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2016 Solomon Islands Liveaboard

  • 13 Aug 2016
  • 23 Aug 2016
  • Solomon Islands • SOLD OUT • Waitlist Available
  • 1

Registration

  • Space bought from another diver. No payment due to NCRD at this time. Will advise re. subsequent progress payments.
Registration is closed
Solomon Islands 2016
on the Bilikiki


Add your name to the waiting list here.  
Or for more information email David Zippin


Rainbow Divers
August 13 - 23, 2016
10 days and 10 nights




Members only package price:
  • $4,430 per person double occupancy
  • all deluxe cabins are the same:  each is air conditioned with a double bed below and single bed above, with private shower, toilet, and hand basin    

 

Join 19 other lucky NCRD divers on a trip of a lifetime to an exotic and little-visited dive destination--the Solomon Islands. It is a world-class dive destination with fascinating and unique culture, and a rich 20th century history. Honiara, the capital, is on the island of Guadalcanal, the site of some of the most intense fighting of WWII. 

The walls, reefs, pinnacles and coral gardens of Solomon Islands support an amazing variety and quantity of sea creatures. The varieties of fish are staggering. Within a few yards of each other, anemone fish, angel fish, butterfly fish, humphead parrot fish and other reef dwellers can all be seen. Just a short distance away large schools of barracuda, big-eye trevally and other pelagics cruise in the blue waters. There are hundreds of dive sites throughout the Solomons, including wrecks (ships and planes), pinnacles, walls, and the famous "muck dives" in silt where camouflaged critters abound! Pelagic species are also common.

The Solomon Islands offer outstanding underwater photography opportunities in diverse underwater settings. Mantis shrimp, ghost pipefish, and pygmy seahorses are only a few examples of what you may find. 

Diving conditions are suitable for divers of any experience level--beginner to advanced.  Water temperatures will range from 82 - 85ºF in. Underwater terrain varies from walls to reefs, to passages to "bommies". You'll visit caverns with shafts of sunlight illuminating the interior. You'll swim 200 feet into a split in an island, and when you surface you'll be under a jungle canopy listening to the parrots and cockatoos. You'll enter a tunnel on a pinnacle and exit minutes later in the deep blue ocean. 

The culture

The Solomon Islands consists of 70 distinct, active languages. Their traditional Melanesian culture is vibrant and on display wherever the Bilikiki docks.  The boat crew will be buying local produce from dugout canoes almost every day, so participants will have frequent opportunities to interact with locals. Children on the canoes are especially entertaining. There will also be at least one village excursion to visit a school and church, and where you can buy local handicrafts. (This excursion is included in the trip price). 


The boat

We will be living on the Bilikiki, a 125-foot boat built in 1989. While she is not a luxury vessel, she is spacious, well apportioned, and she and her crew are highly experienced. Boat features include:

  • All cabins with a double bed below and single bed above, all with private shower, toilet, and hand basin
  • Air conditioning
  • Large Screen LCD TV with USB port

  • Digital Projector
  • Multi-format video/DVD system
  • Evening slide shows
  • Large camera tables
  • Separate rinse bins for photo gear
  • Separate photo room

Included in trip price

  • Hotel or airport transfers in Honiara
  • onboard accommodation (10 nights)
  • all meals, snacks, and non-alcoholic beverages
  • unlimited diving for 9 days (boat schedules are designed for 5 dives per day but more are possible within safety limits)
  • weights and belt, tanks and air fills
  • $25/night mandatory government tax (this is not included in the public retail price but IS included in the club price)
  • Paypal fee
  • Bunk treats and trip t-shirt    
  • Guided land excursions
Not included
  • Optional dive gear rental
  • Optional Nitrox fills, $20 per diving day
  • International flights to Honiara, Solomon Islands (HIR)
  • Airport taxes and departures fees
  • Visa and entry fees
  • Gratuities
  • Optional beer or wine
  • Any items of a personal nature
  • Travel or dive accident insurance

Getting There

There are three airlines that currently fly to Honiara:  

1) Fiji Airways (formerly Air Pacific), from Nadi, Fiji one day per week (Tuesdays).

2) Solomon Airlines from Nadi, Fiji and Brisbane, Australia.  Both connections are four times per week.

3) Virgin Blue (Virgin Australia) from Brisbane two days per week (Tues and Thurs).

Schedules and carriers may change by the time bookings are available in late 2015. Current connections provide excellent opportunities for pre- or post-trips on your own in Fiji or Australia. For current schedules of the airlines that fly to the Solomons, click here. 

Boarding time on the first day is typically 4 - 5 PM. An overnight in Fiiji, Australia, or Honiara is recommended to allow adjustment to the time zone and to ensure arrival in time for the boat departure. Disembarkation is around 8 AM on the last day, allowing same day departures on Aug. 23. 

More information on airline travel will be provided in mid-2015 to assist participants with their bookings.



Rainbow Divers is a 501(c)7 non-profit mutual benefit organization, and can only organize activities and trips for its members. Membership is cheap and comes with a bunch of new lifelong friends at no extra charge. So if you’d like to participate in this trip, please join the club.

Payment plan

  • $1,000 at time of registration
  • $580 due November 2014
  • $570 due March 2015
  • $570 due July 2015
  • $570 due September 2015
  • $570 due January 2016
  • $570 due April 2016

Payments are generally non-refundable. If you sign up and your plans change there may or may not be someone interested in taking your spot. If you cancel without having made all payments it is your responsibility to find someone to pay your obligation in full. It is a good idea to carry trip insurance to cover such an eventuality.



Trip payments may be made by PayPal or by personal check. PayPal will accept credit card payments, regardless of whether you have a PayPal account. The price is the same regardless of payment method.  Please consider using PayPal, as electronic payment greatly simplifies the work of our volunteers.  Please send PayPal payments to paypal@rainbowdivers.org

All divers on this trip should be comfortable diving in currents and have good buoyancy skills.  Divers are required to carry valid, in-force dive accident insurance, such as may be obtained from Divers' Alert Network (DAN).

Divers must agree to NCRD's Event Terms and Conditions to participate in this trip. Follows these links please:

Event Terms and Conditions

Rainbow Divers Liability Release



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