Public Busses: Guadalcanal & Honiara

Public busses are usually minivans full of locals. Sometimes, it's simply a ute with some locals sitting in the back. There's no real schedule, so it's just a case of flagging one down. Just stand on the side of the road, make eye contact with the driver, and stick out your hand. When they pull over, tell them where you're going and they'll either say yes, and nod for you to hop on. Or they'll shake their head and say no, which means they're going in a different direction. Say thanks, hop back on the road, and wait. 

From the airport to Honiara cost around SBD $5. To take a public bus, walk to the main road from the airport and watch for any minivans driving towards Honiara. If you're getting around within the city, the fare is usually SBD$3. 

If you ask a driver how much the fare is, it's clear that you're new to Honiara, so they'll may tell you it's SBD$20, or SBD$40. I always suggest that you pay what you think the local rate is (either through reading my website, or through talking with a local you befriend, or your accommodation host). If you've underpaid them, they'll let you know. Otherwise, just watch what the other locals pay, and you can figure it out pretty quickly without getting ripped off!

Busses outside of Honiara can be less frequent. If you see an empty (or near empty) mini-van, you'll may get to pick the direction and the driver will take you there, picking up people along the way. If the bus is full (or near full) though, you'll be stuck going the route of the existing passengers. 

Hire Cars Honiara

Cars in Honiara drive on the left side of the road, and it's quite easy to get around yourself in a hire car. I'd only recommend a hire car if you're just doing a trip around Honiara and want to visit the WWII sites, or if you're an extremely confident driver on off-road, slippery, muddy, rutted out dirt tracks. Beware of potholes though and be prepared to drive slowly - depending on when the potholes were last filled, you may be lucky to get above 40km p/hour around Honiara! There are 6 reputable hire car companies you can use:

Avis Car Rental

📍 Ela Motors, Honiara
📞 (677) 24180
✉️ avishoniara@ela.com.sb
🌐 www.avis.com.sb

Economy Car Rental

📍 Mendana Avenue, Honiara
📞 (677) 27100
✉️ economy@solomon.com.sb
🌐 www.economycarrentals.com.sb

Elite Vehicle Rental Limited

📍 Ranadi Industrial Site, Prince Philip Highway, Honiara
📞 (677) 7736229
✉️ admin@elitevehiclerentals.com.sb

Supreme Car Rental

📍 Pacific Casino Hotel, Kukum Highway, Honiara
📞 (677) 25009 ext. 306
✉️ carrental@pacificcasinohotel.com

Kosol Car Rental

📍 Kosol Corporation Ltd, Ranadi Industrial Area, Honiara
📞 (677) 30703
✉️ kosol@kosol.biz

Paradise Motors Limited

📍 No. 2538, Ranadi Industrial Area, Prince Philip Highway, East Honiara
📞 (677) 30290 or (677) 30291
📠 (677) 30289
✉️ sales@motors.paradisegrp.com
🌐 www.paradisegrp.com

Taxis Honiara

Taxis are widely available in Honiara. Whilst some have meters, negotiate your price with the driver before you hop in the car so that you don't get unexpected surprises. Ask at your accommodation reception or office prior for an estimate on trip prices. Solomon Islands Visitors Bureau staff can also assist.

Banana Boats

Banana boats and life jackets - have very few have life jackets, so consider talking to the Point Cruz Yacht Club about whether you can buy/rent one somewhere. Or even consider bringing your own from home, if the Solomon Islands is your only trip and sitting in a foot high banana boat while sailing over 3-5ft waves makes you nervous!

Banana boat departure times - all banana boats dock at the Point Cruz Yacht Club, but wait times will be long. You may get told that your banana boat is arriving at 8am and they're departing around 10am, only to be left waiting until 5pm. This is very common for two reasons - firstly, they won't drive the boat unless if they're sure it's safe too (on some days, the waves are too big to ride until late afternoon/sunset), and secondly, there may be many other locals getting the supplies their village needs who are travelling on your boat. If there is a foreigner paying for the fuel for the boat to do a trip, several locals from the outer villages will make the most of this opportunity to get into the boat and catch a ride to Honiara. This may reduce your fuel price, but foreigners will still pay a larger share of fuel than the locals do. Please don't be mad at this, very few jobs in the Solomon Islands pay cash and fuel is incredibly unattainable for individuals to buy, hence why villages share resources. If someone is catching a ride into Honiara, often they are buying rice or other staple food, selling handicrafts that their women have made, picking up fuel for their own boats if they're run out, getting school supplies, or buying any of the essential things their village needs. Fuel is extremely expensive in Solomon Islands, and everyone supports each other. Bring a book with you to the Yacht Club, get a beer, and be prepared to wait. 

Banana boats and their drivers - almost all the banana boat drivers will kick back and enjoy a few beers and cigarettes with their mates while they're driving the boat. It's part of the culture, and it's really freaking nice to drink a beer on the boat with them! If this makes you nervous, chat with your driver about paying extra and having a private banana boat (you'll likely end up paying for all the fuel, which could be around SBD $1000 / AU$187, depending on the distance). If you've got a private trip, the driver will meet your needs, but if you're sharing a boat, just embrace the Solomons. My advice - bring a few beers to share as well, sit at the back, crack some jokes, and make friends with the locals. You'll be a lot less stressed and scared by the waves, and you'll get the truly local experience. 

Inter-Island Ferries

Ferries go from Honiara to Auki, Honiara to Tulagi, and Honiara to Gizo. To get to any other provinces, there are also ferries, but they may be less frequent and can get rescheduled. Most travellers with limited time choose to fly. You can get to the Central Province (Tulagi, SandFly Island, Savo Island, Roderick Bay) via banana boat, but it will take a lot longer and be less comfortable

You don't need to book the ferries ahead of time, just rock up on the day - or at most the day before - to purchase your ticket. You can message either via WhatsApp or Facebook ahead of time if you want to confirm shipping times, but for tickets I recommend just paying on arrival as it will get confusing if you try to pay a ticket in advance online, as there's no "digital ticket" system. Alternatively, just go to Point Cruz Wharf and ask there for up to date departure times and ticket sales.

Facebook is best for finding up-to-date information. The shipping companies will post their schedules on Facebook. If you can't see a schedule for the current week/month, message the page to confirm times are still the same. Do NOT rely on any travel blog that tells you the times - I guarantee you they are out of date. If ships are cancelled (due to mechanic issue, heavy wins, cyclone threat), they will post on Facebook. You can also email or text/WhatsApp the shipping company, but generally Facebook is quicker for replies. 

The shipping companies usually publish the rosters on their Facebook between the 25th of the previous month, and the 7th of the current month (yes a week late). Keep this in mind when planning your trip, it's best to have flexibility if travelling via boat. 

Below are the inter-island ferries, in order of consistency/frequency: 

Auki Express (Honiara to Auki)

Managed by: Franjti Shipping, a locally owned company 

Facebook: Franjti Shipping LTD

Departure Point: Point Cruz Wharf, Honiara

Phone Number: +677 23200

Email: franjtishipping@gmail.com 

Below is the Auki Express schedules for December 2024 and January 2025. They don't always upload every month to their Facebook, so sometimes you need to message them or ask at the wharf. There's usually at least one service a day, and most days the boat goes back and forth at least once. 

Pelican 1 (Honiara to Gizo) (sometimes Choiseul & South Malaita)

Managed by: Pelican Shipping

Facebook: Pelican Shipping Limited

Phone Number: +677 22288

WhatsApp Number: +677 78 87888

Email: pelicanshipping88@gmail.com 

Below note three examples of the Pelican 1 schedules from January, February, and March 2025. February and March are similar, but January is completely different. They do change each month, and if a ship requires maintenance, it may not operate for a few weeks (note the February schedule starts on Feb 14th). 

Honiara to Gizo is around 12 hours, +/- 2 hours depending on weather.

Pelican 2 (Auki, Makira Province & Malaita Provinces)

Managed by: Pelican Shipping

Facebook: Pelican Shipping Limited

Phone Number: +677 22288

WhatsApp Number: +677 78 87888

Email: pelicanshipping88@gmail.com 

Below are the Pelican 2 schedules for January, February, and March. Note how they change between each month - check on the Facebook for up to date information. The Pelican 2 services Malaita and Makira usually. Its big route goes from Honiara - Marau - Marau Bay - Ubuna - Tawatana - Heruwango - Manita - Kaonasugu - Kirakira.

MV FairChief (Honiara to Makira)

Managed by: Fairwest Shipping 

Facebook: Fairwest Shipping

Phone Number: +677 22899 or +677 7898994

Email: fairwestships@solomon.com.sb

Below is the roster for January 2025. The previous roster posted was July 2024, but there are other posts on their Facebook announcing that the boat was delayed or extra services were run. I haven't taken this boat, but assume that it runs every 1-2 weeks doing the same route, departing from Honiara and doing a large loop around Makira Province. Message them on Facebook or email to confirm times.