Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Pelican/ Solomon Express

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Solomon Islands

Hi , travelling to the Solomons in september and trying to find the times tables for the MV Pelican or Solomon express esp for travel onwards from seghe. Would be grateful if anyone could help. Also as flying in to Seghe is it possible to buy onward tickets in the village there or can they be purchased on board?
Finally, would love to know if Tetepare is as good as the website makes it out to be, many thanks

I think one of them leaves Honiara about 7am Sunday, returing Monday. The other probably Saturday morning or early in the week. I know when they go to Auki, and they alternate that with trips to the west. Most of my friends appear to have travelled west on Sunday morning.

1

Just returned home after a wonderful long holiday in the Solomons,so hope our advice can help out a bit.You can buy tickets for the Pelican Express on the boat itself in Seghe-no need to buy in advance.However the boat sometimes doesnt go at all if the seas are too rough,so it is a bit of a lottery.If I remember correctly,Pelican left Honiara on the Sunday,so if you want to go to further in the Western Province,that is the day you would board in Seghe.Coming back to Honiara,the boat leaves Gizo the next morning(monday) and stops off in Seghe on the way.The Solomon Express was out of action when we were in the country(July).Tetepare sounds wonderful(we never got there) but everyone we did meet who had been there had loved it.Good luck!

2

Tetepare is AWESOME!!!!!! Even better than the website I think! Well worth the visit! A good idea is to fly to seghe, get the Tetepare boat to take you from Seghe, to Tetepare, then to drop you at Munda where you can easily buy plane tickets to where-ever you need to go... The Tetepare people have a new boat now too which is faster and cheaper...

3

mulk, I'm not sure how long you have in the Solomons, but I haven't found either of the express boats to be particularly reliable for the Gizo-Honiara trip during the last 12+ months (Honiara-Auki has been fine). Both the Bikoi and Tomoko go west, but they're slow and not particularly comfortable (although a great way to meet people!) I've never had any problem getting my money back on an unused ticket for the express boats, so it's probably worth buying a ticket, but preparing yourself to head to the airport if the boat doesn't look like it's going.

4

The two Express boats do break down or need servicing quite frequently. Last time I went to Auki on Tomoko, I wished I had taken a pillow - it is possible to sleep on the seats if the boat isn't too crowded, but they are very narrow.
For a trip to the west you would need at least a mat and a pillow, as the trip is much longer.

5

I am considering taking the MV Pelican Express back from the Western Province to Honiara. Can anyone tell me where they pick up passengers heading this way?

6

Given this is an old thread, it might be worth posting a new one, so it appears on the first page..

7