Solomon Islands

Marovo Lagoon offers plenty of exhilarating dives for both experts and novices. Here’s the menu: channels, caves, drop-offs, coral gardens, clouds of technicolour fish and a few wrecks thrown in for good measure. A few iconic sites include Uepi Point, General Store and Lumalihe Passage.

With dozens of lovely sites scattered throughout the lagoon, snorkelling is equally impressive. Lodges can organise lagoon tours and snorkelling trips, which cost anything from S$100 to S$300 per person depending on distance and duration. Bring your own gear.

Langa Langa Lagoon is indisputably one of Malaita’s highlights. Extending from 7km to 32km south of Auki, the lagoon is famous for its artificial islands built of stones and dead corals. It’s also a strong centre for traditional activities, especially shell-money making and shipbuilding.

One proviso: ‘lagoon’ is a bit misleading. If it has recently rained, waters may be more chocolate than bright turquoise, and you won’t find stunning beaches to sun yourself on. People rather come here for the laid-back tempo and the magical setting.

A perfect cone-shaped volcano that rises to 1770m, Kolombangara looms majestically on the horizon, northeast of Ghizo Island. It rises from a 1km-wide coastal plain through flat-topped ridges and increasingly steep escarpments to the rugged crater rim of Mt Veve. For history buffs, there are WWII Japanese relics scattered around the island.

You'll need a day to take in the sights east of Honiara.

One of the star attractions in Honiara’s hinterlands is Mataniko Falls, which feature a spectacular thundering of water down a cliff straight into a canyon below. The hike to these waterfalls starts in Lelei village with a steep ascent to a ridge, followed by an easier stretch amid mildly undulating hills. Then you’ll tackle a gruelling descent on a muddy path to reach the floor of the little canyon where the Mataniko flows. It's roughly two hours return.

This large rainforest island is one of the Solomons’ conservation jewels. The Tetepare Descendants’ Association, which manages the island, welcomes visitors in its rustic yet genuinely ecofriendly leafhouses (no air-con, solar power, shared facilities). What makes this place extra special is the host of environmentally friendly activities available, including snorkelling with dugongs, spotting crocodiles, birdwatching and turtle-tagging.

A mere 10-minute boat ride south of Gizo, this island has a brochure-esque appeal, with an expansive lagoon and a string of white-sand beaches.

Another world awaits just a two-hour boat ride from Honiara, either on Tulagi or Savo.

In the middle of the Florida Islands, Tulagi was the Solomons’ former capital; it was also a Japanese base during WWII. It's now a renowned playground for divers, with a series of fabulous wrecks lying just offshore. Raiders Hotel, right on the waterfront (no beach), features tip-top rooms and has a professional dive shop that caters mainly to certified divers (no courses are offered). A single dive costs S$550 and diving-gear hire is S$450 per day. Wreck buffs will need a few days to explore the huge WWII wrecks lying just offshore, including the monster-sized USS Kanawha, the USS Aaron Ward and the Moa. Raiders Hotel can organise private transfers, or you can take an outboard-powered dinghy from the little beach next to Point Cruz Yacht Club in Honiara (about S$200 one way, or S$1800 if it's chartered). The passenger boat MV 360 Flyer/Discovery also travels between Honiara and Tulagi (S$200 one-way, two hours) twice a week.

Though lying just 14km north of Guadalcanal, Savo is another great escape. Imagine an active volcano with a pair of dormant craters, coconut groves, a narrow strip of grey-sand beach and a few hot springs that are accessible by foot. The island also features a megapode field where hundreds of female birds lay their eggs in holes scratched into the hot sand. If you're lucky, you'll also spot pods of dolphins just offshore. Sunset Lodge has basic rooms and can arrange various tours as well as transfers from Honiara (S$400 per person return).