do you pay it?+

It is the payment a community charges for using land or water it owns under custom, and in Solomon Islands that can apply to beaches, waterfalls, reefs and lagoons. A village owns the water off its shore, and chiefs collect marine kastom fees from boats and divers who use it. Close to Honiara, a beach or a waterfall such as Tenaru can carry one. Some dive operators collect it and pass it on to the villages. Travelling independently, ask permission before walking in, and pay the fee as asked.

Planning a Solomon Islands trip?

One fully-researched destination (ranked, mapped and paired with video) in your inbox every Thursday.