Inter-island travel

Hello knowledgable SI travellers!

In a couple of months my partner and I will be in the Solomons making a dream of mine come true, but I'd like to get some info about the possibilities for travel once there. Can we arrive in Honiara and take a boat out to the western provinces and then make our own way back via the various provinces to Honiara over a 2 month span? Is this too short for such a journey?
Also, we're both divers and are not really looking for the expensive resort experience. Is it possible to do day diving or even snorkelling in the SI with local companies? A rough idea of the cost of diving out of the resorts would be great so we can get an idea of our budget for this part of our trip.

Thanks!

I am not a diver, but have a long acquaintance with Solomon Islands. Regarding your first question, there is a fast boat (Express or Express Pelican) which leaves Honiara at 7am every Sunday to travel to the Western province There are also slower boats,which have less predictable schedules. The best way to work out when they are going is to enquire from locals, or possibly walk down to the wharf area. There would be at least one slow boat a week.
However, while these boats stop at several ports within the Western Province, they do not visit other provinces on their way back to Honiara.
Diving facilities are only available in the Western Province, on Guadalcanal (based in Honiara) and possiby on Gela. Other provinces are less developed, and while there are plenty of options for snorkelling with your own gear, there are no scuba facitilies.
If you are in the country for a couple of months, you should have plenty of time to see several provinces, but transport to each of them is basically out of Honiara, with some boats to Malaita stopping in Tulagi (in Gela, the pre-Word War II capital).
If you have a limited budget, I would recommend basing yourself at Chester House, centrally located in Honiara, with cooking facilities, and talking to the locals staying there, or the Brothers who run it, about where you might like to visit. (It is very popular you will need to book in advance). You can certainly do day dive trips out of Honiara.

Thanks for the info Ozziegiraffe!
Just looking online at Chester and it's saying S$750 a night! Not quite the budget I was expecting! Is that just how much accommodation is in Honiara? Is it cheaper in the other provinces to stay at local rest houses?

It has never been anywhere near $750 a night. Rooms St Agnes are around $300 a night (SBD) and Chester is usually cheaper.
What website were you looking on? Perhaps it is a booking service that takes a hefty cut?
Email them directly at mbhches@solomon.com.sb
St Agnes is nearby, and its email is stagnes@solomon.com.sb
Except for the tourist-oriented Western Privince, most other provinces do have much cheaper accommodation.

Thanks for that. The website was a random one I came across when googling the Chester. I think it probably was adding a huge mark up on the rest house, but I've emailed them to ask for a place.
As you've been all over, is there anything that you'd say is a "can't miss"?

I love Malaita, especially the artificial islands (Lau and Langa Langa Lagoons) and the culture. For scenery, the Western Province, especially the Marovo Lagoon is beautiful. Santa Ana is great for culture, and Iron Bottom Sound, near Honiara, is great for wreck diving. Close to Honiara is the gently active volcanic island, Savo, where there is a guest house, and guided walks up the volcano. Tulagi, the old capital, is across from Honiara, on a small island off Big Gela (called the Florida Islands in foreign maps)

2 months is quite a long time - if you are a relaxed traveller you could do a lot by local shipping but the key to remember is that there are few fixed schedules. There's no point in getting stressed by it so it depends a lot on your outlook as to how to approach it.

Re: your original plan to go west, the Pelican Express (see OzzieG 13 Aug) is fairly reliable and you can get all the way to Gizo in a day, during daylight hours. Its an interesting journey and the only downside of the Pelican is that its not really designed for the ocean so the trip will get quite bumpy between islands November-January. The other ships do a lot of travel by night and they are slow. If you're in it for the experience, the local passenger ships will do it for you but.. (after about 12 hours at sea, it gets a bit monotonous).

Its hard to find "cheap" diving. Munda and Gizo are probably the best bets because you aren't tied down to a resort but the market is small so you have to be prepared to pay whatever the going rate is. I used to be fond of Tulagi (its barely a township) but I understand that Neil Yates has relocated Tulagi Dive to Honiara. All Solomon diving is very good although probably the best coral is out West.

I heard, while in Honiara recently, that there is no longer a Sunday Express service to the Western Province. It s so noisy these days, I think they may be worried it will break down! However other slow boats do the trip on Sunday.