Solomon Islands or Solomon Islands i Pacific is a large archipelago and consists of six larger islands and about 900 smaller ones. The islands are spread over a large area northeast of Australia, the country only became independent in 1976. The country has a lot of history from the Second World War. The Battle of Guadalcanal became a turning point in the war and perhaps the most famous. There are still many remains from the war here today. Today, you can find wrecks from the surface down to a depth of several thousand meters and even on land there are remains from the war. You can fly to the capital Honiara from here Papua New Guinea, (PNG), Fiji, Australia or Vanuatu where the most frequent route is from Brisbane in Australia.
One or two overnight stays on the road will be necessary no matter which way you come. Domestically in the Solomon Islands, it is then possible to get on with Solomon Air. Possibly another night in Honiara may be necessary as well.
The diving
Tourism is largely lacking in the country, but there is some live boarders and diving resorts. Solomon Islands has just under 30.000 tourists per year, so it is still one of the world's least visited countries. The diving has a lot to offer, amazing corals, wrecks, caves, big and small, wall diving with gorgonians and black coral that few places in the world can compete with. Sharks are common as are rays. Schools of barracuda, tuna, bat fish and even turtles are common as are dolphins. If you go with a liveaboard, you have the opportunity to see a greater variety of dive sites. Regardless of where you choose to go, you will get fantastic diving and where the tourists are really far away.
There are several good dive resorts in the Solomon Islands and some of them can offer absolutely world-class diving. For example, what about the possibility of seeing different reef sharks and hammerhead sharks sometimes on the house reef??
This is a very special destination and for those of you who have been diving for a while and want to experience something new, it is very exciting. It takes a few days just to get here and the diving can sometimes be challenging with strong currents and it's often wall dives that require good balance. The experience of being here and meeting the local people and the culture is at least as exciting and fascinating as the diving.
Language: English is the official main language, there are about 60 languages but in common is Pijin (lingua franca) as a unifying language.
Water: You can drink tap water and ice made from tap water, but bottled water is available for purchase.
Visa: Not required for travelers from EU countries.
Health: Contact your nearest vaccination clinic for advice.
Pressure Chambers: There are pressure chambers in Honiara and Port Moresby (PNG) but they are operated on a voluntary basis. The nearest reliable pressure chamber is in Townsville, Australia. Helicopter will cost you at least USD$30.000 so it's an expensive story, make sure you have insurance to cover this.
