Wednesday 10th January – Honiara, Solomon Islands

Afternoon

• Arrival at your convenience into Honiara, capital of Solomon Islands.
• Self-transfer from airport to hotel
• Dinner, drinks and orientation with the rest of the YPT Group
• Overnight in Honiara.

Thursday 11th January – Honiara

Morning

• Up early to explore Honiara central market, which is where real Solomon life occurs, and where we will have a chance to buy local souvenirs.
• Following this, we do a full city tour including all the monuments to WW2, parliament and the national museum.

Afternoon

• The way to really discover a country is through its street food, so on the journey to the next part of our tour we stop at street-food heaven, where the choices are pretty much chicken or fish served with rice and pumpkin.
• #TRIP HIGHLIGHT# We head to a beach which has a major Japanese WW2 wreck for some wreck snorkeling and underwater photography, as well as great views of the city of Honiara, whilst enjoying the beach.
• We stop for dinner on the way back Coral Sea Resort for a nice dinner overlooking the extremely beautiful seafront
• Overnight at Honiara Hotel

Friday 12th January – Honiara – Savo Island 

Morning

• Breakfast in the hotel
• Today we have another trip highlight by heading out to get our private boats to an amazing island
• Today we go to Savo Island, with our first stop being where the Megapode birds lay their eggs, of which we will purchase some for lunch.

Afternoon

• We then head to a truly private area where we will not only have lunch, but also the opportunity to explore Solomon villages on the island, interact with locals, hike in the beautiful scenery, or simply hang out by the beach for swimming and snorkeling.
• We then take the slow boat roads back to the mainland, before heading back to the hotel
• All good things must come to an end, including tours to the least-visited countries in the world, so we enjoy a specially cooked meal for us put on by the Honiara Hotel, a few snaps on the bed that Kate Middleton slept in, goodbye drinks by the pool, and a general end to our Least Visited Countries Tour celebration!

Morning

• Least Visited Countries tour concludes and the extension begins today
• Breakfast in hotel
• Transfer to airport and board flight departing at 7:30am and arriving in Gizo Island at 9:00am
• Transfer to hotel

Afternoon

• Lunch near the hotel and head to Gizo town to begin exploring the city. This will include St. Peter’s the Apostle Catholic Cathedral, as well as other sites within the town
• Dinner and drinks in Gizo Town
• Overnight in Gizo Island

Sunday 14th January – Gizo Island 

Morning

• Breakfast at hotel
• Today we head out for some of the most amazing and unique island hopping in the world
• This will take you to all the major islands within the Gizo region

Afternoon

• Lunch while island hopping
• Continue until the early evening, with lots of stops, as well as the opportunity to go snorkeling
• Early evening return to hotel for a freshen up before going for dinner and farewell drinks in Gizo Town
• Overnight in Gizo

Monday 15th January – Gizo – Balalae – Buin (Papua New Guinea)

• Flight to Balalea
• On arrival we are met by our local guides who will take us for a quick tour of the town before we head off to Bougainville
  
• Lunch prior to our departure by boat
  

Afternoon 

• Boat ride to Buin, where we will go through Papua New Guinea customs and immigration. The boat journey takes about 45 minutes, with immigration and the like taking that to around 2 hours.
• Picked up and transferred to Buin Inn Hotel
  
• For our first night we will have dinner and drinks at our hotel, with our local guides introducing us to PNG “Firewater”
  
• Overnight at Buin Inn
  

Tuesday 16th Buin – Siwai

• Breakfast at hotel
• Now we jump in the 4×4’s for some serious off road action around Bougainville
  
• Drive to Aku Village for the 2 hour hike to the plane crash site of Yamamoto, a truly strange site – SUBJECT TO WEATHER CONDITIONS

Afternoon 

• Packed lunch provided by our hosts
  
• Drive through the beautiful area of Siwa, where we will also stop at the infamous Panguna Mine, The Panguna Mine was one of the catalysts for the civil war, as well as being key to any future independence. A great place for photos, as well as urban exploration.
  
• We continue the journey onward to Arawa the second capital of Bougainville and our place for the night.
  
• Dinner and drinks in Arawa Town.
  
• Overnight at Bovotel

Wednesday 17th January

• Breakfast at hotel
• Drive from Arawa to Wakunai and pay a traditional visit to the the Upe people at Togarau, who will welcome us with traditional singsing
• Lunch on the road

Afternoon

• Stop at a scenic waterfall where we will also get a chance to swim and generally cool off
• We continue on the off road drive to Buka, this is a really scenic journey with us stopping at various places, such as World War Two relics, abandoned tanks and the like.
  
• On arrival we check into Passage Inn, where we will also have dinner and drinks
• Overnight 

Thursday 18th January. – Buka

• Breakfast in hotel 
• TRIP HIGHLIGHT – We go for a full day of Bougainville island hopping
• This will take us to White sand island, Taiof Island and Christmas Island for swimming and snorkeling 
• Lunch on the island 

Afternoon

• We head for another trip highlight when we go to Malasang village for Bamboo band music and dances – This is what Bougainville is in many most famous for
  
• After this we will do a city tour of Buka, which includes parliament and sites related to the cicil war such as the mass grave
• As it is our last night we head to Reaons Cafe, a beautiful spot by the waterfront that has a great view, drinks and awesome food, the perfect way to say goodbye to Bougainville
• Overnight at Passage Inn

Friday 19th January – Buka to Rabaul

• Breakfast in hotel;
• 06.50 flight to Rabaul arriving at 8.00
• On arrival met by our local guides and transfer to hotel
• We check in to Kokopo Beach Bungalows in another picturesque part of the island
• Lunch 

Afternoon

• We take it easy today with a nice stroll around Kokopo town 
• There is not much going on in town, but there are at least some restaurants and at least some places to get drinks
• Dinner and drinks by the sea!
• Overnight at Beach Bungalows

Saturday 20th January – Rabaul

• Breakfast in hotel
• Today you will explore the Rabaul area and learn about its major involvement in WWII in the Pacific.
•  After visiting the sites related to the war, we will also see sites related to the destruction caused by the twon volcanic eruptions of 1994
  

Afternoon

• Lunch 
• After lunch we see sites related to the volcanic eruption, as well as talk to people and families that were directly affected by the twin explosion
• After a short stop at the hotel to freshen up, we again head into the small town for dinner and drinks, as well as a relaxing night next to the beach
• Overnight at Kokopo Beach Bungalows 

Sunday 21st Raboul 

• Breakfast in hotel
• Today is water day! We begin you day with an amazing chance to swim with the dolphins 
• We then head for the wonderful Duke of York Islands for some more Island Hopping 
• As part of this we have a lunch make for us by the locals in the islands, with there being lots of seafood and sweet potatoes

Afternoon 

• After lunch we head back to the hotel for a chance to freshen up, before our afternoon activities
• In the afternoon you will enjoy a village experience and learn about the Tolai way of life by participating in preparation of a local dish called AiGIR. You will also learn the traditional shell money
• A Market tour is also included on this day.
• In the evening you will be transferred about 1 and 30 minutes to the hinterlands of East New Britain where you will see the Amazing Baining Fire dance- a unique dance only performed during the night 
• Drinks and overnight in Kokopo Beach Bungalows 

Monday 22nd January Raboul – Port Moresby

• Breakfast in hotel
• As our flight is not until the afternoon we will give people enough time to swim, relax by the beach, as well as get lunch before our departure
• 13.05 flight to Port Moresby arriving at 15.05

Afternoon

• Picked up at and transfer to the Crowne Hotel in Port Moresby
  
• In the early evening we head down to the waterfront of Port Moresby which is a safe place to enjoy the city, take photos at the “I love Port Moresby” sign, as well as do some people watching.
  
• For dinner we head to the infamous Yacht Club, which has great food and drinks, as well as a stunning view – the perfect place to end such a long tour
• Last drinks and overnight at the Crown Hotel, Port Moresby

Tuesday 23rd

• End of tour with Young Pioneer Tours able to arrange ongoing transportation

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