Things to Do in Honiara

About Honiara

Honiara announces itself with a wall of wet heat and the low thrum of diesel generators — a capital city that feels more like a large, ambitious village scattered across steep, jungle-clad hills. The scent is a specific blend: damp earth, frangipani, woodsmoke from roadside cooking fires, and the faint, salty ozone of the Solomon Sea. Downtown Point Cruz, with its government buildings and Chinese-owned trading stores, moves at a pace dictated by the sun, where a plate of fresh tuna sashimi with coconut cream at the Honiara Hotel's open-air restaurant might cost SBD 80 ($9.50). The real city, though, lies along the unpaved tracks of Koa Hill, where roosters are the alarm clock and the view from a simple guesthouse porch stretches across Iron Bottom Sound — a graveyard of WWII warships so clear you can sometimes see their shadows through the turquoise water. Infrastructure here is, to be fair, a work in progress; power cuts are common, and the potholes on Mendana Avenue have their own postal codes. But that rawness is the point. You don't come to Honiara for polished resorts; you come because it’s the one place on earth where you can tour a somber WWII museum in the morning and be diving alongside hammerhead sharks on a pristine reef by afternoon.

Travel Tips

Transportation: Getting around Honiara requires a blend of patience and local know-how. The city's fleet of shared taxis — usually white Toyota HiAce vans — are the lifeline. A ride within town costs a flat SBD 5 ($0.60), but you'll need to flag one down and state your destination; they don't run fixed routes so much as general directions. For day trips, hiring a private taxi is likely your only option, and negotiating is expected. A trip out to the Bonegi I or II wreck dive sites, about a 30-minute drive west, might run you SBD 200-300 ($24-36) return, depending on your haggling skills. The one pitfall to avoid? Assuming you can just grab a taxi late at night outside of town; they thin out quickly after dusk. Your best bet is to get your driver's phone number for the return pickup.

Money: Cash is king, and the Solomon Islands Dollar (SBD) is the only currency you'll use outside of major hotels. ATMs are limited to a handful in Point Cruz (ANZ and BSP banks are reliable), and they do run out of notes, especially on weekends. Withdraw what you think you'll need plus a bit more. Credit cards are accepted at top-end hotels and a few upscale restaurants, but expect a 3-5% surcharge. A useful trick: keep a stash of smaller SBD 5 and SBD 10 notes for market stalls and taxi fares, as drivers often lack change. A hearty lunch at the Central Market — say, a plate of roast pork with taro and greens — will set you back about SBD 25 ($3).

Cultural Respect: The Solomon Islands operates on kastom — a complex system of traditional customs and protocols. In practical terms, this means modesty and quiet respect go a long way. When visiting villages (which you should, it's where the real culture lives), it's customary to seek permission from the headman or chief before entering. Dress conservatively; covering shoulders and knees for both men and women is appreciated. A small gift of kwaso (betel nut) or tobacco, which you can pick up at the market for SBD 10 ($1.20), is a traditional gesture of respect when visiting. Photography of people, especially children, requires explicit permission every single time — don't just assume a smile means yes.

Food Safety: The rule here is simple: eat what's cooked fresh in front of you, and be wary of anything that's been sitting out in the heat. The safest and most spectacular meals are often the simplest. At the Honiara Central Market, look for stalls grilling whole fish over coconut husks — the high heat kills any bugs, and the flavor is unbeatable. A grilled mahi-mahi might cost SBD 40 ($4.75). For fruits, stick to things you can peel yourself: bananas, papaya, local oranges. Tap water in Honiara is not safe to drink. You'll buy large 1.5L bottles of water for SBD 10-15 ($1.20-1.80) from any shop. An insider move: many local eateries serve a 'plate' — a heaping serving of rice, a protein, and local greens — that's not only safe (it's cooked to order) but incredibly affordable at SBD 30-50 ($3.50-6).

When to Visit

Planning a trip to Honiara means planning around the rain. The dry season, roughly May to October, is obviously the most comfortable window. Temperatures hover around 28-30°C (82-86°F), humidity is (relatively) lower, and rainfall is minimal. This is peak season for diving the wrecks of Iron Bottom Sound, as visibility can exceed 30 meters. Hotel prices are at their highest during these months, with a decent room in a mid-range hotel like the Heritage Park running around SBD 800-1000 ($95-120) per night. July sees the celebration of Independence Day on the 7th, a week of canoe races, string band competitions, and cultural shows that's genuinely worth timing your trip around. The wet season, November to April, brings frequent, heavy downpours, high humidity, and the occasional tropical cyclone. Travel to outer islands becomes less reliable, and some dive operators scale back. The trade-off? You'll have the WWII museums like the Vilu War Museum mostly to yourself, and hotel rates can drop by 30-40%. For budget travelers or those solely focused on the cultural sites in and around Honiara, the shoulder months of April and November might actually be your best bet — you'll dodge some of the worst rains and the peak prices, though you'll still need to pack a serious rain jacket. Families tend to prefer the dry season for its predictability, while serious divers will brave the wet season for the chance of epic, storm-churned pelagic action, despite the lower visibility.