Bilikiki

Bilikiki was the first full-service dive liveaboard in the Solomon Islands and is still one of only two or three vessels working the country at all. She is a steel three-deck hull built in 1989, 38 metres long and 7.3 across, with ten cabins for twenty guests. She has been running here since the late eighties and has become a local institution along the way: the crew is Solomon Islander and stays for years, and the villages along the route know the ship by name. Since late 2024 she has been sold under the Emperor Divers brand and appears in the schedule as Emperor Bilikiki — same hull, same crew, same single route.

She is easy to recognise from outside: white hull with a red boot-top, blue trim on the superstructure, BILIKIKI in large letters on the bow and the same MV BILIKIKI HONIARA stencilled on the tenders. Inside there is dark timber, blue carpet, a carved post in the middle of the saloon and a covered open-air dining area on the mid deck. The vessel has not been through a refit: the interior in the 2013 photographs and in the 2026 drone shot is the same.

Geography and flights

There is exactly one route and it is a round trip: Honiara to Honiara, airport HIR on Guadalcanal. None of the one-way legs that usually force you to buy a domestic ticket in the Solomons. Boarding by 16:00 on arrival day, check-out at 08:00 on the last day; airport transfers both ways are on the operator, and they will meet you up to three days before departure and see you off within three days after — if your flight does not line up, they put you in a hotel and collect you from there.

Honiara is connected to Brisbane, to Fiji and to Port Moresby. From Europe the easiest way is via Brisbane; a transit visa is required for an Australian stopover longer than eight hours or if you leave the airport, and without it you will not be boarded.

Cruising grounds: the Russell Islands, the Florida Islands and Mary Island on every trip, with Marovo Lagoon added on departures of nine nights and longer. There is no fixed day-by-day programme — the cruise director picks the sites by weather and by what is best right now.

Money: what you pay on board

This is a rare case for the region: there are no compulsory on-board charges at all. Port fees, marine park fees, environmental levies, diving permissions and the fuel surcharge are all inside the price, which the operator calls its no-hidden-extras guarantee. The other Solomons liveaboard collects a kastom fee of 210–300 USD on board — payment to village chiefs for the right to dive their reefs. Bilikiki has no such fee: the operator pays for reef access itself, and the words kastom or custom fee appear nowhere in any of its documents. Nitrox, an SMB, kayaks, Starlink and a glass of wine with dinner are also in the price.

You will still spend money on board on the bar, gear rental and tips. Cash is accepted in Solomon Islands dollars and US dollars, in notes no smaller than the equivalent of 50 USD and in good condition; the operator’s own documents disagree about other currencies — one list adds euros and pounds, another Australian dollars, a third simply says all major currencies, so plan on SBD and USD. Visa and Mastercard are accepted and charged in Solomon dollars at the daily bank rate with no fee or surcharge. American Express is barely accepted anywhere in the country. A 10% sales tax applies to bar and shop purchases; it is already inside the printed rental prices.

Insurance covering diving, chamber treatment, evacuation and trip cancellation is a condition of the contract, not a suggestion. Bring a copy of the policy in English; without it you will have to buy cover on the spot (9 USD a day, 38 USD a week).

A 20% deposit is due when you book 91 days or more ahead, with the balance 90 days before departure; book closer than that and the full amount is due at once. Cancelling 91 days or more out costs 20% of the price, 90 days or less costs the lot. There is no minimum-guest threshold in the conditions that would let the operator pull a departure — but they do reserve the right to substitute a vessel of a similar standard.

Cabins and solo travellers

All ten cabins are on the lower deck, roughly 9 sqm each, every one with its own en-suite shower room. Cabins 1 and 2 have two single beds side by side. Cabins 3 to 10 have a double bed with a single bunk above it. Air conditioning is centrally controlled, with no dial in the cabin, and the generator runs at night to feed it: bring earplugs if you are a light sleeper. Hairdryers are available on request; there is no safe and no minibar in the cabins. Cabins are allocated before you arrive.

A solo traveller is paired with a same-sex cabin mate, and if no pair can be found the cabin is given to them alone with no single supplement — an unusual condition. Separately, a solo traveller who wants the double bed in cabins 3–10 guaranteed pays 10 USD a night for it.

Certification and the rules underwater

There is no minimum number of logged dives — a current certification of any level is enough. No entry-level courses are run on board, so an uncertified guest cannot join, but snorkellers and non-divers are welcome. The operator recommends certification to 30 metres and comfort with drift diving: the recommended depth on some sites is below 18 metres, and Advanced or Deep training helps there. Currents are mild in most places; the one strong one is Devil’s Highway, which is exactly where the mantas are.

Decompression, solo and technical diving are prohibited. A dive computer and an SMB are compulsory for every diver, and a torch each for night dives. If you have not dived for twelve months or more you will be asked to refresh: a full skills review with fewer than 50 logged dives, otherwise a short four-skill check dive, free of charge. Everyone does a check dive on a sheltered site regardless of level.

Season

The vessel runs from March to December; January and February are blank in the schedule — that is a closed season, not unfilled quota. Water is around 29 °C year-round and a 3 mm shorty or wetsuit is recommended — wetsuits, unlike the rest of the kit, are not available for rental, so bring your own.

Things people find out on the jetty

Sockets on board are Australian, 240 V and 50 Hz; American 110 V outlets exist only in a dedicated charging room and only for charging equipment. Hot water is limited, so showers are short. Toilet paper does not go down the toilet — it ends up in the reef system. A moderate amount of your own alcohol is allowed. Wholemeal and gluten-free flour and soy substitutes are nearly unobtainable in the country, so declare dietary needs early and without illusions. Children under 15 are only accepted on a full or private charter, and the minimum age for the tender is eight. All tanks have 232 bar DIN valves convertible to yoke; M26 regulators need your own adapter. The time zone is GMT+11.