Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in
Solomon Islands/Provinces NE of Guadalcanal

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Bilikiki Cruises: "High Quality Reefs, Great Operation, They Love Photographers", Aug, 2019, by Jeanne Sleeper, CA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 6 Helpful votes). Report 11039 has 2 Helpful votes.
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Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Solomons are islands of contrasts. They became independent in 1987 and are working hard to learn self governance and economic independence. August of 2019 the minimum wage was doubled from $4SI to $8SI per hour and 7SI dollars = 1 USD. The land and sea are beautiful, the people possess amazing artistic talent and resilience, but developing a country is a long process and the needs are immense. Honiara is on the island of Guadalcanal, the site of the 1st American land battle of WW II when the US Marines landed to re-take the island nation from the entrenched Japanese forces 75 years ago. It was 6 months of hell for locals and soldiers. It was a major turning point in the Pacific War when the US liberated the Solomons from the Japanese and stopped the Japanese eastward expansion. War Memorials on the island tell the bloody story and the locals respectfully tend the memorial tree garden near the Henderson airfield and also the hilltop granite wall monument, which tells the Solomon story. Interestingly not a single individual military person's name is engraved in the lengthy presentation. Islanders like Americans and have a respect for the price our soldiers paid on the Solomon islanders behalf. We came a few days early in case flights or luggage went sideways and had time to tour town, see memorials, talk to local wood carvers and appreciate the struggles of a developing country in a very remote location that periodically gets clobbered by cyclones. There is a strong missionary presence, building of simple wooden homes with running water and sanitation in town is in progress. From British colony days, many in town speak good English, plus pidgin and maybe a tribal language. We stayed at the Heritage Park Hotel and highly recommend it. Modern, well appointed and maintained guest rooms and overall property, AC, mosquito control, pool, phones, good included WiFi, TV (though few channels) and a plentiful, professional security presence all over the property. We booked on Orbitz for $160 USD a night. Realizing you stand out as a white foreigner, you take sensible precautions in day time and do not out on the streets after dark when all the stores are closed. We comfortably walked around the hotel area of town in buddy pairs going to the local markets. You need SI currency to shop and the hotel will trade currency at a fair rate. Remember 7:1 ratio and get some small bills as they do not make change. A 10 inch long beautifully carved, unique shaped bowl with inlaid shell cost $400 SI/ $57 US and took the carver over a month of work. In the US it would sell for $ 150+ The artistry and execution is remarkable. A wall carving of an octopus and reef life that was 14 in long x 6 in wide was $600 SI. There are also large carvings sculptures and wall hangings for sale - only SID taken for payment. Honiara Bay is called Iron Bottom Sound as it's littered with battleships, destroyers, lighter vessels in 1000's of feet of water. Truly a fleet of the deep. Military equipment was pushed into the sea at the remote islands when the military left and you can dive on supply boats, seaplanes and piers all in less than 100 ft of water. But this isn't a wreck diving focused trip - it's pristine reefs, big variety of fish life, underwater formations, lava tubes, extinct volcano inner and outer reefs, black tip reef sharks visiting most dives. It's reefs like old timers brag about from "back in the day". I love expanding my collection of nudibranch pictures - and there were far fewer species than I had hoped for...but clown fish are another target and there 6 species and LOTS of anemones... including some intertwined in coral pillars that measured over 12 feet across - certainly several animals side by side, but it looked like one enormous anemone - green tentacles with white bulb tips. There is no shortage of photo subjects! I could go on and on about unique formations, clear water, lots of fish, dives with no current, dives with a little current (so go with the flow), walls, reefs, sand falls cabbage coral that cascaded from 15 ft to 50 ft with perfect edges...no damage. I am hard to wow, and I got wowed on this trip! Traveling the island groups, it was hard to miss noticing that the leaves were ripped off the trees at the tops of the ridge lines - from a January 2019 cyclone. In a few places we saw smashed fragile branching corals patches that had gotten mowed down by waves - and in other other places we saw staghorn type corals patches that were 50 ft wide and and went on and on. It was breathtaking to come around a corner and see what looked like a fairy tale forest of corals and thousands of small fish busy being fish. The Bikikki is an older steel hull ship - but well maintained and comfortable even in some bigger seas when we traveled between island groups. It's well laid out, plenty of room for camera assembly, a charging room with good clean 110 and 220 power, places to sit, good elbow room on the dive deck at your tank station and gear basket, carpeted outdoor camera shelves, shaded dive deck, comfortable cabins with AC & fans, ensuite bath with a shower big enough to NOT hit your elbows when showering. I liked the under bunk high enough space to stash lots luggage, clothes hangar closet and cubbies, enough light to read at night and super quiet between cabins. If you had the forward most cabin you heard the anchor being dropped, but I regard that as a dive boat bonus in lieu of an alarm clock wake up. The crew of 13 deserves a shout out. They are a synchronized team of experts. From large vessel seamanship, to small boat handling, to culinary skills to captains picking their way thru tight coral - they are the best! They smile and laugh with you, they help, they respect your camera, they are committed to your safety and well being. No tank goes unfilled quickly. Any gear that is left out of place gets picked up and put back in the RIGHT basket. They are gracious and hardworking. Many have been on the boat for years working 10 months a year, then off for January and February when the boat does its annual maintenance. Long days, 10 months, no real days off, putting up with new crop of 20 divers every 11 days - they are amazing! The Belikki has 2 couples that each do 5 months a year on the boat as Activity Directors and Dive Guides. They know the dive sites, make chalk drawing of each site that are very detailed and they advise what critters calls the dive site home. They work with grace and respect for each other and the guests. It was a joy to experience. Please remember the villagers who live in simple structures, cook over open fires, carve small canoes from tree trunks, have no electricity, cell or internet services, medical care is scarce, clothes are what Goodwill gives away to freighters for ballast in westbound freighters empty containers and is what is sold in Honiara for $7 SI per piece. Clean out your Tshirt drawer and bring what you can to give away. Tooth paste, Afro combs, ponytail elastics, sand paper, emery boards and nail clippers, used swim goggles or masks are like gold. The barest basics of life are treasures. The Bilikki crew of tank wranglers are muscled big guys and need XL, XXLG and XXXLG shirts if you bring them gifts. The villagers are every size from children to Lg. No candy (no dentists), nothing paper that the humidity would quickly turn to mush. My traveling companions and I booked the Bilikki through Sue and Jack Drafahl, who were leading their 18th trip on the Bilikki. digitalduo@jackandsuedrafahl.com Our group loved the Solomons diving, the Bilikki and traveling with Sue and Jack and we'll be back.
Websites	Bilikiki Cruises
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	worldwide, for over 40 years
Closest Airport	Honiara	Getting There	LAX to Nadi Fiji to Honiara Solomon Islands - or - US to Brisbane Australia to Honiara, SI
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, dry	Seas	calm
Water Temp	83-84°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	2
Water Visibility	50-150 Ft/ 15-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Each dive starts as a group, but buddies can dive their own speed and depth on most dives, and end the dive when desired with the tinny picking up divers as they surface. Complete solo diving discouraged, but lots of lee way for competent divers to make "same day, same reef" own explorations.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	None
Dolphins	1 or 2	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Good camera work areas, excellent charging room with clean power. Bring lenses and ports for full dome wide angle and mini flat port for 18 - 55. I never took my 105 out of the camera bag. Unless you were night diving there not as many tiny critters as I had expected. Shot 18-55 the whole trip. This boat is VERY camera friendly in space, attitude and priority of safeguarding cameras. The staff handles cameras like they are delicate treasures as they load them off Belikki to the tinnies, hand them to you in water, take them back onto the tinny and then back onboard Bilikki into the big camera only fresh water tanks. The tinnies only take 8 divers each and there is a LOT OF SPACE for the divers and the cameras away from tanks and fins. Joy!

Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Ms Lynda Durfee in VA, US at Aug 15, 2019 17:19 EST

I was on the boat June 8-18. Ditto on everything in your report. But you forgot to mention the fresh vegetables, fruit and fish bought from the local villages every day. The villages visits and the paddle up markets were highlights of the trip.

By Jerome M Hobart in NY, US at Dec 14, 2019 19:55 EST

Nice report. Was on the Bilikiki in early Nov., 2019. Agree with everything you mention about the diving and the Bilikiki but if you decide to tour the Guadalcanal battlefield visit the U.S. and Japanese War Memorials and Henderson Field. Skip the rest of the six hour tour which is nothing more than looking at the trash that the people have thrown on the ground.

By Jerome M Hobart in NY, US at Dec 14, 2019 19:55 EST

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Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in Solomon Islands/Provinces NE of Guadalcanal

Bilikiki Cruises: "High Quality Reefs, Great Operation, They Love Photographers", Aug, 2019,

Photos Submitted with this Report

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in
Solomon Islands/Provinces NE of Guadalcanal