Solomon Islands - Profile
Facts
- The Solomon Islands are a double chain of islands in the Western Pacific stretching from Vanuatu to Bougainville. There are over 900 islands, the main ones being Guadalcanal, Choiseul, Malaita, New Georgia and Santa Isabel.
- The Solomons' culture, or
custom
, is rich and varied, from wood-carving to beliefs such as shark-worshipping. Many islanders still live in the traditional way. - The authorities are making a determined effort to preserve this way of life and they enjoy the full support of the customary chiefs in their endeavours. Visiting yachts are welcomed in most villages, particularly by children who like to trade fruit or shells for ball-point pens, felt-tips or balloons.
- Some villages will ask for payment for anchoring. Ensure that you are speaking with a village chief before proferring payment. If you have an "instant camera" you may suggest taking a picture of the payment being made in case there are further questions.
- In many isolated villages one can trade with the locals to obtain fresh produce, fish, carvings and shells. Information on suitable trade items, see Yachting Essentials for more details.
Security
The political situation in the Solomon Islands is now more stable, but visitors should still obtain the latest travel advice from their relevant government agencies. It is still not advisable to travel to rural parts of Guadalcanal, however islands that have been avoided by cruisers in recent years, in particular those in Malaita Province, are keen to see boats returning and have worked hard on improving security for visiting cruisers.
Whilst the majority of Solomon Island villagers are helpful and friendly, there have been recent reports of burglaries from boats and aggressive boardings in and around Tulaghi and in Honiara and Gizo.
Advice from cruisers is to anchor outside villages where you are visible, do not leave anything lying loose on deck and ensure you lock all hatches at night time. Ask the chief of the village if you will be safe and ask him to please look out for your safety. Most villagers welcome yachts and appreciate your visit and will go out of their way to help you.
Useful reports on security by cruisers who have been to the Solomons:
SY Adina have a list of all the anchorages they visited and advice on security from when they visited in 2015. They did a lot of research in planning their route and did not encounter any problems. Details available at www.yachtadina.co.uk/sailingnotes
SY Kelaerin's thoughts and experiences re. yacht security in PNG and the Solomons following a 2014 visit.
Last updated May 2016.
Weather
The Solomons experience high temperatures and January to March are the months of heaviest rainfall. April to November is the season of the SE trades, while the rest of the year is the NW monsoon, which is also the cyclone season. Long periods of calm weather are not uncommon among the islands.
The Western Province is reputed to be safe from cyclones.
Solomon Islands Weather Forecast.
A useful guide to South Pacific weather resources complied by a Noonsite contributor, Rory Garland.
For links to free global weather information, forecast services and extreme weather information see the Noonsite Weather Page.
Main Ports
Central Province: Florida Islands (Ngella Islands)
Choiseul Island: Choiseul Island
Guadalcanal: Honiara *
Outer Islands/Atolls: Lata, Ndendo Island (Santa Cruz Islands) , Ontong Java Atoll
Russell Islands: Yandina *
Western Province (New Georgia): Gizo , Liapari , Morovo Lagoon , Munda (New Georgia Island) , Noro (New Georgia Island) *
* indicates port of entry
On sailing overnight between the Russell Islands & Marovo lagoon, we arrived at Mbili passage in the early morning. Mbili village on Minjanga island opposite Gatokae is home to many talented wood carvers. We anchored just inside the southern tip of Sanihulumu Island.
It has been recommended that yachts ask the visiting carvers in canoes to view the carvings in one go either at the village community hut or on the beach. This can be organised by Paul John of Sanihulumu or by going to see Lisa at Solomon Dive Adventures (SDA) off the small island of Turupu next to the anchorage. Chief Luten & his family live on the northern penisula of Gatokae & they will also show you carvings there.
The reason for this is so that all the villagers get a fair chance at selling their work, as some of the canoes can be rather insistent & all seem to come from the same family therefore monopolising. If you are not firm you will get "canoed" all day every day.
There are several good dive sites in the area for which there is a Custom fee of SI$25 pp per dive if you have your own gear or you can dive with SDA & it is included. Lisa at the Dive Resort was very helpful in explaining that the fee is meant to go into the community fund so I recommend having a chat with her to ascertain who owns which dive site & we gave the fee to her directly as she puts it into an account for the village (rather than it ending up in one person's pocket). Also be careful that you do not get asked for the fee by different people. We tried very hard to please everybody but it seems that there are some politics & greed that marred our time there.
Any concerns & talk to Lisa! Equally I do not want to put anyone off going there because it was a lovely spot & the diving awesome. Mbilikiki dive liveaboard visited the same time we were there so the carvers all gathered together for their guests to view their art. Even if you are just looking, some of the carvings were spectacular & in a group setting there is no pressure to buy like with the canoes.