Samoa or Solomons 21June09- 07July09?

Hey guys,

I just got approval for a little over two weeks of time off. My wife and I are extremely excited about the opportunity to visit either Samoa or the Solomon Islands. We are very adventurous and are avid backpackers. The tenative itineraries would go something like this, just to give you guys an idea of what we are like/the research we have already done:

Samoa: Fly to PPG, transfer to Ofu and hang out at Vaoto Lodge, hike, snorkel a few days.
Transfer back to PPG to APW. 4-6 day kayak around the east and south coast ending at virgin cove for a few days. Maybe catch the ferry to Savaii for a few days at Luisias Lagoon Chalets or splurge at Le Legato. Then a night in Apia and fly home.

Solomons: Fly ton HIR, on to Sehge, then transfer via boat to Uepi. 2 nights snorkeling or maybe get certified to dive prior to arrival and get in a few dives in. 6 day kayaking trip in Marovo Lagoon staying at various lodges. After the kayak, transfer to Gizo and stay at Sanbis or Fatboys for the week. Dive, explore Gizo, maybe climb Kolombangra if we can pull away from the bar. Fly home.

Both places look amazing, but it looks like the Solomons are around 600 per person more tennatively. We are leaning toward the Solomons, but cant find many reports on how good the kayaking is in Marovo Lagoon (very few trip reports and photos). Also, it seams that Marovo Lagoon does not really have any/many beaches. Anyone know of some great (even if small) beaches in Marovo Lagoon? Anyone have any personal experience that could point us in the right direction? All comments are welcome, thanks for taking the time to read my post. Safe Travels,

Matt

Also,

Has anyone stayed at Fatboys since ownership changed?

Anyone stayed at Charparona lately? I saw some really good reviews, then a blurb stating that it is in a general state of disrepair, no water, etc.

Thanks, matt

Hi, Matt,
While Marovo Lagoon is beautiful, I have only been there once, and don't know what facilities there are to hire kayaks, or are you bringing your own?
However, I could arrange a completely differnet adventure, hiring dugout canoes in the Lau Lagoon in Malaita.
The difference is - no mod cons, and no resorts (though there are places in Auki where you can stay and get beer.)
There are some white sand beaches in the Lau lagoon, and places you can surf (but out beyond the reef.
If you did this, you would be able to stay in village houses with the local people.

We dont have our own kayaks, we would be renting them trough Kayak Solomons at Uepi. The trip would include some village stays and some Eco Lodges in the Marovo Lagoon, which is more along the lines of what my wife wants to do. Currenly we prefer the Marovo Lagoon over Lau Lagoon. Thanks for posting. Matt

I live in Munda, so I'm going to tell you to do the Solomons trip! A few points though...
1. Definitely get your dive ticket before you come, the diving is superb.
2. Some of my friends have just done the kayak tour you're talking about and said it was fantastic, I have not heard any bad reports about it.
3. There's a couple of sandy beaches in the Marovo, but mostly super lush vegetation everywhere you look. Coming through there on Monday, I saw a pod of pilot whales which would have been even more amazing had I have been in a Kayak!
4. I'm wondering why you want to spend a week at Fatboys/Sanbis? There's not really much to do, and in the case of Fatboys, there is no beach (The new owners of Fatboys are nice, but the atmosphere that Grant and his family created has gone. They've poached the chef from the King Sol, so the food is great, but I'm not sure what you'd do there for a whole week...) Something you could consider is going by canoe from Sehge to Tetepare (http://www.tetepare.org/). AMAZING beaches, snorkelling, hiking... then on from Tetepare to Munda and back to Honiara from there.
5. An alternative to this could be to fly from Sehge to Munda, boat from Munda to Zipolo Habu (which is just beautiful and well worth a visit) and stay there for a few days then boat again from there to Sanbis or Fatboys and fly out Gizo. There a some beautiful beaches on Ghizo and the boat trip from Munda to Gizo is well worth the money (about $175 Sol Dol).

Hope this helps!

Heartbroken...

I just got this message about Tetepare, I had thought about it earlier, but decided against it because I knew so little about the area. We just sent in our booking for airfare and hotels in Gizo for the last 5 days. we did decide to stay on an extra few days a Upei because we were afraid we might get bored at Sanbis and Fatboys. I am going to call on Monday and see if the arrangements are final, If not we are going to try to change the last few days to go to Tetepare. We will be dive certified, so all is not lost. I am sure we will have a great time diving from Fatboys. Thanks for taking the time to post.

Matt