Vilu War Museum

Top choice


About 25km from Honiara, a turn to the south from the coastal road brings you to this great open-air museum. Here there are US, Japanese, Australian, Fijian and New Zealand memorials, four large Japanese field guns and the remains of several US and Japanese aircraft, including a Betty bomber, a Lightning fighter and a Wildcat fighter whose wings can still be folded as they were for naval carrier-borne operations.


Lonely Planet's must-see attractions

Nearby attractions

1. Sherman Tank

6.42 MILES

Just across the road from Bonegi beach, there’s a bush track that heads inland and runs about 400m to a rusty US Sherman tank called Jezebel which was…

2. Bonegi

6.54 MILES

About 12km west from Honiara, Bonegi is music to the ears of divers, snorkellers and sunbathers. Two large Japanese freighters sank just offshore on the…

3. Visale

7.18 MILES

About 40km from Honiara is this timeless hamlet blessed with a majestic setting – it's wedged between the sea and a soaring, velvet-green hill. Soak up…

4. Turtle Beach

8.98 MILES

Turtle Beach is an appealing strip of white coral sand fringed with coconut trees.

5. Lela Beach

10.41 MILES

Popular with locals and expats at weekends, this beach has black sand and is OK for swimming and bathing.

6. Botanical Gardens

13.78 MILES

These lovely grounds on the hills located above the city provide a green haven for nature lovers.

7. National Museum

14.33 MILES

This modest museum – there is only one room – features interesting displays and old photographs on traditional dance, body ornamentation, currency,…

8. National Parliament

14.53 MILES

The conical-shaped concrete building that’s perched on the hill above Hibiscus Ave is the National Parliament. Inside, the dome boasts a rich tapestry of…