Six weeks Melanesia and maybe 4 weeks more

Dear (South-) Pacific Experts,

next year (July to September) I will have a little 3 month sabbatical, so there will be some time ( 6 weeks) to travel with my wife and my daughter (16) and I can add maybe a few weeks more travelling solo. We are 50plus, so physically not as fit anymore than decades ago, but we still love to hike, to snorkel or to dive, and we are interested in meeting people from different cultures. Comfort can be basic. Budget is something between 100-200 € for all of us.
We have been thinking to focus our plans somewhere between West Papua and Vanuatu (without excluding Fiji totally). It is a huge area with many different countries, where in some parts traveling with a family can be very challenging.
We are travelling slowly. In many places we like to stay a week or so. So about five interesting stops (not countries) should be on our list.
Here our ideas and questions:
1.)Vanuatu: Without having much experience with Melanesia my favorite idea is to keep it simple going the whole 6 weeks with my family to Vanuatu. Maybe a bit too much time? Then I could continue alone or with my girls to the Salomones, PNG or Fiji? Or should I even stay a few weeks more in Vanuatu.
2.)West Papua and PNG: this was my first (and still raw) idea: to start in Raja Ampat, continuing via Baliem valley, crossing he border (alone or with family), traveling via Wewak to the Sepik river, going back to Jayapura or leaving from Port Moresby. But I think I have to give up this plan as the border between West Papua and PNG is not reliable open?
3.) Polynesian minorities: if we are heading so far to the South Pacific islands, I would like to take advantage to visit a Polynesian community. In Vanuatu there is one on Futuna Island, but this can not be visited. Maybe there are other interesting polynesian settlements? On the Salomones I. are more and the Fijis as well. Do you have recommondations here?
4.) Snorkeling: Last year we have been to Raja Ampat for three weeks. We enjoyed the simple homestays at the remoter islands like Batanta or Pam a lot, Gam or Kri was already a bit to touristy to us. But the snorkeling (and diving) was fantastic. So you see, we love simple and authentic places, but are heading for the best snorkeling and scenic places. How does Vanuatu or other Melanesian places compare here?
This post was much too long.
Thank you for your help.
W.B.

1) Vanuatu is great and diverse. Easy to spend 6 weeks there.

2) The border is now well-developed and busy, and pretty much always open.

3) Rennel in the Solomons is quite easily accessible by air and is ecologically fascinating besides having Polynesians.

4) Nowhere else is like Raja Ampat for snorkelling. The further away from it, the poorer it gets. But still pretty good as far as Vanuatu.

Thank you, Lazlo. Good to know that border between PNG/West Papua seems to be quite reliable open.
But this doesn´t allow me to narrow down the potential iteneries.
Watching some videos about diving or snorkeling I was thinking that Raja Ampat was a very special place. This year we have been to the Galapagos Islands. The snorkeling was good, with a lot of sharks, rays, turtels and sea lions in the water, but it was far from that diversity and huge amount of fish of Raja Ampat.
However, Vanuatu, PNG or the Salomones seem to be very interesting on land as well. Vanuatu might fit the bill for the six weeks family trip, but I am not sure yet where I should continue traveling solo.
I could find enough informations in the web about Vanuatu or even PNG, but I was not so successfull with the Salomon Islands. The LP guide for PNG/SI is already in the house, but it provides basic informations only.

Rennel is a great idea. In addition to that I found a list about Polynesian Islands outside the classical Polynesian Triangle:
https://www.wikiwand.com/de/Polynesische_Exklave

Buy the old Lp guide about the Solomon Islands only. It is extremely detailed. The old guides to PNG and Vanuatu are also much more detailed than their current books.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Solomon-Islands-Lonely-Planet-Regional/dp/0864424051/ref=mp_s_a_1_7?keywords=solomon+islands+lonely&qid=1573514347&sr=8-7

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Vanuatu-Lonely-Planet-Regional-Guides/dp/0864426607/ref=mp_s_a_1_19?keywords=vanuatu+lonely&qid=1573514430&sr=8-19

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Guinea-Lonely-Planet-Regional-Guides/dp/0864424027/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?keywords=papua+new+guinea+lonely&qid=1573514475&sr=8-10

Oh wow! These old books look really much more detailed!
For sure I will order the Salomon and the Vanuatu LP book even if I have the actual "Far flung places guide" for Vanuatu. The actual PNG/Salomon book will stay in the house when traveling.

The new book is only midly useful to give you vague ideas about more current prices.
Not even truly useful for that as it tends to list only the more expensive options.

I did a similar trip, crossing from West Papua to PNG to Solomon Islands to Vanuatu, in about 3 months. Of course could only get a taste for each country in that time.

On snorkelling - outside Raja Ampat I found the best snorkelling on Solomon Islands at Uepi Resort (sort of expensive but huge amounts of fish) and at a very basic homestay in same area, Tibara Lodge. More:
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/forums/australasia-pacific-pacific-islands-papua-new-guinea/solomon-islands/travel-advice-western-province-accomodation-transfers-excursions-contacts

Snorkelling in Vanuatu was disappointing by comparison. I didnt do a lot of snorkelling in PNG.

I found PNG and Vanuatu very very interesting & unique in terms of culture, I have some great memories from visiting them. I could easily imagine spending 6 weeks in each. Solomons in comparison felt to me more like a destination for a relaxed holiday in the tropics (which can still be nice).

I am sure you know, PNG is a very rough country & very expensive. 50 EUR was a normal rate in 2016 for very basic and often dirty rooms in the cities. Of course it is possible to spend less if you have some time and look for homestays (a hut with a mat). Domestic flights are also expensive. So for travelling with 3 persons, 200 EUR daily may not be enough if you want some level of comfort.

If you want an opinion, going with your family to Vanuatu and then spending the rest of the time in PNG, possibly returning overland to West Papua - sth like this would sound great to me.

thank you, mknoke for this useful informations.
Yes PNG could get expensive and maybe sometimes very rough for a family trip. My girls are in holidays,too and sure, they would appreciate to get a bit more comfort once in a while without breaking the bank. And generally I agree, Vanuatu should be the place for our family trip as it is important to offer alternative activities for the different needs. Vanuatu could be the right place. This is plan A now.
I have to collect more inspiring informations to develope an good idea for my solo trip.

Not yet decided where to go (PNG or Salomones) I want to fokus on two or three areas for my activities (like cultureal experiences, hiking, snorkeling/diving). Both countries seem to offer that, but as it seems to me in our forum there are more fans of PNG than the Salomones.

Last night I found this old news about Rennell Island:
Rennell desaster one
Rennell desaster two
Poor islanders!
Maybe not the best place to go now.

As I understand, mostly just one bay is affected.
And actually, most villages and other points of interest in Rennell are not on the coast but inland around the huge lake.
So unless you specifically seek out the site of the spill, it may not have much effect on your visit.

Hi Lazlo, I am not sure about that.
Here is a bit more about the first desaster of february 2019:
https://www.maritimeherald.com/2019/a-huge-oil-spill-in-rennell-has-contaminated-a-world-heritage-site/
This sounds a bit worse to me
The second accident at July this year will have maybe less long term effects , but I am really not an expert in this.
After all these two accidents this year and the ruthless explotation on that island by foreign logging industry doesn´t create an athmosphere for an intercultural exchange I am searching for in such a remote place.
It is a very small planet.