In the Solomon Islands, CDC's malaria advice covers every island.

Are there mosquitoes in the Solomon Islands? Yes, and in every part of the country they can carry malaria. CDC recommends prescription malaria medicine for travel anywhere in the Solomon Islands, which takes in Honiara and the Guadalcanal battlefields as well as the dive resorts at Gizo, Munda and Marovo Lagoon. Dengue outbreaks also recur in Honiara, so plan the travel-clinic visit first, then a repellent routine that runs from morning into the evening.

Malaria on every island

CDC lists the Solomon Islands' malaria transmission areas as "All." About 70% of cases are Plasmodium vivax and 30% P. falciparum, the more dangerous species, with P. ovale rare, and CDC notes resistance to chloroquine.

Malaria mosquitoes bite from dusk to dawn. The main one here, Anopheles farauti, feeds mostly outdoors and early in the evening, a 2016 study in Malaria Journal found, the hours of resort sundowners and village evenings. Put repellent on before sunset and after an afternoon dive, wear long sleeves after dark, and sleep under an intact net or in a screened, air-conditioned room. Mangrove-fringed lagoons and villages tend to be buggier.

Dengue centers on Honiara

The largest dengue outbreak on record ran from August 2016 to April 2017, with 12,329 suspected cases and 16 deaths, and about three quarters of its cases were in urban Honiara, a 2018 study in PLoS One reported. A DENV-3 outbreak in 2013 had more than 7,000 cases. The World Health Organization's Pacific surveillance shows dengue-like illness in 2025 and 2026 close to the usual level, with a small rise from late July to early September 2026 that had eased by early October. There is no CDC travel notice, and the Solomon Islands aren't on CDC's global dengue list.

The dengue mosquito bites in daylight, with peaks after sunrise and in the late afternoon, so in Honiara repellent goes on over sunscreen in the morning too. Our dengue & Zika routine has the schedule. CDC also lists Zika, with past transmission and no current outbreak, and leptospirosis, so avoid floodwater and wading in fresh water or mud. The yellow fever vaccine isn't recommended, and the Solomon Islands require proof only from travelers 9 months and older arriving from a country with yellow fever risk.

When to go

Roughly May to October tends to be drier and easier, though 2026's small dengue rise came in August. The wetter season, roughly December to April, tends to bring more mosquitoes, and the 2016–17 outbreak ran from August into April. CDC's malaria advice applies in every month.

Where you're going

How Honiara and the dive islands compare across the year.

Island-hopping on to Vanuatu or Papua New Guinea? CDC recommends malaria medicine for all of Vanuatu and for Papua New Guinea below 6,500 feet, and our briefings cover both.

What travelers report

Paraphrased from a TripAdvisor forum thread and linked so you can read it in full. It isn't dated, and bites vary with the island, the season and where you sleep.

• Solomon Islands (general)

  Asked which bugs and wildlife to watch for, a poster raised in Australia said insects were not an issue apart from a few annoying mosquitoes. A resident of 9.5 years who never had dengue or malaria advised sleeping under mosquito nets and using tropical-strength repellent, especially in the evenings. Crocodiles near mangroves were the bigger worry in the thread. TripAdvisor ↗

One rule outlasts the trip. Any fever during or after your trip means medical care right away, and you tell the doctor you were in the Solomon Islands. Malaria can show up weeks after you get home.

Traveler questions