Product Description

This comprehensive and practical guide to the Solomons is packed with advice for independent travellers of all budgets. Explore the archipelago's 992 pristine islands, from large landmasses with rugged mountains and virgin forests to tiny, low-lying coral atolls encircling stunning lagoons. Stay in traditional leaf-house villages following kastom law and visit sacred skull shrines, caverns or thermal areas with the traditional owners.

• the only guide to the Solomons in English
• background on customs, ceremonies and traditional art
• comprehensive information on ecology, flora and fauna
• invalubale tips on where to go diving, snorkelling, walking, mountain climbing and caving
• information on a wide range of accommodation, from traditional villages to luxury resorts
• full details on transport between islands
• practical language section

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #1126000 in Books
• Published on: 1997-08
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 288 pages

Customer Reviews

useful but must be taken with a grain of salt
Somewhat disappointing for a LP guide, lots of text but not as much "meat". After travelling in the Solomons and talking with others one gets the impression that the author did quite limited travelling throughout the islands and largely relied on other's reports. The hike to Mataniko Falls is way more strenuous and dangerous than hinted. (It is still an awesome sight, especially if you're a caver) Likewise a hike along the Weather Coast is more challenging than one would gather from the text, there are places where villagers go by boat because of the vertical exposure. Makira Island is only marginal habitat for salt-water crocodiles according to a Conservation International report and not as abundant as stated in the guide. Given the dearth of information about the Solomons it is still worth buying, but prudence is recommended.

A decade later, still the best and only guide to the Solomons!
This is the last edition of Lonely Planet's Solomon Islands guide.
It has not been updated since the mid-90es, and has in theory been replaced by the publisher's 2005 "Papua New Guinea & Solomon Islands" guide, which in reality only devotes fewer than 30 pages to the Solomon Islands, completely ignoring half the country's provinces, concentraiting on Honiara and a few popular tourist spots instead.

This edition (or the nearly identical 2nd edition), in contrast, covers the entire archipelago in amazing detail, all the way from the Treasury Islands in the West to the remote Polynesian outliers of Tikopia and Anuta in the East.
Each major province and island is described in good detail, and is shown on a good map.
Needless to say, some things have changed - however in the Solomons they have probably changed much less than in most of the rest of the World!
I travelled in the country in 2005, and found myself using this book almost all the time, with the then brand new PNG & Solomons guide quickly buried to the depths of my backpack.

If you want to actually travel around this least visited corner of Melanesia, rather than just have a short holiday on a resort island in Western province, and especially if exploring remote islands and hiking remote mountains and shorelines is your thing, this book is definitely the one to take.
It is also highly recommended for those with a general interest in the country, as travel practicalities apart, the background info on the culture, geography and fauna of the Solomons is still better than I have found in any other single book.