Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# How do the Solomons really compare to PNG? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Solomon Islands
geoffff 01:17 UTC 15 Jul 2019 | I know that's a pretty vague question but I'm just looking for someone's first hand impression of what they noticed travelling to the two countries. I spent 6 weeks in PNG in 2016 independent travelling as a solo 30 y.o. male. 3 weeks on the Sepik, brief trip to the highlands and then finished with the mask festival in Kokopo. Magical country, terrifying and frustrating at times but still consider it the highlight of all my travelling everywhere in the world. I especially liked the Sepik for just the pace of life bobbing between villages in canoes, the remoteness of the villages and how far removed they are from modern western life, the stories, the art, the general look of the nature and villages, how untouristed it all was, the willingness of people to tell me about their stories and customs. At some point I'd love to return to Melanesia, at first I thought back to PNG but then I got curious about its nearest neighbour. So yeah of course I'm interested in culture, beautiful places and getting off the beaten track. Is Solomon islands similar? Different in a good way (i.e. still lots to see but of a different character to PNG and maybe even without the underlying sense of menace of PNG)? Different in a bad way (less to see or hard to see what is there)? |
Laszlo 02:39 UTC 15 Jul 2019 | I found the Solomons different in a bad way. The people were a lot more worldly than in PNG. Less traditional, more money-minded. The Melanesian country most similar to PNG is Vanuatu. It is perhaps even friendlier and more traditional, but lacks the security issues. | 1
geoffff 10:39 UTC 15 Jul 2019 | Thanks Laszlo. Some Australians I met told me that Vanuatu is one of the most popular holiday destinations for Australians which certainly surprised me as back in Britain most people haven't even heard of the place! If that's true but the country is still very traditional and not over touristed I guess that means the Aussies must keep to just a few places in the country? | 2
Laszlo 11:03 UTC 15 Jul 2019 | The package tourists in Vanuatu stay around the capital only. Most islands remain unspoilt by tourism. Even in the capital, women wear the Mother Hubbard dresses typical of PNG and New Caledonia, while in the Solomons they wear Western dress. | 3
geoffff 21:24 UTC 20 Jul 2019 | I remember those colourful dresses but I never knew what they were called! Thanks Laszlo, as it happens I probably won't be getting out to Melanesia this year or next, just putting some feelers out. Vanuatu is definitely on my radar though now. | 4
Thorn Tree 01:00 UTC 21 Jul 2020 | This topic has been automatically locked due to inactivity. Email community@lonelyplanet.com if you would like to add to this topic and we'll unlock it for you. | 5