In the middle of the South Pacific, the Solomon Islands is part of the coral triangle and home to some of the best, and least visited scuba diving in the world. There is an amazing diversity of marine life, dive sites and experiences, all a short flight from Australia or Fiji. Bilikiki Cruises has been running liveaboard scuba diving trips in the Solomon Islands for over 25 years. The experienced crew knows the best dive sites that the Solomon Islands have to offer…so join this trip in the Solomons and dive in comfort and style!
The Bilikiki has 10 deluxe cabins, eight with a double bed and single bunk and two with twin single beds and no bunk. All cabins are air conditioned and have their own ensuite bathroom. The ship has a large sundeck, comfortable lounge and camera area and spacious dive deck. Her large size and a steel hull that was built for South Pacific seas are two main reasons why you will find this ship one of the most spacious and comfortable vessels that you have experienced.
Our unique package offers 10-nights deluxe cabin accommodation on the fabulous Bilikiki liveaboard where we will visit the Russell Islands, Mary Island and the Florida Islands to dive the stunning reefs of these areas, and we also visit the Marovo Lagoon area of the Western Province. On this unique adventure we will stop at villages to experience native singing and dancing and get a taste of the traditional customs and life. We will also see the famous wood carvings of the area, and have an opportunity buy hand-made carvings and other traditionally made items.
This adventure includes deluxe cabin accommodation, 3 meals a day (plus snacks, water, coffee, espresso, tea), nitrox for certified divers, and unlimited diving with the dive day built around five daily dives.
Cost: $6,360 per person double occupancy includes standard package, nitrox, and taxes.
Typical Itinerary:
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 were 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 travelly 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 parrot fish. We usually stay here for the whole day.
Florida Islands
Twin Tunnels: This large sea mount, in the middle of the channel between Guadalcanal and the Florida Islands, has two tunnels which 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 anemone fish.
Devils’ Highway: The best place in the Solomons to dive with manta rays. A channel between two islands funnels water to form strong currents 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 calm, protected bay offering all sorts of great macro subjects such as nudis, demon stinger, scorpion fish, cockatoo wasp fish, various pipefish, cuttlefish, juvenile batfish, various anemone fish, shrimps and crabs. Plus a few of giant clams and a small wreck packed with batfish and bream.
Japanese Mavis Seaplane: A 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 check anemone fish.
Marovo Lagoon Area
Kicha: Not only is this dive site a truly stunning example of hard corals and sea fans, it is 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 colour and beauty passes by to a sound track provided by the underwater volcano Kavachi which is only 15 miles away.
Mbulo Caves: A series of interconnecting caves and swim throughs with beautiful sun beams and a magical atmosphere. There is also staggering hard coral and tropical fish on the reef outer side.
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 the small stuff such as pygmy seahorses, cuttlefish, crocodile fish, snake eels and many different species of anemone fish.
Japanese Maru #2: A cargo vessel sunk in WW II, this 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.