Explore Our South Pacific Quaintness
The city of Honiara is a growing South Pacific city and the vibrant center of commerce for the entire country. It’s a melting pot of races and influences including; Melanesian, Micronesian, Polynesian, European and Asian (especially Chinese).
Below are some activities while in the city… many are just within walking distance:
Historic War Memorials – behind Honiara City are the Japanese and American War Memorials. Relics can also be found overlooking Iron Bottom Sound. There is also a Memorial Garden outside the international airport.
National Museum – only a couple of hundred metres down the road, the National Museum houses an impressive collection of custom and traditional artefacts, photographs and historical materials and findings spanning the last 20,000 years.
Botanical Gardens – the gardens with flowing rapids and small cascades are only a short walk from the King Solomon Hotel and contain many interesting and exotic tropical specimens.
Cultural Centre – all nine Solomon Islands provinces are represented via the different traditional architectural styles of designs of the leaf houses set in the grounds behind the National Museum.
Art Gallery – visit the gallery and witness the talent of Pacific artists on display for all those who appreciate art. For those looking for paintings to view and/or purchase from the Sol’s burgeoning cultural scene, this is a ‘must visit’.
Central Market – just five minutes down the road from the King Solomon is the Honiara Market which offers fresh vegetable produce, fish and traditional villa building supplies that support the greater capital’s ever-growing demands.
Chinatown – Chinatown’s main street is lined with many storefronts housed in ‘colonial’ style buildings with verandas and iron roofs. It is also home to some of Honiara’s most interesting and price-friendly shopping.
Cafes and Restaurants – enjoy a sandwich or refreshing cup of coffee and try out the food in any of the many eateries in the CBD.
Hotel Hopping – visit the capital’s hotels and experience what the Solomon Islands has to offer.
Vilu War Museum – history was never more real than in the Solomons where remnants of WW2 planes, cannons and other materials now lie, each with a story of its own.
Mbonege Beach – here you can find a Japanese WW2 shipwreck that is still partially visible from land. A surreal and spectacular experience, it is only metres from the shore and is one of the easiest to access WWII wreck-snorkels that you will find anywhere in the world.