Dive Review of Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons in
Solomon Islands

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Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons, Apr, 2014, by Jason Propsner, GA, US ( Sr. Reviewer 10 reports with 13 Helpful votes). Report 7776 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We planned the trip a year ahead of time, but our week fell on the week after the worst natural disaster to hit the Solomons in known history. They had flash floods that killed some residents and left many thousands homeless. The crew of the Bilikiki kept us up to date on the situation on their facebook page and we contacted Air Fiji many times to see when they would begin flying to the Solomons again and when the airport would reopen. The crew and staff of the Bilikiki handled the situation well and made us feel welcome even though their nation was in the middle of rebuilding from the floods. The dive sites were beautiful and we dove on several historical WWII wrecks. Some were suffering poor visibility from the floods but most dive sites were clear and calm. We did several dives into the island caves/caverns with open tops throughout. There was even one with a dry room filled with bats, if you wanted to go that far in. I specifically enjoyed drift dives, back role entry and regular diving from the tinnies (small boats). The boat crew were always there waiting for us on the surface. We never had to find them rain or shine. We saw everything from large Mantas, sharks to very interesting macro subjects. We saw several large schools of Jacks. I wore a 2mm shorty all week even on the night dives. Tank fills were usually above 3000, but sometimes we needed a top off before the dive. The room on the boat was cool and comfortable. We had a room to ourselves on this trip, but there room sizes are comparable to other live-aboards that can accommodate two guest with enough storage. The meals were good and always on time. Snacks and evening horderves were always waiting for us. They accommodated my request for no seafood and others who were vegetarian. Overall I would recommend the Solomon Islands and the Bilikiki to beginning to intermediate divers. The well traveled diver may find the sites to be less interesting than the other dive locations near the Solomons, like Indonesia or Fiji.
Websites	Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Multiple Caribbean locations, Galapagos, Socorro, Indonesia, Hawaii, Various Latin America locations and Florida.
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	calm
Water Temp	76-80°F / 24-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	2
Water Visibility	10-100 Ft/ 3-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Some dives were limited to 60 minutes, but most had no restrictions expect no decompression dives.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	1 or 2	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	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		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	Battery charging room was separate and upstairs from the regular camera table. Battery changes required a trip upstairs. The camera table on the dive deck was roomy and kept dry. Plenty of drying clothes and air for blowing cases dry. There was a ant problem in the battery room. I left my case open in the battery room overnight to let it dry out from the night dive and condensation. When I put the camera and case back to together I didn't get all the tiny ants out of the O ring and the camera flooded. We were able to save the camera, but be aware of ants in your O ring. Even tiny ones can cause the case to leak.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Diving Guide to Solomon Islands
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Dive Review of Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons in Solomon Islands

Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons, Apr, 2014,

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):

Dive Review of Bilikiki -- MV Spirit of the Solomons in
Solomon Islands