RTW options through the Solomons

I'm working on a RTW trip itinerary - originating in Los Angeles (LAX) so I have several questions:

1. heading west first to the Pacific Islands where my father was stationed during WW2 (Solomon & Admiralty Islands) - wouldn't mind having a stopover in Fiji, French Polynesia, or Brisbane, whatever connection works out better (= cheapest:).
2. But when I do arrive in Honiara, how feasible is it to island hop (preferably by boat) to Russell Island, Rendova, Vella Lavella - is there a water taxi connecting islands?
3. And then I want to head further north to Bougainville & to Manus Island. What are my options - again, water taxi available or is there a flight? Hopefully I don't have to double back to Brisbane or PM (as a matter of fact, I wouldn't mind if I skip Port Moresby altogether, from what I have read).
4. From Manus Island, what's my best (cheapest) option to heading westward to HCMC (Saigon)?

Sounds like you have quite an adventure planned :-).

I will give it a shot. You might want to post more detailed questions to the Solomon / PNG country forums where the local thorntree experts hang out.

1) Both Fiji and Brisbane have flights to the Solomons. Brisbane should be cheaper.

2) There are boats used by locals within the Solomon islands as well as in Papua New Guinea. I would not call them "water taxis", they are rickety ferries that would have been decommissioned in US/Europe some 20 years ago. They are not entirely safe and very slow, takes 12-48 hours to reach the next island. Some might have tired cabins, some you basically sleep on deck.

Flying is much more practical, though not cheap, you will pay 100-200 USD for one island hop.

3) To cross to Bougainville, you can fly to Choiseul or the Shortlands and either wait for the next market day and take a local boat or hire yourself a boat (think 100 USD and up). This is only for the very adventurous, as this border crossing is not official/legal for foreigners. You may run into serious trouble and be turned back. However there are people who have done this, use the thorntree search function and google to find some reports.

From Bougainville, quickest way to Manus Island is a flight via Port Moresby. This is very likely cheaper than trying to island hop even if you stick to boats.

Do check that you are not travelling during election time in PNG and especially Bougainville. In general it is quite a lawless country, read up on the safety advice etc

4) Fly to Port Moresby and then either Manila/Singapore/Hong Kong/Denpasar, whatever is cheapest. From there you can find discount flights. If you have time another option is flying to Vanimo at the border to Indonesia, crossing the border then flying from Jayapura->Jakarta->HCMC. Getting to Vanimo will likely cost more than Jayapura->HCMC.

If you are really thinking about the Bougainville/Solomon Crossing, it is a bit easier (though still not legal) in the other direction. I have done it myself. So you could "do" PNG first, then Solomons, then fly Honiara->Brisbane->HCMC.

Thanks for info. I will have more questions the closer this comes to reality - hopefully late summer

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