
Solomons PNG Master
Solomon Islands liveaboardFormally the MV Taka and now owned and operated by Master Liveaboards, the 30m steel hulled Solomons PNG Master was custom-designed for divers and accommodates 20 guests in 12 comfortable cabins.
The Solomons PNG Master offers itineraries which encompass some of the best diving in the Solomon Islands and Papua New Guinea.
The Solomon Islands has some of the most pristine dive sites in the world, largely unexplored due to the remote location. Lying at the eastern edge of the Coral Triangle, the Solomons boasts immaculate reefs, stunning walls, caverns, pinnacles and coral gardens with a wealth of marine life from tiny shrimp, pygmy seahorses, ornate ghost pipefish, mandarin fish and cuttlefish to dolphins, manta rays, reef sharks and turtles. There are also a significant number of WWII Japanese and Allied Forces’ ships and planes are scattered all around the western and central provinces, now covered in corals and surrounded by the incredible marine life.
To find out more about this area, visit our Solomon Islands page.
Getting there
There are many ways to get to the Solomons, but the most popular route is via Brisbane with daily flights from most UK airports via Dubai with Emirates Airlines, and direct flights from Brisbane to Honiara with Solomons Airlines on Mondays, Wednesdays, Fridays and Sundays or Virgin Australia on Thursdays or Hahn Air on Tuesdays.
The Solomons PNG Master predominantly embarks and disembarks for Solomon cruises in Honiara, however there are some trips that depart from Munda. There are daily domestic flights to Munda (MUA), for itineraries that require it. A representative from the Master fleet will meet you at the airport. Embarkation time is 18:00pm; disembarkation at the end of the cruise will be 9:00am.
Guide price: 7 nights Standard from GBP £2826 / 10 nights Standard from GBP £4022
Includes: Full board accommodation in a standard cabin, tea, coffee, water, fruit juice, soda, up to 4 dives daily, 10.4 litre cylinder with air fills, weights, weight belt, SMB, return transfers between the local airport and the liveaboard on days of embarkation and disembarkation
Not Included: International flights, overnight hotel stays, equipment hire, Nitrox, alcoholic drinks, on board merchandise, crew and dive guide gratuities, Marine Park & Port Fees (7 nights USD $175 / 10 nights USD $250)
*Price shown is for guide purposes only and is based on low season travel and for twin share accommodation. Any length of stay is possible, please contact us for a confirmed cost based on your preferred duration and time of travel.
Accommodation & Facilities
The Solomons PNG Master has 12 comfortable cabins split into four categories over 2 decks. All cabins have air conditioning, personal reading lights, towels, charging station and plenty of storage with hair dryers and iPod docking stations available on request.
The 4 standard single cabins and 2 standard twin cabins are located on the lower deck and have shared bathroom facilities. The 2 classic double cabins, 3 classic twin cabins and 1 premium double cabin are all located on the upper deck and have en-suite bathrooms.
Between dives there is plenty of space to relax in the spacious lounge and dining area located on the main deck, with flat screen TV, DVD, library and dedicated Camera Area for the photographers on board. There is also a large sundeck with comfortable sunbeds, and a second deck which has a huge covered seating area where you can sit back and relax with a good book and cold beer.
The meals offered on board are hugely varied with something to suit every taste and dietary requirement! Breakfast, lunch and evening meals are served in the comfortable and sociable dining area located on the main deck. Soft drinks, tea, coffee and water are complimentary during your stay on board, and snacks are available throughout the day.
You can expect 4 fantastic dives a day, conditions permitting. The expansive dive deck has personal dive stations for each diver with storage, 5 freshwater shower cubicles, rinse tanks for your equipment and toilets. Diving is from the large dive platform making entry and exit very simple. The boat is also rebreather friendly and Nitrox is available.
Itinerary
Taste of Solomons – 7 night itinerary (Honiara – Honiara)
Taste of the Solomons includes the Russell Islands and Florida Islands around Honiara including Ghavutu Island with WWII wrecks. This 7 night liveaboard adventure allows up to 22 dives including several night dives (depending on conditions).
The Solomon Island waters are very nutrient rich, with an abundance of marine life and biodiversity. There are numerous unspoiled hard and soft corals plus a variety of dive sites ranging from WWII wrecks to caverns to reefs. You will have a chance to see macro species such as pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs, plus scores of reef fish, mantas, numerous sharks, and even pilot whales!
Best of the Solomons – 10 night itinerary (Honiara – Honiara)
The Best of the Solomons includes the Russell Islands and Florida Islands and ventures further west to Marovo Lagoon and Mbulo Island. This 10 night liveaboard adventure allows up to 30 dives including several night dives (depending on conditions).
With unspoiled and undiscovered reefs, caverns, walls, wrecks, pinnacles, coral gardens, WWII wrecks, macro species such as pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs, plus scores of reef fish, mantas, numerous sharks, and even pilot whales!
WWII Wreck Week – 7 night itinerary (Honiara – Honiara)
Besides being renowned as a pristine dive destination with flourishing marine life, the Solomon Islands were the setting for some of the most intense battles of WWII due to its strategic location near Australia. Beginning in 1942 with the Japanese invasion of Guadalcanal, and the Allied response with the Battle of Guadacanal (codename Operation Watchtower) throughout 1943, the Solomon Islands Campaign was a major strategy of the Pacific War of WWII. This was the first major offensive by the Allied forces against the Empire of Japan, and is considered a major turning point, along with the Battle of Midway, of the Pacific War.
WWII Wrecks includes some of the best wrecks of the Russell Islands, Florida Islands, and around Honiara. Wrecks on this itinerary are all within recreational limits and there will often be two or more dives on a single site, providing time to properly explore the wrecks. This 7 night liveaboard adventure allows up to 22 dives including several night dives (depending on conditions).
Guadalcanal and the Western Province – 7 night itinerary (Honiara – Munda)
Guadalcanal and the Western Province journeys between Honiara and the Russell Islands to New Georgia island. This 7 night liveaboard adventure allows up to 22 dives including several night dives (depending on conditions).
There are numerous unspoiled hard and soft corals plus a variety of dive sites ranging from WWII wrecks to caverns to reefs. You will have a chance to see macro species such as pygmy seahorses and nudibranchs, plus scores of reef fish, mantas, numerous sharks, and even pilot whales!
Solomons and PNG Navigator – 10 night itinerary (Munda – Rabaul)
Solomons and PNG Navigator is a pioneering itinerary that ventures along New Britain Island and the rarely visited Bougainville Island of PNG, crossing over to the north western reaches of the Solomon Islands, exploring areas that have rarely, if ever, been visited by divers before. This 10 night liveaboard adventure allows up to 30 dives including several night dives (depending on conditions), with huge marine diversity, from coral covered reefs and steep walls to secretive critters and schools of pelagics.
Ready for your next adventure?
Great Escapes Diving Holidays Ltd
Combs Tannery
Tannery Road
Combs
Stowmarket
Suffolk
IP14 2EN
United Kingdom
Office hours: Mondays to Fridays, 9am - 5pm
Tel: 01449 535010
Email: info@greatescapesdiving.com
All the flights and flight-inclusive holidays on this website are financially protected by the ATOL scheme. When you pay you will be supplied with an ATOL Certificate. Please ask for it and check to ensure that everything you booked (flights, hotels and other services) is listed on it. Please see our booking conditions for further information or for more information about financial protection and the ATOL Certificate go to: www.atol.org.uk/ATOLcertificate

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