BACK to our PNG home page  

How can I get to PNG?

Are there any special airfares?

Will I need a visa?

Is it safe?

Is it expensive?

Which are the best places to visit?

Is it easy to move around?

Is it backpacker-friendly?

What form of money should I carry?

Will I have to pay bribes to corrupt officials?

Are there any health risks?

How can I get to PNG?
Airlines PNG started flying internationally in 2006 and now operates daily flights to Cairns and thrice-weekly flights to Brisbane. www.apng.com
Air Niugini and Qantas operate codeshare flights into Port Moresby from Sydney, Brisbane and Cairns almost every day of the week. Air Niugini also has weekly or twice-weekly flights to and from Singapore, Manila, Hong Kong, Japan and Honiara (Solomon Islands). www.airniugini.com.pg
There is no sea ferry connecting Australia and PNG. There is no air service between Bougainville and the Solomon Islands. Travellers coming from North America should ask their travel agent to compare the costs of flying via Manila, via Australia, via Singapore, or via Nadi and Honiara. Travellers coming from Europe should compare flying via Singapore or via Australia.

Are there any special airfares?
All Airlines PNG discount fares are available for purchase through their website.
Air Niugini does not currently offer on-line bookings but Qantas code-share seats on the same flight can be booked at www.qantas.com
Air Niugini has a "See-PNG" domestic airpass available for purchase through its agent network.

Will I need a visa?
Citizens of Australia, New Zealand, the USA, Canada and most West European countries can obtain a tourist visa on arrival in Port Moresby. To be issued with a visa on arrival you will need to pay cash for the visa and you will need to have an onward ticket and evidence of sufficient funds to support yourself during your stay (eg cash, travellers cheques, credit card). There are very strict rules forbidding tourists from engaging in any kind of work while visiting PNG. The fee is PGK100. Citizens of other countries should obtain a tourist visa beforehand from a PNG embassy or high commission. Normally the travel agent you purchase your air ticket from will help you arrange this.

If intend to drive a car while you are in PNG you should bring your drivers licence from your home country. You do not need to have an international driving permit. You can drive with a foreign licence in PNG for up to three months.

Is it safe?

In a nutshell, yes. In the large towns you have to keep your wits about you to steer clear of pickpockets and scammers, but most of Papua New Guinea consists of friendly, peaceful little towns and villages where visitors are enthusiastically welcomed and very well looked after. Tribal fights are common but crime against tourists is very rare. For more details see our page on Personal Safety in PNG.

Is it expensive?
Since there are no McDonalds restaurants in PNG we can't use the price of a Big Mac to compare the PNG cost of living with other countries. However, here are a few other approximate prices to help you get a feel for cost of travelling in Papua New Guinea:

Why aren't the package tours cheap like Fiji and Southeast Asia ??
1. There is no mass tourism in PNG and the economics don't allow for very cheap airfares, hotels and tours. Here in PNG we have less than 20,000 tourists per year. The average trailer park (caravan park) in the USA or Australia receives more visitors than our whole country. The hotels here survive mainly on the business and government travel market so there is not much incentive for them to provide special deals for tourists. Airlines' main customers in and out of PNG are also business travellers, government travellers and VFR travellers (visiting firends and relatives). Tourists are few. The majority of tourists coming to PNG are solo travellers and couples. It is expensive to operate tour packages for just 1 or 2 people in PNG due to the high overhead costs. It would be economical for tour companies to offer group tours on set dates that solo travellers and couples can sign up for. However there just aren't enough tourists visiting PNG to support this at the moment.
2. High cost inputs. Here in PNG we have third world infrastructure and cost inputs like fuel and vehicle hire are frightfully expensive in rural areas where many of our tours operate. Although wages are low here compared to Western countries, this saving is counterbalanced by other high cost inputs.
3. Responsible tourism. Our company practises responsible tourism and we acknowledge that this also pushes prices up but we make no apology there. We insist on paying our way as our clients pass through rural areas. We pay higher than normal rates to village guest house operators, guides and dancing groups and we make a donation to the village church or school at every village you visit during your trip. We want our clients to be welcome again next time so we ensure that each village receives a donation for our visit. This is over and above money paid to individuals for services.

Which are the best places to visit?
The answer to this question depends on what you want to see and do. If you want your visit to be quick and easy you should stick to those provinces which are better equipped with visitor-friendly infrastructure (accommodation, public transport) and easy access to local attractions. These provinces are:

• Madang [beaches, diving, village tours, trekking]
• West New Britain [diving, volcanoes]
• East New Britain [volcanoes, World War 2 relics]
• New Ireland [beaches, diving, island hopping, cycling, walking]
• Morobe [nature tourism, beaches, trekking, wildlife]
• Milne Bay [island hopping, culture, diving, walking]
• Port Moresby [diving, museums, walking]
• Eastern Highlands [farming, handicrafts, trekking, wildlife]
• East Sepik [culture, artifacts, river tours]
• Sandaun/West Sepik [beaches, surfing, Jayapura side-trip]

Is it easy to move around?
Not particularly. In the towns buses are cheap but they are dirty and usually crowded. Buses often do not complete their proper routes. Taxis can be found waiting at airports and hotels but are not metered and they typically overcharge foreigners. When using taxis it's best to ask somebody local in advance how much they would expect to pay for the trip and then negotiate upwards from that figure with the driver. You won't ever get a taxi fare as cheap as a local passenger would because taxi drivers seem to believe that foreigners should subsidise what they "lose" on local passengers.

In the rural areas most travel is by PMV (passenger motor vehicle). A PMV may be a bus, truck or even a motorboat. Tourists can travel on PMVs although they are not always convenient as they don't follow schedules and they may make detours on the way to the destination which can take up a lot of time. PMVs on the Highlands Highway are occasionally held up and travellers robbed of their possessions.

Travel by air is the only way to get to many places. Air travel in PNG has a mind of its own. The national airline, Air Niugini flies a fleet of Fokker 28 jets and is reasonably reliable although late afternoon and evening flights are sometimes delayed if the aircraft get behind in their schedules during the day due to weather conditions, late-boarding passengers etc. The smaller ("third-level") airlines can be unpredictable and sometimes cancel flights if there aren't enough passengers booked. It is important to take these factors into account when planning travel itineraries in PNG.

Is it backpacker-friendly?
Not particularly. Catering specifically for backpackers is only economical when there are enough backpackers passing through to make the small profit margin work. Papua New Guinea has so few tourists that it isn't profitable to cater specifically for this niche market. There are a couple of lodges in Port Moresby which advertise backpacker accommodation but the cheap rooms seem to be full of long-term locals most of the time. There are no backpacker places where you can go and find a crowd of other backpackers to swap stories with. One backpacker would be lucky to meet one other backpacker anywhere in PNG.

Public transport is often crowded with no room for big packpacks in the town buses although the highway PMV trucks generally have room. There are no discount meal or travel schemes for backpackers. Cheap food (cooked and uncooked) is available at village markets and greasy food bars (kai bars) and the usual two-minute noodles and tinned foods are available in shops everywhere.

What form of money should I carry?
You may find it hard to obtain PNG currency overseas. We recommend you bring:

• Cash in a major currency. This can be converted to PNG currency at the foreign exchange counter at the international terminal on arrival, or at any local bank branch. Most large hotels will convert foreign currency for you but using a less favourable rate than the banks.
• Travellers cheques in a major currency. These can be cashed at banks and major hotels.
• Visa card or Mastercard. This can be used to withdraw local currency from Automatic Teller Machines which are now located at the airport, major hotels and shopping centres in Port Moresby and all major towns. Some of the larger supermarkets also accept credit cards for purchase of groceries.

Will I have to pay bribes to corrupt officials?
There are two types of official corruption in PNG. One is the white-collar corruption operating at a high level involving millions of dollars at a time. The other is lower-level corruption where poorly paid government officials solicit payments for services that are supposed to be provided free of charge, or intimidate foreigners into parting with money under threat of being reported or charged for some trumped-up offence.
Thankfully this doesn't happen to tourists very often. Resident foreigners are more commonly targeted for extortion by lower-level officials because their businesses or employment are often at stake and they are more likely to pay up.
The main situation where you as a tourist may find yourself being solicited for money is where you find yourself alone with a policeman who says you have to pay an "on the spot" fine for something. Police constables only earn about USD$50 per week and there are a few who try to make a few bucks on the side.
If you are sure you haven't done anything wrong, or you aren't afraid to face the music if you have, then you could pretend not to understand, pretend you don't have money to pay, or ask if you can have an official receipt. Official court-imposed fines in PNG are very lenient (usually only around USD$10 for minor summary offences) so if you have been pulled up for running a stop sign or littering or something minor like that you won't have much to lose if you insist on being taken straight to the police station to pay the official fine at the cashier's office. Police are not authorised to collect fines out on the road under any circumstances - all "on-the-spot" fines must be paid at the cashier's office at the police station or transport department and an official receipt is issued. Of course the occasional hungry cop may try to tell you otherwise. "On-the-spot" means that the penalty applies automatically, not that the money itself must be paid out on the road - even many policemen don't seem to understand this.
Whatever the case, if you make it clear that you are a tourist, speaking quietly and politely and play dumb (ie that you're totally confused about what's going on, there's no way you'll end up in jail on a trumped-up charge or anything like that. Normally as soon as corrupt cops realise that you're not going to pay up easily, and it's all too hard, they will probably issue a "warning" and send you on your way. Usually the last thing they want to do is to take you to the police station because (a) they won't get any money out of it if you pay your fine to the cashier and (b) their station commander will probably blast them for hassling tourists. The government and the community in general are very protective of tourists (PNG desperately needs tourism dollars) and policemen know they will be in deep wallow if they do something to a tourist that gets into the overseas newspapers.

Are there any health risks?
Yes. Malaria, abdominal upsets, malaria and skin infections are the most common traveller's ailments in PNG. Exotic infectious diseases are a lesser risk.
Abdominal upsets. There are also some nasty bugs which you can catch from dirty water, including typhoid, cholera, shigella and giardia. These are very difficult to shake off once you catch them so be careful what you drink. The water quality in Port Moresby and other major towns is variable and although the residents drink the water all the time it would be advisable for visitors to drink bottled or boiled water in the towns. Water supplies in village areas are usually drawn from underground springs and are generally clean and safe as long as they are not polluted by stormwater. Travellers should carry medication to control diarrhoea symptoms, such as Imodium or Lomotil. You are unlikely to suffer any diarrhoea from eating village food, because everything is well cooked by boiling or baking under hot stones and eaten while fresh.
Malaria. Papua New Guinea is in a malaria zone and travellers should take anti-malaria medication while visiting the country and for a period of time after returning home. Malaria is an infectious illness caused by protozoa (single-celled animals) of the genus Plasmodium. This parasitic organism can only survive in two places: the salivary glands of the female Anopheles mosquito, and in the human liver and bloodstream. The organism is passed to humans via the saliva of the mosquito when it bites. The Anopheles mosquito is most active in the period either side of sunset and sunrise, so these are the most important times to avoid being bitten. Apply repellent to exposed skin about 5pm every afternoon, and again before going to bed if you are sleeping in a room without insect screens. The minimum incubation period for a malaria infection is about 7 days, although several weeks is more common. Most short-stay tourists who are unlucky enough to contract malaria do not actually get sick until they are back home. Accordingly if you fall ill after returning home from a malarial area you should make sure to mention the possibility of malaria to your doctor.
In times past, chloroquine - derived from quinine - was the most efficacious drug for preventing and curing malaria. Weekly doses of chloroquine before, during and after visiting a malarial area were sufficient to kill Plasmodium organisms as soon as they entered the bloodstream. Chloroquine was also used as a standard treatment drug. These days the two main species of malaria in PNG (P. falciparum and P. vivax) have developed some degree of resistance to chloroquine, which means it is no longer as effective in prophylaxis or treatment as it was before. A range of other drugs are now being prescribed for travellers to take while in PNG. Some are very expensive even though they still don't give 100% protection. In the last few years, common antibiotics such as doxycyclin and vibramycin have been shown to have some efficacy as malaria prophylactics. These are usually taken daily, and have the added advantage of preventing bacterial infections. Do discuss the various options for malaria prophylaxis with your doctor before travelling... if you are not confident that your regular physician is familiar with travel medicine then don't be afraid to contact a traveller's medical centre.
Tropical skin infections. While travelling in the villages you will inevitably accumulate a few nicks and scratches on your skin while snorkelling, bushwalking, climbing etc. In the humid tropics, antiseptic creams are virtually useless, and to prevent skin wounds becoming infected you really need to apply an antibiotic cream immediately. You might want to ask your doctor to write you a prescription for a tube of broad-spectrum antibiotic cream or powder to take with you. Alternatively you can wait until you arrive in PNG and buy antibiotic cream over the counter (for about K10). If you are taking daily antibiotics for malaria prophylaxis you may not have much trouble with skin infections. While in the villages you may come across locals - particularly children - with infected skin wounds, usually on the legs. If you have enough first aid gear to spare, you will be most welcome to apply a few dressings. Villagers often have difficulty getting to the nearest clinic for treatment and children tend to just put up with running sores until they eventually heal.
Infectious diseases. Tuberculosis, tetanus, hepatitus B and HIV are also a problem in the country although tourists are unlikely to come into contact with any of these illnesses if precautions are taken. Take the advice of your doctor or travellers medical centre as to what vaccinations are currently recommended for Papua New Guinea.