Diving Ontong Java & the Stewart Islands

About Ontong Java & Stewart Islands (Far Northern Atolls)

Ontong Java and the Stewart and Sikaiana Islands are the far-northern atolls of the Solomon Islands, a near-mythical diving frontier reached only by the longest expedition liveaboards. Ontong Java is one of the largest atolls on Earth, a ring of palm-fringed islets around a vast, shallow lagoon where huge schools of pelagics, sharks and manta rays gather. Sikaiana and Stewart offer untouched coral walls, big-eye trevally and the possible appearance of whale sharks in the blue. Human presence is sparse and traditional, and the diving is as close to unexplored as anywhere in the country. For the truly expedition-minded, these atolls represent the Solomon Islands at its most remote and pristine, a final chapter of discovery in the Coral Triangle.

Highlights

• ✓Ontong Java: one of the world's largest atolls, with huge pelagic schools, sharks and mantas in the lagoon.
• ✓Sikaiana & Stewart Islands: untouched coral walls with big-eye trevally and possible whale sharks.
• ✓Reached only by the longest expedition liveaboards.
• ✓Among the most remote, least-dived atolls on the planet.

Getting There

These northern atolls are reached only by the longest expedition liveaboards departing from Honiara, involving extended open-ocean passages. There is no tourist infrastructure, and the crossings require careful planning around weather and currents with an experienced operator.