Solomon Islands - second half of 2008

Hello, my name is Wojtek and I live in Poland.

I am considering going to Solomon Islands next year (in the latter half), less as a tourist/globetrotter, and more to do some research on (some of) the myths and legends of the islanders.

I will only have 4 of 5 weeks in all (including travel from/to Poland), so obviously I do not have the time to see all the isles, but of particular interest to me are: Malaita (eastern part), Guadalcanal (western part) and Makira.

Researcher or not, I will have to travel around quite alot, including the jungle and/or mountains in some of the remoter parts.

I have therefore the following questions to those of you who know a lot more about SI:

1) VISA: do UE/Polish citizens require it? Where can it be obtained (there is no SI embassy or consulate in Poland)? How much does it cost? How long is it valid for? What is the procedure?

2) TRANSPORT: what is the cheapest/most economic vs. fastest way of getting from Europe (Poland, Germany etc., somewhere close to the centre of Europe) to Solomon Islands (please remember I will have 4 or 5 weeks in all)

3) WEATHER: What is the best weather to travel to/around these three islands? In an ideal world, I would like to go there in such a period when the weather is best and plane tickets the cheapest, though I know world is seldom ideal... ;-))))

4) DANGERS, ANNOYANCES, DISTURBANCES: are there any serious ones? Is any particular part of any of these three islands less/more dangerous or safe than the others? How easy it is to travel around? Any guide/permit/guard needed? How about petty theft and other petty crimes? What is the political and ethnic situation now?

5) TRAVELLING AROUND: is it at all possible (from the "technical" point of view)? Are there any roads, paths or tracks that lead into the interior? is it a) wise, b) at all possible to go there unaccompanied? What stuff should I take?

6) ACCOMMODATION: what inexpensive hotels/hostels can you recommend in Honiara? What accommodation (if any) exists outside of the capital? In the small towns? In villages? In very small settlements?

7) THE LOCALS: how to approach and befriend them? Any special practices, experiences, guidance?

I guess I will have more questions later but that's it for a start. ;-))))

I'll be grateful for your kind response.

Best regards

Wojtek

1) No.

2) Flying via Australia is the most logical option. You could also fly via Fiji.

4) As noted in the reply to your PM, I had rather unpleasant experiences with the interior Kwaio people of East Malaita.
Other than that, I felt it was safe everywhere.
No permits needed to go anywhere.

5) Very few roads penetrate the interior, the one crosses it on Malaita.
Of course there are tracks and paths.

6) See older posts on this branch about Honiara.
I thought the Travellers Motel in the Fijian Quarter was OK and reliable.
Other places may require advance booking.
In small towns there are usually guesthouses, in villages you can stay with locals (do offer to pay!).

7) Like anywhere in the World.
Be friendly and get talking to them.
Note that I found Solomon Islanders more money-oriented than any other Melanesians, so make sure to establish if or how much help will cost you before accepting it happily.

I might also add that if getting to Makira is a priority, I'd consider emailing Guadalcanal Travel Services in Honiara (google them) to book a flight there before arriving.
Malaita is very easy to get to by boat, but Makira much less so - and lengthy waits in Honiara are not too apealing (to me, anyway).

Wojtku, the cheapest flight seems to be (Copenhagen -) London - Hongkong - Brisbane with Cathay Pacific and then with a Visit South Pacific Pass to Honiara with Solomon Airlines. You can ask me for links if you are interested.
There is no big difference in weather. You can choose between hot, hotter and hottest.
Laszlo, did you describe your "unpleasant experiences with the interior Kwaio people of East Malaita" somewhere on this site? I have been searching, as I'm interested. In fact my visit to the Kwaio people (coastal, not interior) was my BEST experience in SI, and I'm going to the inner regions this Christmas, with a guide from the coast.
Also, I found Solomon Islanders LESS money-oriented than other Melanesians, and I've been to Vanuatu, Fiji and New Caledonia (not PNG though), and that's why I love that country. I'm not questioning your experience, but it's funny how two persons can have so different opinions about the same country. There is a lot of coincidence I suppose.
There have been several reports on robbery in Honiara after dark, otherwise the ethnic tensions have been pressed under the surface by the RAMSI troups.
Wojtku again, take your time and get to know people slowly. No rush in the Pacific! There are some dos and don'ts that should be respected. Melanesians are very communicative and sensitive to attitudes. If you can't finish your research in these 4 weeks, try and go back.
I'll probably be there when you arrive, so let's stay in contact.

I discovered a link to Solomon Airlines UK site, where you can actually book internal flights online, and get a price quoted (in Engish pounds). It is Solair UK

It is late here, and I have just farewelled a visitor from Solomon Islands, travelling back to Brisbane, so I am too tired to think up a clear answer at present. However I have travelled to much of all 3 islands you mention, and may be able to help more.
Can you let me know which parts specifically of all 3 islands, or what sort of myths and legends, or other cultural stuff you are interested in.
I am worried that your time frame is not nearly enough to get to interior parts of all 3 of these islands.

Some links that could be of a general interest:
Air passes in South Pacific
Literature on Solomon Islands

Nope Ann, I never described the Kwaio experience on this site - there was no reason to.

I must press that the unpleasant expriences only concerned the interior Kwaio, whom I also visited with a guide from the coast.
Basically, they tried to charge me HUGE sums of money for turning up uninvited, and then also for taking pics (50 SD/shot) and were in general the most unfriendly people in the entire South Pacific. They are used to dealing with groups (often from Sweden, accompanied by a Kwaio guide from Honiara) and getting big bucks.
This might be OK for some, but it was not for me.
Then again, some of their communities may be more welcoming.

I don't consider Fiji really Melanesian, certainly not cultrurally, but the Solomons was definitely a lot more worldly and money-oriented than the other three Melanesian countries. A lot more cheating/lying, charging of unexpected fees for "sights", photos and "hospitality".
In fact, after PNG this came as a huge shock and took some time to get used to.
Based on what the (awful) LP guide to Vanuatu says, I actually expected that country to be worse - but then, much to my surprise, it was the very opposite.

I must also add that the above is relative.
Compared to places like Samoa, the Solomons is a very hospitable, friedly and honest place, and even within the Solomons, I noticed marked differences between various areas, with the Shortland Islands being the worst (and having a local reputation for being so).

Oops Ann, just noticed you are Swedish yourself!

So if you happen to be involved in the above-mentioned Swedish tour business in East Kwaio, my reply should be pretty irrelevant for you - your guide, regularly taking the Swedes there, should know all you need to know.

Hello, Wojtek,
I have sent 2 Private messages. My general advice is to stay at Chester House, run by the Melanesian Brothers, in Honiara, as they have networks and households all over the country. It is popular and you will need to book in advance.
I travelled with them to Western Guadalcanal and the Weather Coast, about the time the last Lonely Planet Guide Book was written, and would not then have gone ohterwise. Now it is quite safe.

As a reply to Laszlo, there have been regular tours since 10 years to the interior Kwaio area from abroad, predominantly from Sweden, but I didn’t take part in them. I have talked to some Swedish participants however, and they underline that the visit to the interior Kwaio area was the highlight of their tour.

I was travelling by myself last year and stayed with coastal Kwaios. During this stay and later via frequent email contact we had several discussions on tourism to the inner areas, and this invitation and photo policy is regarded as totally unacceptable and very un-Kwaio. The guide (if he is the same one you mean, he is not from Honiara but from Gonabusu) strongly recommended the tourists not to pay – or propose – any charge for photos. Some interior Kwaios have reported that they were chased by tourists with cameras when refusing to be pictured, or the tourists tried to pay them a sum of money. So we seem to have the chicken and the egg here. I am sorry that you had a bad experience, and I am sad that tourism corrupts which seems to be the case in this specific community.

What you say about ”cheating/lying, charging of unexpected fees” in general is new to me. Some cases yes, but certainly less than in most countries I have been to.

There are "kustom fees" in some parts of the Solomons, for entering tribal land (these should be paid to the local chief - or your guide, no-one else). I found more of these on Gela (Florida in some tourist guides and maps) than anywhere else.
The only place anyone I know has ever been asked for fees to take photos was on the outer Polynesian island of Ontong Java, where a local anthropologist was overreacting to a friend using a video camera, thinking it might have been for commercial purposes. In fact, my friend was only filming to raise awareness of Solomon Islands and funds for projects there, back here in Australia.
Most Melanesians I know are only too happy to be photographed, although the older ones are sometimes very shy, and think they should look very serious.
There are, however "tambu" (taboo) places, where either men, women, or both, may not go, and you need local advice about these. For example, I cannot look at the skulls from the headhunting days on the traditional artificial islands in the Lau Lagoon, because I am a woman.

As I had noted before, this was an extreme case. In fact the only time I was asked for money for photos in the entire Pacific.
The Kwaio told me (even interior men speak Pijin) that is what the tour-groups, mostly from Sweden, pay. They seemed to expect it as a matter of fact, so of course I preferred taking no photos and leaving them ASAP. In fact before going inland, the friendly coastal Kwaio had already told me not to take any more money than I can afford to lose, so this surely must be expected by all!

However I was warned about high kastom fees elsewhere in the Solomons too, notably around the artificial islands off Malaita and some places in touristy Western Province, but I heeded those warnings and skipped the places concerned, so can't comment on them from personal experience.

In comparision, the only other place I was charged such fees in Melanesia was in New Britain, where it was a very modest 5 Kina (under 2 USD).

For all their own.

I haven't been to the Langa Langa artificial islands, which are near Auki, the Malaita capital, and therefore get more tourists, but I have never been asked for Kustom fees in Lau, even before I was considered a local. They might possibly ask an unaccompanied tourist on Sulufou, the largest, but tell the chief's wife you are my friend!
However in the mainland village of Fou'rau, at the bottom of the lagoon, where they have a commercial village stay, they are likely to come up to white-skinned visitors, even accompanied by their cousins, as we were, and offer to dance for them, then ask for money.
It seems that the places that have the most money also ask for the most from visitors.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>It seems that the places that have the most money also ask for the most from visitors. <hr></blockquote>Funny but often true.
Langa Langa is surely one place I had in mind.
The crew of that boat I took from Ghizo to Honiara were from there, and warned me about the fees charged.
They seemed kind of embarrassed, and said if I could go with them, I could go for free! ;-)

One reason why I found this strange in the Solomons is that they don't actually get many tourists at all.
So it's surely not because they are bored to death by tourists chasing them with cameras and need to limit their numbers.
I could think of any number of places in the Pacific where locals get cameras put into their faces a lot more.
In fact I could count the tourists I saw in 2 weeks in all of Malaita on the fingers of one hand.
I think there were three of them.

The only part of the Solomons that is remotely "touristy" is Western Province. A few pockets of it, to be precise.

So I just put it down to Solomon Islanders' "worldliness" and "being more money-oriented".
Not that I blame them for it (when they leave your options open and warn you BEFORE), it's just that such behaviour is more typical of Asia than Melanesia.

Again, let me press I did NOT find this to be the same all over the country.

My fondest memories in the country are actually also from Western Province, namely Vella Lavella.

hej wojtek,
We sailed in the solomons for a couple of months last year. If you still have more questions let us know. We are Polish and not too many of us visit Solomons :)

I discovered a link to Solomon Airlines UK site, where you can actually book internal flights online, and get a price quoted (in Engish pounds). It is Solair UK

Why are the prices on there (it's solomonairlines.co.uk now) so much more expensive than those on the fare list at http://www.flysolomons.com/fares/domfare.htm ?

Since I posted here last year, there is another airline (Skyairworld) flying to Solomon Islands, and in December, Pacific Blue will be flying there too. I suspect the UK-based website hasn't been updated. I paid less for my return Bne-Honiara-Bne flights for my recent trip than I have for years, as there is a small price war going on, and it is likely to intensify with a third player involved.
The "Flysolomons" site is relatively new.

This thread's a bit old, but I just wanted to add that I find Laszlo's comments interesting because it couldn't be further from my experience. As a student with not a lot of money, I find the Solomons an easier place to work than Vanuatu, because there are far fewer financial demands made of me. That said, there's not a single place I'd avoid in either country because of the "threat" of being asked for money - while SI$50 for a photo is steep, I don't think that most kastom fees are particularly high, given that it can be one of the few forms of cash income available to people.

That was an interesting "first post" by a new user! ;-)

Verrrrrrrry long time reader, Lazlo!!

...such a new poster, in fact, that I can't figure out how to republish posts after editing them.

Laszlo, I never really felt the need to post before (although I think I may have under a previous username, details of which I've lost). Your experiences are clearly quite different to mine, and I found your post at least a little offensive to SIs, and I felt it worth letting people know that not everyone has had those experiences.

Bec0071, if you click on the "edit" button on the bottom of the screen in the editing panel, it will post.