Dive Review of Solomon Master in
Solomon Islands

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Solomon Master: "Great Diving in the Solomon Islands", Nov, 2023, by Judi Radtke, CO, US ( Sr. Reviewer 9 reports with 5 Helpful votes). Report 12733 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
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	10 days aboard the Solomon Master Liveaboard is the perfect fix for fish lovers and adventure/wreck divers. This was a one way trip from Munda to Honiara and focused on the Russell islands between the start and ending point. The boat recently moved from Truk Lagoon and was a comfortable size for the 9 divers aboard. Our room was large with reasonably comfortable beds and nice hot water in the shower. The boat had one of the most extensive safety briefings we have ever encountered complete with 2 full scale fire drills. They also have a wide range of medication and medical support devices (O2, AED) available if needed. If you have to stay connected to the outside world then the boat just acquired a Starlink system making it possible to use Wifi for 100 dollars/wk. My very first dive was one of those once in a lifetime magic moments. I was mesmerized by the massive schools of jacks, batfish, fusiliers when I turned around to see a whale shark gently swimming straight at me. My squeals of delight caused the whale shark to decend right after swimming so close I could have touched it but it didn't disappear from sight before the rest of my dive buddies got to witness it too. The Solomons have a lot of diversity from stunning coral garden dives to walls, wrecks, and lots of tunnel swim through s with caves. The fish on the reef dives were abundant and diverse. I saw a new variety of fish with every new island stop. The highlights for me had to be Mary island where the whole dive you can hear the sonic boom of an underwater volcano many miles away and white beach that combines history with a stunning variety of fish including the elusive ghost pipefish. The night dives are not to be missed. I would rate the night dives in the top 5 of my lifetime night dives. It was one special find after the next with shrimp, lobster, crocodile fish, lionfish, pipefish, many varietals of snails, nudibranchs,and rays. One thing this liveaboard provided that I have never experienced before was what they called "open deck". From 2pm to 6pm you could dive on your own with your buddy taking as much time as your air supply would allow. We had a lot of fun with this and I was happy to be able to get some lengthy photo time with the elusive and rare octopus (in the Solomons at least). That would not have been possible on the typical guided dive. Diving was from a small inflatable panga and occasionally a giant stride from the big boat. The different part came when they throw out a tow line out for you to grab on to and drag you back to the big boat. That works fine in calm water but it isn't much fun in choppy water. I recommend keeping the reg in your mouth for those trips back. Most of the diving is outstanding. We did have one sad dive that they had not done in awhile only to discover that the whole area was covered in algae. That dive was not a complete loss as one member of the group was visited by a large hammerhead shark. For me the best diving was the reefs or wrecks that involved all the little critters with an abundance of fish. Once you have been thru one fish less crack/cave in the wall that was enough but you get more than 6 dives of this variety. That is just a personal preference. I would highly recommend this trip to any diver. The boat is nice with a great hardworking crew. The food was just excellent! A huge variety of abundant food was offered with some of the best desserts we have ever had on a live-aboard. Have you ever had fresh homemade chocolate eclairs on a live-aboard before? Yum.
Websites	Solomon Master
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Eygpt, Galapagos, Carribean, Indonesia, Palau, Mexico, Bonaire, Solomon, and Tahiti
Closest Airport	Honiara	Getting There	Connect through Fiji. Make sure and buy the fare that includes bags. Baggage fees are 160 dollars per bag if not included in the fare.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, rainy	Seas
Water Temp	81-84°F / 27-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	50-60 Ft/ 15-18 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	No deco and limit to 60 minutes.
Liveaboard?	yes	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	1 or 2
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	Plenty of table and charging space for photographers.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

Subscriber's Comments

By report author: Judi Radtke in CO, US at Nov 11, 2023 17:26 EST

Dave: there were always two DMs in the water, one with a group of four and another with five. On many dives, the two groups didn't even see each other.

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Dive Review of Solomon Master in Solomon Islands

Solomon Master: "Great Diving in the Solomon Islands", Nov, 2023,

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 Solomon Master in
Solomon Islands