Bonegi I (Hirokawa Maru)

Bonegi II (Kinugawa Maru)

Bonegi III (Kyusyu Maru)

Doma Reef (Coral Sea Wreck)

I-1 Japanese Submarine (Tambea)

Japanese Seaplane Wreck (Visale)

Sandy Beach (Mbokona Bay)

The Pinnacles (off Honiara)

Turtle Point (Honiara)

Honiara and Guadalcanal serve a hearty mix of Melanesian staples and expat fare. Taro, cassava and sweet potato anchor most meals, while the real star is the seafood: red snapper, tuna, mangrove crab and the famous 'nori' reef fish prepared in coconut milk. Chinese and Malaysian restaurants line the capital, and resort kitchens turn the daily catch into curries and grills. Eating is unhurried, and a cold SolBrew or fresh papaya finishes a dive day nicely.

Heritage Park Hotel

Honiara Hotel

King Solomon Hotel

Bonegi Beach Lodge

Mendana Hotel

Guadalcanal and its capital Honiara sit above Iron Bottom Sound, one of the most historically charged bodies of water on Earth, where the 1942–43 Guadalcanal Campaign left dozens of Japanese and Allied ships and aircraft on the seabed. The name says it all: the sound is so thick with sunken steel that charts look like a graveyard. Today this Coastwatcher country offers a remarkable blend of accessible shore wrecks and deep, current-swept seamounts, all wrapped in warm, clear Coral Triangle water. Divers can fin from a Honiara beach straight onto a 133 m transport ship, then spend the next dive exploring a torn-open submarine or a coral-encrusted seaplane. Beyond the metal, the reefs of Mbokona Bay and the Pinnacles hold clouds of glassfish, resident batfish, lionfish and the occasional hammerhead. It is a destination that rewards both the wreck obsessive and the macro photographer, and its shore accessibility makes world-class history available to every certification level.

Guadalcanal – Honiara & Iron Bottom Sound

Fly into Honiara International Airport (HIR) on Solomon Airlines or a regional carrier, then base yourself in Honiara. Most Iron Bottom Sound and Bonegi sites are reached by short boat ride or even by wading in from the beach, while the Pinnacles and Doma Reef are boat dives with operators in Honiara and Mendana.

Dive Sites in Guadalcanal – Honiara & Iron Bottom Sound