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Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in
Solomon Islands

Bilikiki Cruises: "Bucket-list diving on a perfectly run boat", Nov, 2022,

by Joel Snyder, AZ, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 29 reports with 30 Helpful votes). Report 12304 has 2 Helpful votes.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations For Subscribers Only Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude For Subscribers Only Environmental Sensitivity For Subscribers Only
Dive Operation For Subscribers Only Shore Diving For Subscribers Only
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ For Subscribers Only
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced For Subscribers Only
Comments We dove with the Bilikiki on a 2-week cruise in November 2022. This was our second trip with them (the first was in 2016), so you know that we were happy enough with the boat, crew, and diving to make a second trip.

The Bilikiki has 10 cabins, with a maximum diver capacity of 23. On our trip, we ended up with 15 divers, which made for an uncrowded dive deck and very easy logistics.

Like many liveaboards, the Bilikiki offers a packed diving schedule. With few exceptions, you could dive up to 5 times a day (including the post-dinner night dive). Dive times were rarely limited, so our average dive time across 48 dives was more than 70 minutes per dive. Water temperatures in November were a consistent 85F (29C), with occasional dips down to 83F (28C). I dove the entire trip in a skin with no thermal protection.

The diving was amazingly good: healthy hard and soft corals, reefs full of fish of all sizes, only occasional light currents. November is part of the rainy season, though, so many days were overcast and we had some rain every few days. (Rain does not stop the diving). Some dive sites had literally acres of elkhorn coral. While we did see some evidence of Crown of Thorns damage, the entire ecosystem seemed healthy at the sites we visited. Shark and turtle sightings were fairly frequent. At some dive sites, the shifting schools of fish were so dense that we elected to just stay in one spot and look around, watching school after school swim past us, over us, and under us: fusiliers, jacks, triggerfish, barracuda, and more. At another we found a pair of octopus who began their mating ritual right in front of us. Because of the overcast skies, we spent a lot of time looking for macro subjects: tons of nudibranchs and flatworms, orangutang crabs, gobies, blennies, cleaner shrimp, and squat lobsters on sea fans and crinoids. And one thing tha ... Subscribe to get the full story. For Subscribers Only  Active subscribers continue reading here
Websites Bilikiki Cruises   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Asia; Carib; Mexico; Hawaii; Red Sea
Closest Airport Honiara Getting There Best connections are through Fiji (NAN) via LAX/SFO; an Australia option (via Brisbane) also exists but is costly.

Dive Conditions

Weather rainy, cloudy Seas calm
Water Temp 84-85°F / 29-29°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 30-50 Ft/ 9-15 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Occasional/rare requests to limit bottom time due to boat schedule. No requirement to follow dive master.
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins Schools Whale Sharks None
Turtles > 2 Whales None
Corals 5 stars Tropical Fish For Subscribers Only
Small Critters For Subscribers Only Large Fish For Subscribers Only
Large Pelagics For Subscribers Only

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter For Subscribers Only Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's For Subscribers Only Shore Facilities For Subscribers Only
UW Photo Comments Photographers were well accommodated. The boat has a charging room with counters and tons of outlets in every configuration on the upper deck and requested that all charging of any devices happ ... Subscribe to get the full story. For Subscribers Only  Active subscribers continue reading here
Was this report helpful to you?
Report currently has 2 Helpful votes

Subscriber's Comments

By Michael Anderson in CA, US at Dec 22, 2022 20:32 EST  
Very helpful. I have wanted to go dive with them for many years. Bucket list item!!
By Joel Horie in UT, US at Jan 20, 2023 00:17 EST  
Thanks for the detailed review.
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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