Haepe Reef

Japanese Zero Wreck (Munda)

Munda Bar (Kashi Maru Wreck)

Munda Reef (Mushroom Forest)

Shark Point (Munda Bar)

Tombatuni Passage (Vona Vona Lagoon)

Vonavona Lagoon

Munda's dining is resort-led and built around the Western Province's superb seafood. Tuna, mahi-mahi, reef fish and the occasional mud crab are grilled, curried or simmered in coconut with taro and sweet potato. Guesthouses lay on hearty buffets for divers, and a cold drink at the Munda club is a rite of passage. Market days bring fresh fruit, while the lagoon's calm waters supply a steady stream of the day's catch.

Agnes Gateway Hotel

Munda Dive Lodge

Vonavona Lagoon Resort

Coastwatcher Lodge

New Georgia Guesthouse

Munda, on the western tip of New Georgia, is the laid-back adventure capital of the Western Province, a place where WWII wrecks, mushroom-coral fields and thrilling shark feeds sit within a short boat ride of a single dirt airstrip. The town is small, the welcome is huge, and the diving is astonishingly varied. The Kashi Maru (Munda Bar) transport lies upright and reachable from shore, while the Japanese Zero sits intact on a coral slope. Munda Reef's mushroom coral forest is a macro wonderland of pipefish, cuttlefish and octopus, and the Vonavona and Vona Vona lagoons offer calm muck dives where mandarinfish perform at dusk. Add a baited Shark Point with up to 30 sharks a dive and the drift of Tombatuni Passage, and you have a region that satisfies every appetite. Warm, clear water and a genuine frontier feel make Munda a cornerstone of any Solomon Islands trip.

Munda & New Georgia

Fly into Munda Airport (MUA) on Solomon Airlines from Honiara, then transfer to a local resort or guesthouse. Most sites are reached by the operator's dive boat in 10 to 40 minutes, and the Kashi Maru can even be dived from the shore at Munda Bar.