Solomon Islands (archipelago)

The Solomon Islands archipelago is a large, dispersed group of islands in the southwest Pacific Ocean, east of Papua New Guinea and forming part of Melanesia. It includes hundreds of islands of varied size, many with coral reefs, dense rainforest and significant cultural diversity.

Key visitor attractions in the archipelago include rich coral reefs and scuba diving on wartime wrecks, dense interior landscapes with customary villages, and World War II battle sites and memorials concentrated on islands such as Guadalcanal and the New Georgia group. Travel between islands is often by small plane, inter-island ferry or private launch and can be slow because of distances and limited infrastructure.

The islands were first contacted by Europeans in the 16th century and were variously administered by colonial powers in later centuries; during the Second World War Guadalcanal was the focus of major land and naval campaigns. In the 20th century parts of the archipelago became the independent nation state of the Solomon Islands, while some islands lie within the modern state of Papua New Guinea.

Geographically the chain stretches across the southwestern Pacific east of New Guinea, with major island groups including Guadalcanal, Malaita, New Georgia and Santa Isabel; many smaller inner reefs and atolls lie across a broad sea area.

• Scale and travel: The archipelago contains nearly a thousand islands and is extremely dispersed; travel between islands is commonly by small planes, inter-island ferries or private boat.
• WWII heritage and diving: Many sites of interest to visitors relate to the 1942-1945 Pacific campaigns - battlefields, shipwrecks and memorials are scattered across Guadalcanal and the Western Islands.

What to See #

• Guadalcanal: Guadalcanal, the largest and best-known island in the chain, site of the Second World War campaign and home to the capital Honiara on its north coast.
• New Georgia: New Georgia group, an island cluster with lagoon systems and extensive World War II sites and wreck-dive locations popular with divers.
• Santa Isabel and Malaita: Santa Isabel and Malaita, large islands with extensive interior rainforests, customary villages and coastal reefs used for fishing and subsistence activities.