Activities · Destination Guide
Sunbeam cuts, WWII relics and jungle-fringed Coral Triangle reefs
Updated Apr 26, 2026 • 18 sources
Pick an activity mode to compare signature sites, skill fit, and gear planning notes before you lock your trip.
Scuba is the main reason to plan the Russell Islands. This is a liveaboard-style destination with island cuts, mangrove macro, hard coral gardens, wall exits and WWII remnants clustered close enough for varied daily diving. Operators usually dive from tinnies, so entries are flexible and exits can be adjusted for current, swell and photography. The big names are Leru Cut, White Beach, Mirror Pond and Karumolun Point. Conditions can be easy, but the remoteness, overhead-style scenery, current-prone points and emergency distance reward divers with buoyancy discipline, computer use and comfort from small boats.
A former American WWII base area where discarded wartime material now sits in shallow water beside mangroves.
A reflective jungle pond and wall system with schooling snappers, trevally, gorgonian fans and pygmy seahorse potential, plus shallow coral garden life for slow photographers.
A locally protected point known for soft coral color, jacks, barracuda, sharks, eagle rays and macro surprises when the current is right and the reef has been rested from fishing.
A narrow cleft in Leru Island where divers pass through a skylit channel, often surfacing inside a junglefringed chamber before exiting to a reef wall.
A Russell Islands cave and cutstyle stop often discussed on liveaboard routes.
Operator Checklist
Book Russell Islands diving as a Honiara-based liveaboard or a custom operator request rather than assuming daily departures. Ask whether marine, port, fuel and kastom fees are included or collected onboard. Bring proof of dive insurance, certification cards, a computer, SMB with line, torch for night dives and any personal exposure gear. DIN and yoke arrangements are usually possible on major liveaboards, but confirm before departure. Do not wear gloves or carry knives unless required for a safety role. Do not touch, ride, feed, catch or harass marine life, and do not move WWII artifacts.
Conditions Fallback
Avoid