The Solomon Islands are a group of small islands in the Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea, south of the Equator. The country consists of 992 islands that cover a territory of 28.400 square kilometers.

The Solomon Islands is often called “natural paradise” because of their splendid nature. These islands is like a fairy-tale: silent, colorful and kind.

Like other Pacific islands, Solomon Islands attract tourists’ attention with their great diving spots. The tropical walls and coral reefs together with WWII wrecks make Solomon Islands an incredible scuba diving destination.

The water temperature in Solomon Islands is perfect throughout the year, let alone the visibility,  that’s up to 30 meters.

The warm, transparent, sparkling waters are a home for various marine treasures: wrecks, enormous fish, colorful corals, mantas, a great number of fish species, like anemone fish, angel fish, butterfly fish, humphead parrot fish, barracuda, big-eye traveler and so on and so forth.

There are a number of wonderful scuba diving destinations in Solomon Islands: Tulagi, which is said to be the “wreck capital of the Solomon’s”, Maravagi Resort, Guadalcanal, Uepi Island, Munda and Gizo.

Gizo and Uepi are the most famous and popular diving destinations among the scuba divers all over the world.

While diving in Gizo you’ll witness not only wonders of marine flora and fauna but also historical wrecks.

Scuba Diving in Gizo is a real pleasure. You do not need even wear a wetsuit, as the water is very warm. You just need something to protect you from wall, reef and animal stings. What refers to the visibility, it rarely reduces from 30 meters.

The coral reefs are inhabited by unique marine animals and plants. The colorful coral reefs and golden sandy bottom, decorated with starfish, won’t let you stay indifferent.

Gizo is surrounded by a network of coral reefs. There is a great deal of unexplored reefs and walls, caverns and wrecks. Some of them are still inaccessible to humans. Well, you can be the first to dive into these sites and reveal the unrevealed.

Now, let’s speak about the wreck diving in Gizo. Your Gizo dive may become an unforgettable excursion as throughout the history, and especially during WWII many planes and ships have sunk in this area.

Toa Maru is the most famous wreck diving site in Gizo. It is a huge Japanese freighter that lies in Kololuka Bay. The freighter’s length is almost 100 meters, so a single dive is not enough for a detailed examination of the wreck. The bow of the freighter is at 12 meters depth, while the stern is at about 37 meters’.

This wreck is very often compared with the wreck of the President Coolidge in Vanuatu because of its approachability and numerous equipments that are still present onboard: tanks, cement bags and jeeps.

If you are an experienced diver, you can penetrate into the wreck and dive into the engine room. However, bear in mind that the dive won’t be easy and you’ll have to put much efforts for safely to dive through the impassable holes.

There are also two sunk planes in the waters of Gizo, that are worth diving. One of the planes, the Japanese Zero fighter, is rather close to the shore and accessible to most divers.

There are many diving centers in Gizo, that can support you in your dive. If you are a certificated diver, you’ll easily get the allowance of diving the wrecks of Gizo waters. The starters have to “bear” the presence of the instructor.

I’d also like to speak about Uepi, which is another great diving site in the Solomon Islands. Uepi stands out for reef diving. The reefs are densely inhabited by different fish species and other marine animals. Within your dive you’ll come across turtles, Uepi hammerheads, eagle rays and mantas. Uepi is also rich in marine flora. The walls and reefs are decorated with showy sea-plants and stones.

Uepi has three prominent wrecks that lie in Wickam Harbor. These are the Japanese freighters that were sunk by the USA during WWII. Marine plants and animals have already found their places on the wrecks, thus beautifully decorating the latters.

Uepi dives are, as a rule, long-lasting, as the divers always find numerous things to entertain themselves. Water temperature is about 28−30 °C.

If you still doubt whether to visit Solomon Islands or not, I assure you to do that. You’ll  enjoy yourself fully not only in the warm waters of the Islands, but will also find a lot of joy on the beaches and in friendly villages. After diving the opulent waters of Solomon Islands, you can continue your vacation on the sunny beaches of the islands.

In short, if you’d like to have an unforgettable active pastime, Solomon Islands can and should be your choice.

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *