🧭 Solomon Islands: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Solomon Islands feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 31 written places.
Soft-spoken Melanesian courtesy; life runs on kastom, church and properly quiet Sundays.
Cost level: High Costs run at western European levels - planning and a few local tricks keep it sane. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Ask permission before swimming, fishing or walking on beaches - almost all land and reef is customarily owned
- Dress modestly - for women that means shorts to the knee or a sarong in villages
- Shake hands gently and take time for small talk - a soft grip is respect, not weakness
- Ask before photographing people or villages
✗ Better avoided
- Schedule anything for Sunday - it is for church and rest, and in Adventist villages Saturday instead
- Haggle at markets - prices are fixed and bargaining can cause real offence
- Show anger or raise your voice in public - it causes deep embarrassment all round
- Swim in just swimwear near settlements - shorts and a shirt are the village standard
💡 Worth knowing
- Cash is king - ATMs exist in Honiara and a few towns, then nothing, so carry Solomon dollars
- Tipping is not expected anywhere
- Betel nut is behind the red smiles you will see everywhere - it is offered socially and fine to decline politely
- Honiara's central market is liveliest early in the morning and winds down by afternoon
Plugs and voltage
Type G, I · 230 V travel adapter →
CurrencySolomon Islands dollar (SBD)
LanguagesEnglish, Pijin
Driving sideleft
Some links on this page are Amazon affiliate links - if you buy through them we may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. We only list the kind of gear we would pack ourselves.
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.