Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Solomon Islands in wet season

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

Thinking of going to the Solomons for 2 weeks over Christmas. Are the mozzies unbearable at that time of year?

Have been to PNG at the same time of year and found it mostly fine, but the mozzies almost ruined the Sepik for us and we're seeking to avoid a repeat.

Any recommendations for less mozzie-infested parts of the Solomons?

I have also been to the Sepik in both the wet and rainy seasons, and I don't think any place in the Solomons will be nearly as bad mosquito-wise as the Sepik in the wet.

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I have spent numerous Christmases in Solomon Islands, and have noticed little difference between then and the rest of the year, with regard to mosquitoes. Incidentally, you are generally not even aware of the ones that cause malaria.
Your biggest problem at that time of year is getting around. Inter-island ships are full with locals travelling home for the summer holidays, and the cheaper ccommodation places in Honiara are often booked out well in advance.
You will need to book all your accommodation and travel before you arrive.

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thank you

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Never experienced anything in Solomons like the Sepik. PNG has a huge land mass and huge rainfall so it has big rivers, big swamps, and big mozzies.

The area of islands in Solomons is not so great. This means that diving visibility doesn't change much during the wet season and the insect numbers seem fairly constant. The resorts are all on top of their local insect situations (either bednets or window screens) and hotels in town usually have aircon.

Its a holiday so don't scrimp on the DEET insect repellent. Its not ideal to use longterm but for a holiday the consequences of malaria or dengue outweight any concerns about DEET.

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