Itinerary
Day 1: Arrive Honiara — Welcome to the Solomons
Touch down at Honiara International Airport, formerly Henderson Field — the airstrip fiercely contested during the Battle of Guadalcanal. Your Young Pioneer Tours guide meets you. Transfer to Honiara Hotel, where the legendary owner Sir Thomas Chan may be there to greet you personally. Afternoon: orientation walk through Honiara — the Central Market (pick up shell money necklaces from Malaita and handmade crafts), the National Parliament, and the waterfront. Welcome dinner at the Coral Sea Resort, watching the sunset over Iron Bottom Sound — the stretch of sea named for the dozens of warships sunk during the Guadalcanal campaign. Overnight in Honiara. (D)
Day 2: Guadalcanal WWII Battlefield Tour
A profound day of WWII history. Visit the American Memorial on Skyline Ridge — a marble monument overlooking the battlefields where 7,000 Americans and 31,000 Japanese died. Continue to Bloody Ridge (Edson’s Ridge), where 800 U.S. Marines held off 3,000 Japanese soldiers in a brutal night battle that saved Henderson Field. Walk the ridge — foxholes and shell craters are still visible. Visit the Japanese Peace Park at Mount Austen and the Betikama War Museum, which houses an extraordinary collection of WWII artifacts — aircraft wrecks, weapons, and personal items — recovered from the jungle. Afternoon: snorkeling at Bonegi I and II — two Japanese transport ships sunk in shallow water that now form spectacular artificial reefs. Parrotfish, lionfish, and moray eels inhabit the rusting hulls. Overnight in Honiara. (B, L)
Day 3: Roderick Bay — The World Famous Shipwreck
Boat journey (1.5 hours) to Roderick Bay on Ngella Sule Island in the Florida Islands. Here lies the MS World Discoverer — a 1974 German-built cruise ship that struck an uncharted reef in 2000 and was beached in this bay. Now tilted at 46 degrees, rusting but remarkably intact, with tropical vegetation growing on its decks, it’s one of the world’s most photographed shipwrecks. Swim and snorkel around the wreck — it’s surreal to float beside a cruise ship in turquoise lagoon water. Afternoon: visit a Solomon Islands village — traditional leaf houses on stilts over the water, children paddling dugout canoes, and the sight of smoke rising from cooking fires. Meet the village chief, experience local hospitality, and learn about Melanesian kastom (traditional culture). Overnight on Ngella Sule Island. (B, L, D)
Day 4: Honiara → Munda — Island-Hopping in the Solomons
Return to Honiara, then take a domestic flight to Munda on New Georgia Island in the Western Province. From the air, the view of hundreds of jungle-covered islands scattered across turquoise water is breathtaking. Check into Agnes Lodge, right on the water. Afternoon: explore Munda’s WWII sites — Japanese gun batteries at Kindu Point still pointing toward the sea, wartime tunnels carved into the hills at Kokeqolo, and the battle sites of Horseshoe and Bartley Ridges. Visit the Peter Joseph WWII Museum — a private collection amassed by a local enthusiast that includes aircraft engines, uniforms, and heart-wrenching letters. Overnight at Agnes Lodge Munda. (B)
Day 5: Skull Island & Kennedy Island
A day of extraordinary experiences. First: visit Skull Island in the Vona Vona Lagoon — a sacred islet where the skulls of Roviana chiefs and warriors from the headhunting era are displayed in a shrine. The Roviana people were formidable headhunters who raided as far as Papua New Guinea, and the skull shrine is a powerful cultural site. Continue to Kennedy Island (Kasolo Island) — the tiny speck of sand where a young Lieutenant John F. Kennedy swam ashore after his PT-109 was rammed and sunk by a Japanese destroyer in 1943. Kennedy and his surviving crew hid here for days before being rescued by local coastwatchers Biuku Gasa and Eroni Kumana. Snorkel in the crystal-clear water around the island. Afternoon: lunch at Gizo Hotel on Gizo Island — browse the local market and soak in the laid-back Western Province atmosphere. Boat back to Munda. Overnight at Agnes Lodge. (B, L)
Day 6: Marovo Lagoon — The World’s Largest Saltwater Lagoon
Boat expedition to Marovo Lagoon — a UNESCO World Heritage site and the world’s largest saltwater lagoon, fringed by a double barrier reef. The lagoon’s 700 square kilometers contain hundreds of islands, and its coral reefs host staggering marine biodiversity. Spend the day snorkeling, swimming, and island-hopping. Visit a village famous for its woodcarvers — Marovo carvers produce some of the Pacific’s finest ebony and kerosene wood sculptures. Watch craftsmen at work and purchase directly. Lunch on a remote sand cay where the only footprints are your own. Return to Munda. Overnight at Agnes Lodge. (B, L, D)
Day 7: Munda → Honiara
Morning flight back to Honiara. Afternoon free — visit the National Museum, browse the Central Market for last souvenirs, or simply enjoy a swim at the hotel pool. Optional: hike to the Tenaru Falls — a 60-meter waterfall in the Guadalcanal interior, reached by a 3km jungle trail (seasonal conditions permitting). Farewell dinner at a Honiara restaurant overlooking Iron Bottom Sound. Overnight in Honiara. (B, D)
Day 8: Departure
Final morning in the Solomons — a last look at the islands scattered across the Coral Sea. Transfer to Honiara International Airport. You leave the Solomon Islands with memories of WWII wrecks beneath turquoise water, the warmth of Melanesian smiles, and the knowledge that you’ve visited one of the world’s truly extraordinary places.
