Honiara - General Info
Where is Honiara?
Honiara lies on the northeast coast of the island of Guadalcanal. It is the capital of the Solomon Islands. During the last two decades, it has suffered many riots and parts of the town have been destroyed.
Honiara Entrance Notes and Cautions
- While this is a port of entry/exit – it is not recommended as there is a SIMA office here and the fees to pay are very high. See Fees for more details.
- There are two entrance buoys into Mbokona Bay. For safe passage into the bay, visitors need to line up either;
a) the flagpole at the YC
or
b) the left-hand side of the blue 6 story building behind the YC with the orange pole on top of the hill behind. It is about 10 feet high and 2 ft around and has a slow flashing light on top. - In northerly winds this port should be avoided. Not a safe anchorage between November to March.
- In general conditions here tend to be calm in the morning, with wind and swell developing from midday. By late afternoon the wind tends to drop, but the swell continues, which makes for an unpleasant motion in the anchorage. It is a deep anchorage, bouncy and often boats go adrift – so not to be recommended.
- There are 5 uncharted wrecks in the area.
- In 2024 there have been reports of some outboards being stolen and a dinghy was cut off the davits of one boat.
Honiara Cruiser Highlights
- Cruisers who visited in August 2023 recommended staying at Roderick Bay on Nggela Sule island and getting a banana boat across to Honiara for any supplies or change of crew.
- See this cruiser report for helpful information: Solomon Islands: Be Prepared for Adventure
- The yacht club is reported to be very welcoming (with good coffee) and the Coral Sea resort is a good place to eat.
- Easy provisioning and supplies.
Position:
09° 25’37″E, 159° 57’22″E (harbour approach)
Last updated: November 2024
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Related to following destinations: Guadalcanal, Honiara, Solomon Islands
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One the SE corner of Guadal Canal Island is the islands of Marapa. They are some of the most beautiful we have visited anywhere in the South Pacific. We strongly recommend a visit.
Pai Pai island is a truly stunning anchorage! Great sandy hold, well protected from the SE trades, well protected from swell, calm, flat and clear waters and stunning island and sand bars. There is a strong current at maximum tidal flow. It is very much worth staying here.
However, as everywhere in the Solomon Islands as soon as you arrive you must ask permission from the land owner. If you fail to do this you may find yourself in a very uncomfortable confrontation and not feel safe.
The land owner of Pai Pai Island island is the Tarakau Tribe. Your contact is Joaquim Pehu or, more easily to find, his sons Joaquim and Brown. Don’t wait for them to come to you, go and find them with some gifts and ask for their permission. They live nearby on Tawa ihi Island at 9°50.444’S 160°50.732’E.
We formed a good relationship with the Joaquim and his sons and felt safe the whole time we were here. We did stupidly leave a bag unattended on the island and a local sneaked through the bushes and stole 2 iPhones. We told Joaquim and he made sure they were both returned to us within less than 24hrs. Don’t leave anything unattended in the open!
A great contact here is Elijah at Conflict Bay Lodge. He can be contacted in advance at conflictbay@gmail.com. Elijah can be totally trusted. He is very knowledgeable, speaks excellent English and has a kind soul. He arranged an amazing meal for us in his home of lobster, mud crab and fish, which was a real highlight of our time in the Solomon Islands so far. Use him as your source of local information. If you need any further tips you can message Uhuru of London on WhatsApp +447779335417.