In May of 2026, we ran our very first snorkeling tour to the Solomon Islands, and as you’ll soon see, I have a lot to say about it, because it absolutely rocked! In the snorkel guide below, you’ll hopefully get a feel for the many different aspects of the tour, from the liveaboard, the travel logistics, the above-water experiences, and of course, the reefs and marine life. In my opinion, and I believe it’s the same for most of the guests who joined this snorkeling tour, it doesn’t really matter where you’ve snorkeled prior to the Solomons; you’re going to love it. Where are the Solomon Islands The Solomon Islands are located off the east coast of Papua New Guinea and northeast of Australia. The 1,000 islands that make up the Solomons are all located on the easternmost corner of the Coral Triangle, an area well known for having the most marine biodiversity on the planet. How to Get to the Solomon Islands The easiest way to get to the Solomon Islands is via Brisbane, Australia, or Fiji. On this particular tour, we started in Fiji and flew to the capital city of the Solomon Islands, Honiara. We’ve since decided that it’s easier to fly through Australia. Once in Honiara, we catch an organized transport van which will take us to our hotel in town and on the coast. Honiara is not a very beautiful place; it’s a major port town and a bit similar to Sorong in Indonesia. We have a nice and comfortable hotel to stay in, though it’s called the Heritage Park Hotel, which is a 4-star hotel right on the water and a nice little refuge from the heat and chaos outside. The following afternoon, we board the Bilikiki. The Bilikiki Liveaboard Up until just a
In May of 2026, we ran our very first snorkeling tour to the Solomon Islands, and as you’ll soon see, I have a lot to say about it, because it absolutely rocked! In the snorkel guide below, you’ll hopefully get a feel for the many different aspects of the tour, from the liveaboard, the travel
What is the Banda Sea? The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of Alor and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of Raja Ampat’s Misool. The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea is fringed by an arching chain of islands, atolls, and numerous semi-active volcanoes, commonly referred to as the Forgotten Islands. It is this chain of volcanic islands that gives the Banda Sea one of its more popular monikers, “The Ring of Fire”. The Banda Sea is, in my opinion, one of the most interesting bodies of water in all of Indonesia. As you can see from the map, many different seas border the Banda Sea, like the Ceram Sea, Maluku, Flores, Timor, Arafuru, and the Aru Sea, all of which flow into the Banda Sea and deliver an abundance of nutrients that feed not only the corals but also the marine life, big and small. As a result, you can find more species of coral in the Banda Sea than you can see in Raja Ampat. Wakatobi, for example, in the west of the Banda Sea, has an estimated 750 species of coral. Raja Ampat’s coral count is estimated at around 550. Another aspect that makes the Banda Sea so special is its remarkable remoteness. Only a handful of tiny villages can be found on its islands, and with the exception of Wakatobi, which has had to build its own airstrip to comfortably and conveniently service its luxury resort, there aren’t any resorts in the area. The inaccessibility of the Banda Sea’s Islands has almost entirely spared the area from widespread tourism and development. Again, except for Wakatobi Resort, the only way to experience the Banda Sea
What is the Banda Sea? The Banda Sea is a large, semi-circular body of water that lies northeast of Alor and runs up to the Seram Islands just south of Raja Ampat’s Misool. The western part of the Banda Sea is open to the Flores Sea. At the same time, the eastern border of the Banda Sea
Palau is a small island nation surrounded by shallow coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It sits about 500 km northeast of North Sulawesi and 500 km east of the Philippines. It's remote! This remoteness, however, works to our benefit as snorkelers because the shallow coral reefs are in fantastic condition, they are abundant, as are the fish. While reefs border the entire country of Palau, we tend to concentrate our time in the south, around the Rock Islands and even further south towards Peleliu as that's where we have the most protection from wind and waves, not to mention that's where the best reefs are and the marine life is most abundant. There are only a few flight options for arriving into Palau. Some of the most popular and recommended routes from U.S. are either through Guam via Hawaii or Japan, or via Taipei which has a direct route into Palau several times a week. If you're looking for flights you'll likely see some convenient-looking routes through the Philippines. As convenient as these itineraries look, we'd advise against them as the airports in the Philippines are notorious for delayed or canceled flights, and many of the airlines that route through the Philippines are some of the least reputable ones out there. Palau is quite a small place, with one main town called Koror. There is one Airport which is about 20 minutes outside of town. The nicer ocean-view resorts are about five to ten minutes from town and border the marina. This is generally where we'll spend our time on land as it's where the nicer resorts and restaurants are, it's also the hub for all of our snorkeling activities. Snorkeling While Palau sits just outside the Coral Triangle, it still shares the bulk of the
Palau is a small island nation surrounded by shallow coral reefs in the middle of the Pacific Ocean. It sits about 500 km northeast of North Sulawesi and 500 km east of the Philippines. It’s remote! This remoteness, however, works to our benefit as snorkelers because the shallow coral reefs are in fantastic condition, they
If you're planning on joining one of our Indonesia snorkeling safaris you will likely want to consider a stop in Bali. Many of our Indonesian snorkeling tours will start and or stop in Bali, so, as an addition to your tour with us, it's never a bad idea to tack on a few extra days to recover from the jet lag or enjoy some of the culture, sites, food, and luxurious resorts and villas that Bali is well known for. Now, if you are doing a bit of searching around on the interweb for where to go and what to see, you'll no doubt see some locations and activities that are constantly mentioned. For example, “Sunset Excursions with Dolphins in Lovina”, “Escape the Crowds in Ubud”, or “Enjoy a romantic weekend in Kuta”. Unfortunately, algorithms and keywords control most of what we see online anymore so it’s really difficult to know how honest and reliable your search results are when you search fo the “Best places to go in Bali.” Some of the reviews and articles you'll find will be great, but others might be a bit misleading and assembled solely to drive online traffic. You may be asking yourself, well, how do we know this blog is going to be any different? Well, I’ve lived and worked in Bali since 2013 and I've assembled this blog with the sole intent of offering honest advice about where to go and what to see in Bali for someone who's of a retirement age and looking for a well-rounded trip through Bali. Also, as a Snorkel Venture trip leader who will no doubt meet some of you on tour at some point, I really want to make sure I give the most honest description of each place so I don’t have to
If you’re planning on joining one of our Indonesia snorkeling safaris you will likely want to consider a stop in Bali. Many of our Indonesian snorkeling tours will start and or stop in Bali, so, as an addition to your tour with us, it’s never a bad idea to tack on a few extra days
Location Description All of our Egypt Snorkeling Safaris take place on the Red Sea, obviously, which runs northwest to southeast along the northeast edge of Africa. The Red Sea starts about one hundred miles east of Cairo at the mouth of the Suez Canal and finishes way down by Djibouti and Yemen where it empties into the Gulf of Aden and the Arabian Sea. It's a massive and unique body of water, and given the arid landscape, crystal-clear blue water, thriving coral reefs that start at the water’s surface and extend as far as the eye can see, and a host of unique and beautiful marine life are the last things you'd expect to find. However, with so much life and beauty hiding beneath the Red Sea's surface, it's no wonder that the Egyptian Red Sea has been one of the world’s most popular snorkeling destinations for decades. As Egypt has a whole range of different destinations full of great-looking resorts and liveaboards to choose from up and down its coastline, it can be a little daunting deciding which area to visit and which operator to use. However, given our team's collective experience working in Egypt over the years, we've opted to run all of our snorkeling tours in southern Egypt where the shallow reefs are more robust, the marine life is prolific, and there are fewer people. Marsa Alam International Airport (RMF) is the closest port town to the resorts we use, Marsa Shagra Village and Marsa Nakari, as well as Port Ghalib where we board the liveaboard, the Red Sea Aggressor IV. If the tour starts in Cairo, we will fly to Marsa Alam, which is a one-and-a-half-hour flight. Or, if our tour starts in Marsa Alam, you will fly directly into Marsa Alam. As flight schedules are
Location Description All of our Egypt Snorkeling Safaris take place on the Red Sea, obviously, which runs northwest to southeast along the northeast edge of Africa. The Red Sea starts about one hundred miles east of Cairo at the mouth of the Suez Canal and finishes way down by Djibouti and Yemen where it empties
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The technical storage or access is strictly necessary for the legitimate purpose of enabling the use of a specific service explicitly requested by the subscriber or user, or for the sole purpose of carrying out the transmission of a communication over an electronic communications network.
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