 |
Email Signup
|
Subscribe
|
Login
For Divers since 1975 The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 |
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other source dares to publish" -- Forbes |
Solomon Islands Dive Expeditions (SIDE) /MV Taka (SIDE): "Beautiful Diving in the Solomon Sea", Sep, 2016,by Tim Moore, HI, US ( Reviewer 5 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 9202 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 |
Aloha, I had the pleasure of taking part in a 10 day adventure in the Solomon Sea onboard the MV Taka operated by Solomon Islands Dive Expeditions (SIDE). You fly into Honaria (HIR) which you may know better as Henderson field on Guadalcanal. Visit their web site for the full details on the boat. I had been on this boat a few years earlier when it was operating out of Cairns, Australia as MV Taka II. For this trip, we had 4 paying guests on a vessel that can carry 20 with 10-11 crew to look after us. the accommodations were clean and comfortable, food was good with fresh seafood and vegetables being delivered by dugout canoe most evenings. The diving was done both from Taka and a skiff (15-16 ft RIB in our case due to the small group). Warm towels and hot showers when we got back onboard. The briefs were thorough and the diagrams picturesque and reasonably accurate. Mostly walls and clean reefs with many caves, arches and cenotes (underwater cave where you swim in and popup under the jungle. There were a couple of reef hook (provided) dives, but mostly relaxing walls and reef with some larger animals just off the drop offs. We did visit a few of the old WW 2 "garbage dumps" and smaller wrecks which were interesting. I am not much of a macro/muck diver, but one of the other guests was an experienced diver with a penchant for the small things. he was very pleased with the small things he (many times the divemaster) found. I did see a lot of the small colorful critters, but not close to the photos he reviewed after some of the dives. But I think one of the best aspects of this adventure was the attitude and performance of the crew. There were a couple of distractions like the fuel barge breaking down, limiting our range for a couple of days, but it was well handled. Communication between the crew and the guests was very good. We knew what was going on and the plans for tomorrow. Questions and comments were well received and addressed. the best part was their attitude. The crew was relaxed and seemed to be enjoying themselves. that made a significant contribution to my satisfaction with the trip. Now, for the bad. Nothing much to report. This is a mid tier operation that exceeded my expectation. No hot tub and you have to pay for your alcohol. Although I was upgraded to an ensuite cabin (there are twin/quad share options onboard) I found the 5 bathrooms w/shower on the dive deck sufficient until I had to get cleaned up to depart. The value I received for my investment ($$$, time and effort) was also better than I expected. Bottom line, this is one I would like to repeat. |
||
| Websites | Solomon Islands Dive Expeditions (SIDE) | ||
Reporter and Travel |
|||
| Dive Experience | Over 1000 dives | ||
| Where else diving | Caribbean area, all around the pacific rim, Australia, Hawaii, Mexico, Thailand, japan, bali, new guinea, Solomon islands | ||
| Closest Airport | Honeria (HIR) | Getting There | Easy flights, Air Fiji, layover for a few hours in Nadi, Fiji |
Dive Conditions |
|||
| Weather | sunny, cloudy | Seas | calm, choppy, no currents |
| Water Temp | 78-84°F / 26-29°C | Wetsuit Thickness | 3 |
| Water Visibility | 20-75 Ft/ 6-23 M | ||
Dive Policy |
|||
| Dive own profile | yes | ||
| Enforced diving restrictions | recreational limits (130 ft, 1 hour, return reasonably close to your buddy, standard stuff) | ||
| Liveaboard? | yes | Nitrox Available? | yes |
What I Saw |
|||
| Sharks | 1 or 2 | Mantas | 1 or 2 |
| Dolphins | None | Whale Sharks | None |
| Turtles | > 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 | relatively small camera table and no dedicated outside charging station. My gear was handled carefully/respectfully during the diving process with a freshwater soak after every dive. I will caveat my remarks in that there were only 4 paying customers with 2 significant photo rigs (one of them mine) on a boat that carries up to ~20. Things may be a little more hectic with a full boat. | ||
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer
questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 118 dive reviews of Solomon Islands
and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all
issues and Chapbooks is also included.
All Solomon Islands Dive Reviews and Reports
Diving Guide to Solomon Islands
Diving Reviews for All Dive Destinations
|
||
|
Want to assemble your own collection of Solomon Islands reports in one place? |
||
|
Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above. |
| Home | Online Members Area | My Account |
Login
|
Join
|
| Travel Index |
Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews
|
Featured Reports
|
Recent
Issues
|
Back Issues
|
|
Dive Gear
Index
|
Health/Safety Index
|
Environment & Misc.
Index
|
Seasonal Planner
|
Blogs
|
Free Articles
|
Book Picks
|
News
|
|
Special Offers
|
RSS
|
FAQ
|
About Us
|
Contact Us
|
Links
|
