Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in
Solomon Islands

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Bilikiki Cruises: "Awesome Boat and Crew", Sep, 2023, by ROBERT PECORARO, HI, US ( Sr. Contributor 20 reports with 11 Helpful votes). Report 12550.
Photos Submitted with this Report Click on an image to see an enlarged version and captions
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spent 10 days aboard the Bilikiki dive boat from Honaira, Solomon Islands. The boat offered 5 dives a day, on most days, including night dives nearly every night. The diving was a good mixture of larger and smaller subjects, including large schools of fish at many of the sites. There were some sharks on some of the dives, mostly Grey Reef, Silver Tips and Whitetip Reef Sharks. We saw a few Mobula Rays and Spotted Eagle Rays, and even one Manta. The reefs were quite beautiful, with a good mixture of hard and soft corals. We did some dives on historic wreckage and leftover military equipment from WWII. There was a sunken Japanese Sea Plane and some US equipment that was scuttled after the war was over. The dive conditions were excellent, with visibility reaching 100 ft on many days. There were a few dives around the lagoons that had less than perfect visibility. The water temp was pretty warm, averaging around 80-81 degrees F. The weather topside was a mixture of sun, clouds and rain. It was still pretty comfortable topside during all conditions. There were some cool cave dives that we dove that are best done on sunny days. The crew actually switched around a few dives so that we had a better chance at experiencing those sites at their best. That was good planning on their part, as we got the full experience when we actually made those dives. The Bilikiki is a large and spacious boat. The dive deck is well-organized and it has two large rinse buckets for cameras and a large rinse bucket for dive equipment. There are two showers with hot and cold water on the dive deck. The diving is done from two aluminum "Tinnies" in three groups. Divers choose the groups they want to be with. Divers can either stay with the dive guide or go off on their own, with their buddies. Some dives are done directly from the dive deck. Sometimes the crew sets up an "open pool", if the boat is able to tie up near the shoreline. During the "open pool" times, buddy teams can go diving whenever they want, and do not have to dive the scheduled dives. The rooms were relatively small, but comfortable. Ours had a bunk bed with A/C and a fan. It had a decent-sized bathroom, with a separated shower. It did not have much storage for clothes and other stuff, but bags could be stored under the bed. We certainly made due, and we adapted quickly. There was a separate room on the second deck for the charging of batteries, computers, phones, etc. The room is well equipped with both A/C and D/C charging stations, complete with power strips. They also had small baskets to store your stuff. You are not supposed to leave anything charging, unattended, in the cabins. There was a camera table in the lounge area and also one on the dive deck. The camera table in the lounge also had power strips for charging computers and phones. There were also baskets there for your camera gear. The food was excellent and it was served buffet-style for every meal. There was a good selection of food and they made special meals for those with particular diets or allergies. There were large tables on the back deck that were set up during meal times. The boat has a large staff and they were excellent. They have a husband and wife manager team (Pato and Fernando), and they took care of our every need. They were lots of fun and very personable. The rest of the crew were excellent as well. In addition to diving, the guests had the opportunity to visit a few local villages to shop for exquisite wood carvings and also to see a dance show put on by the villagers. The boat also purchased fresh fruits, vegetable and fish from local “floating Markets” that gathered around the boat on several occasions. The villagers would bring their goods out to the boat in dugout canoes. We did have a couple of sick passengers on board the boat. At least one guy had the flu when he boarded and his room mate also got sick, and he eventually left the cruise. The crew was attentive to those ill passengers and most people kept their distance. There were no special covid measures for either the Solomon Islands or for the boat. In conclusion, we had an outstanding dive cruise aboard the Bilikiki. They have an excellent reputation in the dive world, and they certainly lived up to that reputation. I would highly recommend the Bilikiki to anyone seeking an extraordinary adventure and great diving.
Websites	Bilikiki Cruises
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Continental US, Hawaii, caribbean, Indo Pacific, Africa, Asia, South Pacific, Antarctica
Closest Airport	Honaira	Getting There	We flew from Honolulu to Fiji to Honaira
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy, cloudy, dry	Seas	calm, choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp	78-82°F / 26-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	3
Water Visibility	40-100 Ft/ 12-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Certain dives had reasonable time restrictions in order to stay on schedule and in order to leave time to do all the dives.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	They had excellent camera facilities and great subject matter, which they discussed before and pointed out during the dives.

Subscriber's Comments

By Mary McCombie in CT, US at Sep 22, 2023 14:16 EST

Hi, Bob! You forgot to mention that you did all 48 dives...hardcore! Mel

By report author: ROBERT PECORARO in HI, US at Sep 25, 2023 13:29 EST

Thanks Mel. That’s how I roll 😂

By report author: ROBERT PECORARO in HI, US at Sep 25, 2023 13:29 EST

Thanks Mel. That’s how I roll 😂

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Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in Solomon Islands

Bilikiki Cruises: "Awesome Boat and Crew", Sep, 2023,

Photos Submitted with this Report

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Subscriber's Comments

Dive Review of Bilikiki Cruises in
Solomon Islands