Solomon Islands in December

Hello, I will be flying into Honiara on the 6th December this year and leaving on the 20th. I plan to fly to Seghe and move around the Western Province, particularly Morovo Lagoon.

As it's nearing Christmas I'm wondering whether I should book accommodation in advance? .... Any advice greatly appreciated.

To save on money I was thinking of staying in various village homestays....any recommendations ???

I also want dive a much as possible....again...any recommendations?

I'd really appreciate any advice, and will write a full report when I get back to let you all know how I got on.

Thanks!

Definitely book accommodation in Honiara, and also internal transport in advance, as everyone will be looking for places to stay and transport options at that time of year.
While I always prefer village home stays or local rest houses, you may have a problem in December, when all the family members return to the villages for Christmas and the villages become very full.
Unfortunately, Western Province is the area of Solomon Islands I have little experience with, so can't make individual recommendations. It would probably be preferable to try somewhere where you can enquire and book in advance. You will also be relying on local people with outboards to get you around, so there will be little timetabled travel, apart from the plane or ship between Honiara and Seghe/Munda/Gizo. Outboards can be relatively expensive.

I know Marovo well. Ozziegiraffe is right, it's a busy time of year and it may be difficult to move around. People will be preoccupied with preparing for Christmas, welcoming people home etc, and it may not be the best time of year to look at village stays. You should definitely book flights and accommodation in advance. Chea village on Marovo Island is well set up to accommodate tourists - they have a nice guesthouse and seem to provide a range of activities.

For diving, the most popular options seem to be Bilikiki and Uepi (I don't dive, so this is just my impression): http://www.visitsolomons.com.sb/diving

I was in the western province last year from the 14th -30th of December and there was still a lot of vacancies at most places we stayed. Fatboys was the only place we stayed on our 5 weeks in the Solomons that was fully booked and that was over Christmas. I reckon that if you are a confident traveller then just go with the flow and organise things as you go. We had two broken down planes and delayed flights and had no trouble organising accommodation on the spot. I would however book your flights early as they do book up, and if you are planning on staying at anywhere special i would also book that in advance.

*Tetepare is amazing so get there if you can.

If you are interested in diving or even just getting from one island to another, take a look at this company. http://www.facebook.com/fishsolomonislands/info I have heard good reports about this operator. As for the accommodation, perhaps they may be able to stear you in the wright direction.
Good Luck