Solomon IslandsSolomon IslandsIsland

Makira

3,190 km² rising to 1,250 m out of the Solomon Sea.

When to go

Kirakira

N 20 km

Airports

Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.

In numbers

3,190km²

Area

359km

Coastline

measured on a simplified outline

1,250m

Highest point

33,529

People

30°C

Warmest sea

January

1,716km

To the mainland

When to go to Makira

Best for the beach from January to May.

The sea is warmest in January (30 °C) and coolest in August (28 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).

30°29°27°

Jan24

30°28°26°

Feb23

29°28°26°

Mar24

29°28°26°

Apr22

29°28°26°

May23

29°28°26°

Jun21

28°28°26°

Jul21

28°28°25°

Aug21

28°28°26°

Sep20

28°28°26°

Oct22

29°28°26°

Nov21

30°29°26°

Dec21

Sea temperature (the water level) Air: night low to afternoon high Wet days Best months

Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.

Island in Solomon Islands

Makira is an island in Solomon Islands. It belongs to Solomon Islands. It covers 3,190 km², with 359 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 1,250 m. About 33,529 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,716 km away.

Getting there

Honiara International Airport (HIR)nearest airport with scheduled flights · 231 km in a straight line
1,716 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)

Plan the trip

Ferries, stays and things to do

Car hire in Solomon IslandsDiscover CarsSee

Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.

The shape of the land.

On average the island stands 265 m above the sea. 46 % of it is below 200 m.

16 %0–50 m
30 %50–200 m
38 %200–500 m
16 %500–1,000 m

Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).

Size, for real

Next to islands you may know.

Makira3,190 km²

Mallorca3,685 km²

Long Island3,529 km²

100 km

All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).

Towns on the island

Kirakira2,107 people

Month by month

The weather on the island.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Afternoon high (°C)	29	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	28	29
Night low (°C)	27	26	26	26	26	26	26	25	26	26	26	26
Sea (°C)	30	30	29	29	29	29	28	28	28	28	29	30
Rain (mm)	259	287	263	220	185	176	178	139	145	188	177	218
Wet days	24	23	24	22	23	21	21	21	20	22	21	21
Sun h/day	6.2	6.3	6.5	6.4	5.9	5.1	4.9	5.7	5.9	6.4	6.7	6.9
Wind (km/h)	15	17	15	15	18	22	25	24	24	20	17	14

Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.

Recent years

Warmer and cooler years at sea.

Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.

	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
2020	+0.2	+0.1	+0.6	+0.2	+0.7	+0.7	+0.9	+1.3	+0.7	+0.9	+0.9	+0.5
2021	+0.9	+0.3	+0.2	+0.2	+0.3	+0.7	+0.6	+0.8	+0.9	+1.0	+0.9	+0.7
2022	+0.3	+0.2	+0.7	+0.8	+1.1	+1.3	+1.2	+1.3	+1.2	+1.5	+1.6	+1.2
2023	+0.3	+0.4	+0.4	+0.9	+1.1	+1.0	+0.7	+0.5	+0.8	+0.5	+0.1	−0.1
2024	+0.4	−0.2	+0.3	+0.7	+0.6	+0.6	+1.1	+0.7	+0.3	+0.7	+0.8	+0.6
2025	+1.0	+0.7	+0.7	+0.8	+0.9	+0.9	+1.0	+1.1	+1.0	+0.8	+1.0	+0.8

+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual

Photos

Seen by visitors.

Jake Ward collects water in a bucket from a village tap on a beach in Makira. (10705805983) — Irene Scott/AusAID · CC BY 2.0

Nearby

More islands nearby.

Guadalcanal

Solomon Islands5,302 km²2,335 m205 km away

Malaita

Solomon Islands4,307 km²1,435 m195 km away

East Rennell

Solomon Islands815 km²188 m206 km away

Rennell Island

Solomon Islands815 km²188 m220 km away

Tulagi

Solomon Islands2.1 km²88 m244 km away

Bellona Island

Solomon Islands17 km²21 m237 km away

Savo Island

Solomon Islands30 km²485 m271 km away

About these numbers

Names, area, population	Wikidata (Q714573) · CC0
Outline	Natural Earth · public domain
Sea temperature	NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020
Climate	NASA POWER · 1991–2020
Relief, 3D model	Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA
Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails	© OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL
Towns	GeoNames · CC BY 4.0
Images	EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons

Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.

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