All activities / Scuba Diving / Marovo Lagoon
Scuba Diving in Marovo Lagoon
The largest saltwater lagoon in the world, a double barrier-reef lagoon in the Solomon Islands' Western Province studded with islands and villages. Its outer reefs drop into the deep channel called The Slot, with hammerheads, mantas, reef sharks and WWII wrecks.
Why here
Marovo Lagoon is the largest saltwater lagoon on earth, a maze of reef-fringed islands enclosed by a double barrier reef in the Western Solomons, and its diving is as varied as its geography. On the sheltered inner reefs you drift over coral gardens and past villages built on stilts; at the passes and outer walls the lagoon meets The Slot, the deep channel where Pacific War fleets once passed, and the water turns serious. Divers come for schooling hammerheads that gather off the reef between about May and August, for mantas, eagle rays, grey reef sharks and turtles, and for the WWII ship and aircraft wrecks scattered through the area. The lagoon's long-running island eco-resort is crewed entirely by people from surrounding Marovo villages, trained in-house, and its non-profit has funded local schooling and healthcare, so a dive week here directly supports the communities whose reef it is. It is remote, quiet, current-fed diving with a strong sense of place.
Best months
Warm water year-round, with the best conditions in the drier April to November season; the hammerhead aggregations off the outer reef are most reliable from around May to August. Inner-lagoon reefs are calm and suit all levels, while the outer walls and passes carry current and are drift dives for more experienced divers. Visibility is best away from river mouths and after dry spells. Wall dives run deep, so plan gas and depth accordingly.
Getting there & around
Marovo is reached by flying from Honiara to a Western Province airstrip such as Seghe, then a boat transfer of up to an hour or more to the island resort, so the trip is booked as a package with transfers included. Diving is from the resort's boats to the surrounding reefs, passes and wrecks. There is no independent walk-up diving; plan a multi-night stay, bring cash and any specialist gear, and allow buffer days around the flight and boat legs.
Skill levels: beginner, intermediate, advanced
Schools & guides (1)
Uepi Island Resort
OutfitterUepi Island Resort is an intimate dive eco-resort on Uepi Island in Marovo Lagoon, run by the Kelly family, whose reef has been protected for more than thirty years. It dives over twenty sites where the lagoon drops into the deep channel called The Slot, with hammerheads seen from around May to August, plus mantas, eagle rays, turtles and WWII wrecks. Its whole team comes from surrounding Marovo villages, and the family non-profit, Solutions pa Marovo, funds local schools and healthcare.