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As travelers are going farther afield to avoid crowds and find unspoiled beauty, the Solomon Islands is preparing for their arrival. The view greeting visitors as they step off the pier at Tavanipupu, the Solomon Island's most upscale resort.

Photos & Videos Asia / Pacific Travel

Unvarnished authenticity: Solomon Islands

As travelers are going farther afield to avoid crowds and find unspoiled beauty, the Solomon Islands is preparing for their arrival. The view greeting visitors as they step off the pier at Tavanipupu, the Solomon Island's most upscale resort. Photo Credit: TW photo by Arnie Weissmann

As travelers are going farther afield to avoid crowds and find unspoiled beauty, the Solomon Islands is preparing for their arrival. The view greeting visitors as they step off the pier at Tavanipupu, the Solomon Island's most upscale resort.

The resort's royal suite has actually hosted royals: William and Kate.

The resort's menu is heavily localvore. (Lobsters are local.)

The view from the highest point of Tavanipupu's Island, which is where a wedding platform will be built.

The resort's security guard is also the leader of a local panpipe band, and his group performs for guests.

This carved, inlay head in the dining room is typical of designs found in Guadalcanal's eastern area around the Marau Sound.

Chairs with of view of the Marau Sound.

The Solomon Islands minister of culture and tourism, Bartholomew Parapolo, center, poses with Taiwanese travel agents attending the tourism fair ''Mi Save Solo'' (''I know the Solomons,'' in island pidgin). To his left is Ministry of Culture and Tourism permanent undersecretary Andrew Nihopara.

Donna Lattin of South Pacific Island Travel, Warren Grau of Springboard Vacations and a local dog check out the remains of a downed World War II-era plane at the outdoor Vilu War Museum. Lattin and Grau were attending Mi Save Solo as part of an agent fam trip to the Solomons.

American and Solomon Islands flags fly above the Guadalcanal American Memorial in the hills above Honiara.

The entrance of the design-forward Coral Sea Resort in Honiara.

The Coral Sea Resort's pool area.

Primo, an adherent of the Moro Movement, works to preserve Solomon Island traditional culture. He welcomes visitors to the village of Lumatapopoho to demonstrate the customs and a lifestyle that is fast-disappearing. Here, he performs a betel nut welcome ceremony as his grandchildren watch.

Primo's wife, Paula, folds a banana leaf as she shows how to prepare food using hot rocks and coconut milk.

Primo pounds bark to create tapa cloth, used in traditional clothing.

Primo stands in front of a traditional house before beginning a lesson on creating woven designs with leaves.

Folding and attaching leaves to a pole is the first step to making rattan walls.

The leaves are now attached, ready for drying.

Having begun a small fire by rubbing two pieces of wood together, Primo nurtures the embers in a coconut shell.

O'oa villagers, in eastern Guadalcanal. One of the children is blond; it's a genetic trait of Solomon Islanders, and has nothing to do with Western contact. About one in 10 islanders is blond.

Clement, a resident of O'oa, owns the land near a waterfall, and is willing to brings visitors there.

On the way to the waterfall, Clement and Ellison Kyere, senior marketing officer of Tourism Solomons, discovered that heavy rains the night before had turned a stream into an impassable river.

When it was impossible to secure a four-wheel drive vehicle that could cross swollen streams following the rains, local police offered to give a tour in a four-wheel drive paddy wagon.

O'oa's Anglican church, which draws congregants from several nearby villages.

Inside the church, to the left of the altar.

Near the village, a makeshift copra operation separated the meat of coconuts from the husks.

Headhunting expeditions occurred in the Solomons until the early 20th century. Today, visitors can see ''Skull Island,'' a repository for trophies.

The blue waters of Western Province in the Solomon Islands, between Kennedy and Skull islands.

President John F. Kennedy commanded a PT boat in waters of Solomon Islands' Western Province during World War II, and the boat was sunk after being rammed by a Japanese destroyer. He and most of his crew were ultimately rescued after being marooned on an island, and an entrepreneur has dubbed one island in the region ''Kennedy Island.'' It offers a small bar, historical markers and snorkeling, but no accommodations.

Small black tip reef sharks gather near Lola Island, the closest inhabited island to Skull Island. It's home to Zipola Habu, a resort offering a restaurant, bar and simple bungalow accommodations for those interested in diving and sports fishing.

An evangelical preacher and choir take the stage above the market in Gizo, a town that's a popular launch point for divers.

Tuna for sale outside Gizo's covered market.

The panpipe is the national instrument of the Solomon Islands, and the 2nd annual panpipe festival in Honiara attracted panpipe bands from around the country. Most of the performances include elaborate dances.

Some of the performers also sang. Note the giant panpipes on the ground; the tops are slapped with a flattened mallet and used as percussion instruments.

A group from the island of Malika waits for their turn to perform.

A billboard promoting the festival.