Where to stay in Honiara?

[SlipperyDick 2]

I'm looking for suggestions on where to stay in/around Honiara for 4 days of diving/relaxing/sightseeing after a 10-day trip on the Bilikiki.

 

Anyone have any suggestions? Thanks!

 

 

Keri

[aussie 0]

Haven't stayed there, but have heard decent things about the King Solomon Hotel.

 

I didn't think Honiara was the nicest town. We only spent half a day there, but if you have the time you'd be much better off heading to one of the other islands.

 

Ryan.

[troporobo 237]

Hi Keri -

 

First things first. You will have a great time and amazing diving on the Bilikiki so congratulations on that choice. However Honiara is not something to look forward to, to put it generously, and if you have alternatives I strongly recommend looking into them. (Full disclosure: I have lived there twice and still travel there regularly for work, and have logged hundreds of dives. In fact, I will be there again next week).

 

There is good news and bad news on alternatives. The bad news is that there is no place on Guadalcanal that you can drive to that is worth staying, so you would have to take a domestic flight. The good news is that there are some fantastic places to go. In the Western Province, Gizo is everyone's favorite town. You can stay in town at the Gizo Hotel, or a little offshore at Sanbis Resort or Fatboy's. In Munda, Agnes Lodge is diver-friendly. For a real get-away-from-it-all experience, Zipolo Habu Resort in the Vonavona Lagoon can't be beat. Uepi Resort is also tops though probably the most expensive. All of these would give you access to great diving (if you're not already waterlogged), cultural experiences in the villages, and world-class fishing if you're into that. Back on Guadalcanal, Tavanipupu in the Marau Sound is gorgeous and only a 30 minute flight away. For something really different, a trip to Malaita Province is worth considering. Stay at the Auki Lodge in town and arrange a day tour of the Langalanga Lagoon where people live on artificial islands and make the shell money that is used for bride price.

 

OK, if you must stay in Honiara, there are really only three choices. The Solomon Kitano Mendana Hotel is great if you can get an executive room in the new wing, and pretty good if you get a regular seaview room, but do not under any circumstances get a garden room as they are nasty. The newest hotel in town is the Heritage Park with very nice if small rooms and well kept grounds. The King Solomon is comfortable and friendly though a little more basic than the others. Trust me on this, you don't want to stay at any other place even if your tastes run to the more rustic end of the scale.

 

As for things to do around Honiara, there is a guy who gives day tours of the WWII sites and monuments that is worth taking, the Bilikiki people will know how to contact him. There is some OK wreck diving (Japanese transports at Bonegi and Ruaniu, a B-17 at ICLARM, and a Japanese submarine at Tambea) within an hour west of town. There are some good hikes to waterfalls close to town - Tenaru is the best, otherwise Matanikau. It would also be worth hiring a car (and ideally a local guide) and getting out of town for a day, preferably west to the end of the road at Lambi (about two hours). Finally, regardless of what you may have heard, Honiara is a safe place as long as you exercise normal precautions and you will find people to be friendly and outgoing

 

I hope you have a great time on your trip!

 

Robert

[anthp 0]

Hi Keri

 

The King Solomon is fine. Rooms are reasonable, some have views. Resturaunt is ok. Other alternatives are the Honiara Hotel which is much the same as the King Sol, but slightly cheaper and the Mendana. The Mendana probably has the nicest rooms and views of Iron Bottom Sound. Rooms in the new wing are best.

 

My favourite resturaunt by far in Honiara is the Taj Mahal if you are a fan of Indian food (taxi ride half way to the airport - well worth it). The pizza at Iron Bottom Sound Hotel is reasonable, but next time I'll be trying http://www.4pizzasandafuneral.com/ run by Grant and Turia who started the legendary Fat Boys in Gizo. Cheap lunches can be had at El-Shadai, but I can't recommend the bain-marie, go for fresh cooked. The Lime Lounge does good coffee, cakes and breakfasts.

 

Aussie is on the money. Honiara isn't Cote d'Azur.

 

There are however, plenty of things to do in and around Honiara. You can explore the centre of town in less than a day and there are some great waterfalls, beaches and WWII sites nearby if you can get a car or take a taxi. It is worth popping into the Honiara Central Market too. Follow the usual adage of agreeing to the taxi price before you hop in though. There are several wreaks nearby that the local dive ops can take you to. Ask Bilikiki for a recommendation. Drop into the Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau for a run down on all options.

 

Another great option is to pop across to Maravagi Resort or Savo Island for a night or two.

 

If you could squeeze another day or don't mind a short trip, I'd strongly recommend hopping on a 1 hour flight to Munda and doing some dives there. Well worth the effort. The Roviana Lagoon and surrounds are superb. Way better than manky low-viz sites around Honiara.

[troporobo 237]

I forgot about Maravagi on Savo, which also has the advantage of being a short boat ride away, good recommendation. Savo also has an interesting magapode colony that is worth a visit

 

Another option for a day trip would be Tulagi which has some good sites including more challenging tech dives on deeper wrecks. It is also a (slightly longer) boat ride away. The island itself is not interesting and last I heard there is no place to stay there so it would be a long day.

[gravity 0]

What are baggage restrictions like on domestic flights?

[cor 0]

oh my, 4 days in honiara. i feel for you You can explore the town in less than an hour. If you have any other option, i would go for it. You'll go crazy with 4 days in honiara, even with all the 'tours' they offer.

 

I love the solomons, been there 10 times or so, but honiara is up there on one of my top 10 least favorite places to be.

[Drew 0]

There's a new hotel called Heritage which is apparently 'the' hotel in Honiara for now. My buddy who travels to Honiara almost monthly uses the serviced apt but says the hotel is great for Solomon standards.

I'm guessing you're waiting for that weekly flight and need to kill time? Then just go to Gizo or Munda. That said, the airlines can change flights instantaneously so you are taking a slight risk by taking a short trip. That's how one of my trips of 14 days became 35!

For shorter excursions, Savo is the better option. Nice hikes and waterfalls. Maravangi is ok but I didn't enjoy my stay there. Just remember that most of these places are quite basic.

[ErolE 3]

Heritage, King Sol or Kitano. Good.

 

Honiara is the nicest of places but there is some fantastic diving to be done from town. Check out the wreck of the Transporter USS John Penn, Cruiser USS Aaron Ward, or any of the Japanese transporters rammed ashore to offload supplies.

 

Only down side is most is deco diving.

[troporobo 237]

Baggage restrictions on domestic flights can be a major problem for divers and photographers. There is a risk that your gear will be left behind "for the next flight" which might be that afternoon or several days later. However now that there is a Dash 8 going to Munda this does not happen so often anymore. It's still worth going out west for sure.

 

The Heritage is indeed very nice, but the rack rate is pushing $200. The Bilikiki might be able to negotiate a better rate, as corporate discounts there bring it to around $150, roughly equal to the other two

[SlipperyDick 2]

Thanks for all of the great information and advice, everyone.

 

I think jumping on a domestic flight is too much hassle, considering the amount of dive/camera gear that I've got. I imagine that overweight baggage fees are astronomical? I think we're going to stick to either King Solomon/Heritage/Mendana, or head over to Savo... or a combination of both!

 

I definitely want to check out some waterfalls with a housed camera

 

Keri

[cor 0]

Last two times I spent more than a few hours in Honiara I went to the internet cafe close to the Mendana (lovely food as well), and just parked myself there all day. As long as you keep buying smoothies, coffee and cookies they dont seem to care Wonder if its still there.

[SlipperyDick 2]

I'll let you know, Cor! That's one things that doesn't seem to be mentioned on the Honiara hotel websites.... internet access. Should I expect the only internet access to be from the "business centers" of the hotel(s) (other than internet cafes)?

[troporobo 237]

For internet access, the best thing to happen communication-wise in Honiara in ages has been the introduction of Bumblebee WiFi around town. You can buy prepaid cards at the Telekom office and most hotels, then use it wherever there is a hotspot (e.g. hotels, Lime Lounge, food courts). If you travel with a laptop, or even a smartphone, its the way to go

 

There are also now a few internet centers around town, one of the better ones is PeopleFirst in the Anthony Saru building (almost directly across from the Mendana).