Ontong Java

Sikaiana & Stewart Islands

Expeditions to the northern atolls are entirely liveaboard-based, with meals from the galley built around imported and frozen provisions and the occasional fresh catch. Coconut, rice and vegetables are staples, and the crew keeps divers fuelled for long passages and demanding dives. Any shore visit may bring traditional hospitality with fresh seafood and root crops, a rare cultural exchange at the edge of the nation.

Northern Atolls Expedition Liveaboard

MV Bilikiki

Heritage Park Hotel

Solomons Master

Honiara Hotel

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.

Ontong Java & Stewart Islands (Far Northern Atolls)

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.

Dive Sites in Ontong Java & Stewart Islands (Far Northern Atolls)

Ontong Java

Sikaiana & Stewart Islands