Solomon Islands, Marovo Lagoon?

[dykfrasse]

Hi,

anybody been to Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands?
Any info on resorts(Uepi, Charapoana Resort) and diving would be greatly appreciated! Planning a combined honeymoon/dive trip in Sep 2005.

Does the Biliki liveaboard come to this area, or is it too far from Honiara?

Heard some rumours about Solomon Air not being reliable, is it better to go with Air Niugini(not exactly known for reliability either...) from Port Moresby than try Solomon Air from Australia or Fiji?

Thanks in advance,
Olof

 

[reubencahn]

No personal knowledge but I've heard Billikiki might make it to Marovo on longer cruises. I have friend who says Billikiki is the best overall diving he's ever done and he's done a lot. I've also heard Uepi is wonderful. Never heard anything about Charapoana. You might try contacting Diversionoz.com. Their agents generally have personal experience with the locations they handle. They are the best travel agent I have used. Also please post a trip report if you go. I'm thinking about this trip for '06.

 

[peterjmaerz]

FYI, guys,

Bilikiki's 14 day trips are, according to their website, booked up through 2006, other than one at the end of this November! Shorter trips (including 12 nights) have availabilities but, considering the amount of time and energy apparently needed to get to the boat, it seems that less than a full two weeks aboard would be a waste.
I've been considering the Solomons as an option for a while but the availability/travel obstacles have been off-putting.
Olof, the Bilikiki website does list the Marovo Lagoon as one of the sites "to choose from" as they plan their trips.

Best Regards,

 

[Mel.B]

While I can't help you with Upei, I spent a week at Tulagi in the Solomons recently and it was fantastic. We flew Solomon Airlines from Brisbane and had no problems. They were actually using Air Vanuatu planes at the time and I think that situation is expected to continue. When we were leaving, our plane was about an hour late leaving, because it had to wait for the Air Narau flight to leave. If it wasn't for that, we would have missed our flight! Also make sure your spouse is a diver, because there is NOTHING to do for non-divers.

HTH,
Mel

 

[BacardiSpice]

I went to Marovo Lagoon on the 'Spirit of the Solomons' (operated by Bilikiki) in 1998...it was a 10 day trip. Would do it again in a heartbeat, and plan on it at some time in the future. Among the sites we dived were Roger's Reef, MaleMale, "George's Night Spot" and Anenome Point. The boat, crew, service and food were as superlative as the diving.

 

[Harry Kreigh]

Hi,

anybody been to Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands?
Any info on resorts(Uepi, Charapoana Resort) and diving would be greatly appreciated! Planning a combined honeymoon/dive trip in Sep 2005.

Does the Biliki liveaboard come to this area, or is it too far from Honiara?

Heard some rumours about Solomon Air not being reliable, is it better to go with Air Niugini(not exactly known for reliability either...) from Port Moresby than try Solomon Air from Australia or Fiji?

Thanks in advance,
Olof

Hi,

I just returned from a 2-week trip on the Bilikiki. We spent 1 week at Morovo Lagoon- some outstanding wall/reef dives with pelagics, tropical fish and exotic critters, plus lots of sea fans and anemones. We also visited several villages to buy wood carvings, and 2 divers got married in a tribal ceremony. I don't know about the resorts there.

You won't be disappointed on the Bilikiki, the diving and service are exceptional. I really enjoyed the dives at Mary's Island (a thousand chevron barracuda, jacks, huge tuna, mantas, eagle rays, etc.) and the Florida and Russell Islands. Those sites are closer to Guadalcanal.

The flights are subject to change. We had booked flights through Fiji, but the return flight (Thursday) was canceled in July. So we flew through Brisbane, which required an overnight stay on the return. I understand the Fiji flight may be reinstated soon.

I highly recommend the Solomons as a dive destination - the reefs are unspoiled and the people are "lost in time", an unforgetable experience.

Harry

 

[dykfrasse]

Thanks for all the info!

Not a bad word about the Solomons, must be a great destination. And the Biliki must be a great liveaboard if it's booked up until 2006!

The Charapoana Island Resort is a small guest-house, accomodation max 10 guests at a time. Have a look at their website : http://www.charapoana.com/html-en/title.phtml
Think they messed up some details though, a 2 week dive package consisting of 8 dives?

/Olof

 

[Gayle]

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Hi,

anybody been to Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands?
Any info on resorts(Uepi, Charapoana Resort) and diving would be greatly appreciated! Planning a combined honeymoon/dive trip in Sep 2005.

Does the Biliki liveaboard come to this area, or is it too far from Honiara?

Heard some rumours about Solomon Air not being reliable, is it better to go with Air Niugini(not exactly known for reliability either...) from Port Moresby than try Solomon Air from Australia or Fiji?

Thanks in advance,
Olof

 

[Gayle]

Hi Olof,

My husband and I have visited Uepi Island Resort in Maravo Lagoon 4 times over the last 3 years and are hanging out til Dec 23rd when we leave on our next visit.
If you are looking for a place to honeymoon you could not pick a more idealic place! The 6 cabins that overlook the Maravo Lagoon are so generously spaced you can bearly tell your not entirely alone on Uepi.
As for the diving it is better than world class! Some of the best sites are as close as the end of the dive shop jetty! Others are a few minutes away. We heve never failed to be mezmerised by the sheer diversity of the diving at Uepi even after nearly 80 dives. The professionalism and enthusiasim of Dive Instructors and Resort Managers Jill and Grant Kelly and their staff is fantastic and I offer you this challenge - just try and visit once - in my opinion it cant be done. Just ask all the repeat customers we meet there every year!
Just a word about Solomon Air. Yes they are a bit unreliable at times with their domestic service in terms of schedulling but we've made it every time without too many problems. They make passengers with international connections a priority. It's all part of the Solomon Islands experience and well worth it.

Cheers

Gayle

 

[cbimages]

Olof

I must completely agree with Gayle's comments. Eveything she says is true, and then some. The beauty of the island, the excellence of the diving and the sheer joy of being able to vist such an unspoiled place, is worth the occassional issue of Solomon airlines and delayed flights. We have had domestic flight changes or delays, and when this happens, the airline has organised accomodation if necessary, and paid all our meal expenses.

Once you are at Uepi, you can forget the world, there is no TV, radio or phones. You can relax, dive, swim, eat and even challenge the staff to a game of soccer or netball. And the food is just superb - local fruits an plenty of seafood. Mudcrab is on the menu most nights - and is all included in your daily tariff.

You will quickly become part of the Uepi "family" and as Uepi only caters for a small number of guests, it is easy to settle in and feel really at home there.

My husband & I have visited the Solomons over 30 times, having dived all areas and making many trips on one of the Bilikiki Cruises boats. Some years ago, we realised that we were finding the hectic pace of multi dives every day to be not really very enjoyable. We realised that we were enjoying our time at Uepi much more, and have made this idyllic spot our sole dive destination which we visit twice each year. We now do two, much longer, relaxing dives, every day. Longer dives, for us, are 100 minutes or more - and we are never hassled to leave the water before we are ready.

As for the marine life around Uepi, everything is there, plenty of sharks, millions of fish, pristine corals and unspoilt reefs. I am a photographer and still find and record new species of marine life around Uepi, even after 100's of dives there.

It really is a dream location and for a honeymoon, ask for cabin 6. It is at the far end of the resort, has it's own beach area and is very secluded!

If you'd like any more info on Uepi, please feel free to contact me offlist -cbimages@ceinternet.com.au






anybody been to Marovo Lagoon in the Western Province of the Solomon Islands?
Any info on resorts(Uepi, Charapoana Resort) and diving would be greatly appreciated! Planning a combined honeymoon/dive trip in Sep 2005.

Does the Biliki liveaboard come to this area, or is it too far from Honiara?

Heard some rumours about Solomon Air not being reliable, is it better to go with Air Niugini(not exactly known for reliability either...) from Port Moresby than try Solomon Air from Australia or Fiji?

Thanks in advance,
Olof[/QUOTE]