Surf Gizo                                                                                    

Gizo ... the greatest little town in the west ... Solomon Islands is the last frontier for uncrowded Surf Breaks

Pailongge, Titiana, Makuti Island, Despretes and then Skull Island are all great breaks. The best time for surf is between November and April

Gizo Hotel		Gizo Main street		Sunset

Gizo, capital of the Western Province

Gizo is the second largest town in the Solomon Islands, and serves as the provincial centre to the Western Province. It is situated on the island of Gizo (different spelling, same pronunciation).

With the appearance of a shanty town, the main street runs along the waterfront lined with small stores and an open air market.

Views in most directions show palm tree studded islands ringed by coral reef and clear waters.

The people of the Western Province produce famous carvings from various woods and stone.

Woven bags, baskets and mats are also ancient village arts and are available for purchase. Adventure Sports shop has a good selection of carvings and baskets.

General stores line the main street of Gizo and supply a wide range of goods. Fresh bread is available daily, tinned foods and long-life milk are readily available.

The daily markets provide fruit and vegetables and fresh fish.

Gizo offers a number of restaurants, with standard fare being fresh seafood and fruit.

Gizo is serviced by multiple daily flights to and from Honiara. The flight takes about one and a half hours (often stopping at Seghe and Munda en route).

The Surf

All surf breaks in the Western Province break on coral reef and all except 2 require a boat to get to them.

Pailongge and Titiana;
Both can be easily reached with a short paddle from the village.

Pailongge is a long righthander that picks up a lot of swell and breaks in front of a village. It has two sections that join and become perfect on large swells. Hollow inside sections.

Titiana is 800 metres south and is a strong lefthander.

Makuti Island is a short lefthander, very hollow and shallow. Best on high tide. 

Be sure to act respectful here towards the local villages.

Skull Island, which is a 2 hour boat ride from Gizo & near Zipolo Habu Resort.

It's possibly the longest righthander in the Solomon's. Needs a medium to large swell, best at 3-6 foot, the wave starts breaking about 200 meters south of Skull Island. 

Mechanical, walling wave that ends in a deep water into a lush lagoon. 

Despretes is a peaky righthander that breaks close to shore.

Great take off that barrels down-the-line. The wave breaks on a point at the end of a beautiful lagoon that you can enter by boat through a break in the reef.  Great picnic and snorkeling spot.

When Nick was there in February he surfed a peaky left and right break between Despretes and Skull. Your able to bring your boat through the reef to a beautiful little white sandy beach.

Best Times

The best time for surf is between November and April, when cyclones and low pressure systems build up in the Coral Sea between the Solomons and the Queensland Coast, then move south. However good waves often go unriden in the winter months.

When these swells hit they can last for more than a week at a time giving excellent clean waves on the West coast reefs.

In the Western Province, winds vary from E-NE which are favorable, but the directions change often, and glassy days are not uncommon. May to November is less consistent, but swells do appear from time to time.

The closest surf shop is in Australia, so bring all you will need.

Just a short paddle to a left and a right				Titiana

...or you could upgrade to Fatboys (see below)