Solomon Islands

Is the Solomon Islands safe to visit?

For a prepared traveller, yes, but it asks more of you than its neighbours. The US rates the country at Level 2 for health, unexploded ordnance, crime and civil unrest. Malaria is the risk most likely to hurt a visitor, followed by the roads and theft in Honiara. We score the Solomon Islands 58, well below Vanuatu (71) and above Papua New Guinea (41).

Most of the numbers behind that score are old or modelled. UNODC homicide data stop in 2008, when the rate averaged about 4.7 per 100,000 over four years; WHO's modelled estimate for 2021 is 3.8. With roughly 800,000 people, a handful of cases moves the rate a lot. That is why confidence is low.

Malaria is the main health risk

This is the one Pacific destination on the usual tourist circuit where malaria matters. WHO's 2024 country profile counts 123,476 confirmed cases and puts 99% of the population in high-transmission areas. CDC recommends preventive tablets for travellers anywhere in the country. Talk to a travel clinic about which one suits you, use repellent from dusk and sleep under a treated net outside the better Honiara hotels. Dengue and Zika also circulate.

When something goes wrong, care is thin. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary says the National Referral Hospital in Honiara often runs out of blood, oral rehydration salts, paracetamol and basic antibiotics, and wards can close at short notice. Gizo's newer hospital is better equipped but also runs short. Serious cases go to Australia, which requires a medical visa, so buy insurance with air ambulance cover and carry a basic medical kit to the outer islands.

Honiara: theft, settlements and riots

Most crime that touches visitors happens in and around the capital. The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary lists violent robberies, bag snatching, pickpocketing and distraction thefts near the central market and local beaches. It warns that foreigners are often targeted in the settlements around White River, Lungga Bridge, Sun Valley, Mataniko Bridge, Burns Creek and the Henderson airport area, with reports of sexual assault, vehicle hijacking and makeshift roadblocks. Police are under-resourced and slow to respond.

Politics can spill onto the street. On Wednesday 24 November 2021 a protest by people from Malaita turned into riots: crowds set fires at the parliament compound and a police station and looted Chinatown. Australian police and soldiers arrived on 25 November, a 36-hour lockdown ended on 26 November, and that night three charred bodies were found in a burned-out Chinatown store; more than 100 people were arrested (AP). Both the US and UK say unrest can flare around parliament sittings, elections and political uncertainty, and lockdowns can be announced at short notice.

Practical steps:

• Use a hotel car or a taxi your hotel knows after dark.
• Leave jewellery and phones out of sight at the market.
• Avoid political gatherings, and keep a few days' cash and water if tension rises.

Roads, boats and old bombs

WHO estimatesWHO road-death estimateThe World Health Organization's estimate of road traffic deaths per 100,000 people in a country, adjusted for deaths that police statistics miss.More in the glossary 11.2 road deaths per 100,000 people in 2021, the figure we score on, down from 16.5 in its 2019 estimate. Roads exist mainly on Guadalcanal and Malaita, and the FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary describes deep potholes, collapsed bridges, speeding and unlit roads with people and animals on them. Do not drive at night.

Between islands you travel by ferry or small open boats. Bring your own life jacket, refuse an overloaded boat and check there is safety equipment on board.

Unexploded ordnance from the 1942–43 Guadalcanal campaign is a real hazard, on land and underwater. The US names Hell's Point and the ridges behind Honiara, the New Georgia group, the Russell Islands and Tulagi. Hike with local guides and stay on used tracks.

Cyclones, earthquakes and crocodiles

The islands sit on the Pacific Ring of Fire, so earthquakes are constant and a strong coastal quake should send you uphill without waiting for a warning. Cyclone season runs from November to May; in April 2026 Tropical Cyclone Maila led to a State of Disaster in Western and Choiseul provinces, the area around Gizo and Munda that most divers visit. Heavy rain washes away bridges and cuts roads.

The FCDOFCDO travel adviceThe UK government's travel advice for each country, which can advise against all travel or all but essential travel to specific areas.More in the glossary also warns that saltwater crocodiles and large sharks are common, including off beaches near Honiara. Ask locals before swimming in rivers, estuaries or unfamiliar bays. Divers should know the country's only recompression chamber, in Honiara, is out of service after earthquake damage.

How we scored it

Health (38) is the weakest factor because of malaria and thin hospital care, followed by natural hazards (40). Road safety (65) uses WHO's 2021 estimate of 11.2 deaths per 100,000. Conflict (68) reflects the Level 2 advisory and the 2021 riots, not an active conflict. Violent crime (64) rests on homicide data that end in 2008 and a WHO model, so confidence is low.