Bilikiki Liveaboard, Solomon Islands-July 13-23, 2024
Join CIDA for an exciting 10-day dive trip aboard the Bilikiki to the Solomon Islands. This trip isn't only about awesome diving but it is also a cultural trip where you have the chance to meet & learn about the local people and their way of life. That's EXACTLY why we are going back for a second time.
Trip Details
- Diver cost is $6500.00 plus $250.00 tax, based on PPDO-Total $6750.00
- Deposits of $500.00 are due to book your spot
- Payment of $700.00 due on 6/12/2023
- Payment of $2850.00 due on 12/12/202
- Balance of $2700.00 due on 3/12/2024
- Channel Islands Dive Adventures trip applications will be required upon booking
- All deposits and payments are non-refundable. See our Policies Page HERE
- Trip insurance is highly recommended!
- Divers Alert Network (DAN) or equivalent evacuation insurance is MANDATORY.
- CIDA has 12 and another group has the extra 8 spots available.
What is Included:
- Accommodations for the 10-day trip based on double occupancy
- Hotel or Airport transfers in Honiara
- 4-day dives and 1-night dive per day
- Weights, weight belts, tanks, and air-fills
- All meals and snacks
- Stops at local artisan markets
- Local village tour
What is not Included
- Flights, hotels, and transportation to Honiara
- Trip insurance & evacuation insurance
- Nitrox $20.00 per dive day
- Gratuities
- Bar drinks
Trip Highlights
In the midst of the South Pacific, the Solomon Islands is part of the coral triangle and home to some of the best, least-visited scuba diving in the world. Most of the time you will not even see another dive boat. There is an amazing diversity of marine life, fish, hard corals, mantas, and dive sites with caves and WWll wrecks to see. With the Bilikiki's history of running scuba diving trips in the Solomon Islands for over 25 years, they know where to go. The Bilikiki does not have fixed dive schedules. Because this will be our second 10-day trip back with the same managers running the boat it will give us the opportunity to make some suggestions for the dive site schedule. See Ken's article from our trip in May 2018 HERE.
A Bililiki trip isn't just about diving but also the cultural aspect of it. Every day we will have the chance to interact with the local people coming to the Bilikiki to sell their produce by dugout canoes while the managers hand out items like school supplies, toothbrushes, reading materials, and other assorted items. We will also have the chance to see and buy handmade carvings and other amazing traditionally-made items at local carving markets and do a Village visit. All the side excursions are arranged during the surface intervals so as not to affect the number of dives offered per day. See the topside video from our trip in May 2018 HERE.
The Itinerary
There are a number of ways to get to Honiara in the Solomon Islands and it will all depend on what you have scheduled before and/or after the trip. The main two ways for air travel are through Nadi, Fiji, or Brisbane, Australia. Either way, you will cross the international dateline so be sure to plan extra time and days between flights traveling to the boat. The boat cannot come back to pick you up if you arrive in Honiara a day late. Boarding time is 4 pm or later depending on arriving flights on July 13, 2024. Departure time at end of the trip is 8 AM on July 23, 2024. The info on this page can be helpful in planning your flights.
The trip is a 10-day trip and the route will depend on weather, conditions, and what everyone would like to see. Come with your suggestions and be ready to have the greatest time ever.
The Diving
The Solomon Islands are home to some of the best reefs and diversity in the world. Here you will find pelagics and critters, WWll wrecks, caves, amazingly healthy coral gardens, sand slopes, mangroves, walls, and sea mounts and it's extremely rare to see another dive boat during the trip. See the underwater video from our trip in May 2018 HERE.
Most every day we will get the chance to make 4 dives with a night dive and with unlimited bottom times except for the odd time when there are long transits to the next dive site, when they may limit things to 60 minutes. Most dives are done from a tender, called tinnies in the Solomons. The exit and entries for the tinnies are very easy and guests with mobility issues find them very manageable. The crew load and unload the diver's equipment and fill tanks so there is nothing for guests to do other than to turn up and dive. It is truly diving made easy!
Diving in the Solomons is generally very easy with mild currents, calm water warm, and excellent visibility. The water temperatures range between 80-86° F all year. There are a few dives with currents, but generally, the currents are very mild and the dives are planned with the current in mind to minimalize any swimming against it. For anyone wishing to go snorkeling the Solomon Islands is the place for it and an excellent option to maximize your trip.
The Accommodations
In 1989 the Bilikiki sailed as the first full-service luxury live-aboard dive vessel in the Solomon Islands. She is a large, stable, comfortable vessel and consistently rated one of the best liveaboards in the world.
The Bilikiki is 125' x 24', very stable and spacious. She has 10 deluxe cabins, eight with a double bed and single bunk and two with twin single beds and no bunk (cabins #1 & 2). For our group of 12, we have both cabins with two twin single beds and four deluxe cabins with an upper and lower bed. All cabins are air-conditioned and have their own en-suite. There is a large sundeck, a comfortable lounge and camera area, and a spacious dive deck.
Meals are served in the covered diving area with snacks served between dives in the main salon and evening appetizers served at the upper deck before dinner. For the photographer or videographer, the Bilikiki is completely set up for cameras with a camera room on the upper deck and camera tables both in the saloon and on the dive deck. There are charging stations in both areas (both 110V and 240V), and separate rinse tanks for cameras on the dive deck. The dive deck is large with rinse tanks for gear and deck showers along with a rear swim platform for easy entry and exit.
Community Involvement
Bilikiki Cruises has always thought it important to have a positive impact on the areas they operate in. They do this in a number of ways from enforcing environmentally sound diving practices to doing everything they can to make sure the local people see benefits from their operation.
Since the very beginning, they have handed out seeds and then bought back produce from the local villagers. This helps the villagers to make money and the Bilikiki to have a constant source of fresh fruit and vegetables for their trips.
They run annual medical trips with the Loloma Foundation who provide nurses, doctors, dentists, and supplies so that Bilikiki can be turned into a floating hospital for a week or two. Because of this, they can get health care in the villages which they would not normally have access to.
Also, the guests often bring things to hand out in the villages such as school supplies, dental supplies, masks, snorkels, soccer balls and more. This can make a big difference to people in villages without much of a cash economy or any shops. Check out their Welcome Aboard Notes for more info.
last but not least they also pay to dive on the reefs we visit. Traditionally all land and the adjoining reef are owned by the tribes of the area and controlled by the local chief. Paying to dive means that Bilikiki is always welcome and provides incentives for reef owners to protect their reefs as much as possible.
This trip is best suited for
Experienced OW divers and above with good buoyancy control. Dive sites are to be determined by “BEST CONDITIONS” based on water visibility, tides, currents, surge, swell, and wind. Surface signal tubes are always recommended.
Check out our Dive Vacation page for the other trips Channel Islands Dive Adventures runs. If you have any questions please contact Ken at info@channelislandsdiveadventures.com or call (805) 469-7288