Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Boat from Queensland to PNG Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
pmack 10:17 UTC 24 Mar 2011 | Hey I'm planning a long trip from australia, up through asia and beyond, and am trying to find out where or how you can catch a boat from the tip of queensland, to PNG. It's looks like it's only about 250km, so seens like a great way to do it. I'm not catching any planes on this trip so it's a case of if i can't find a boat, i'll paddle :p Thanks :) |
Laszlo 12:14 UTC 24 Mar 2011 | Oh, not another one! ;-) There are no passenger boats, your only hope is to hitch a ride on a yacht, or perhaps join a cruise. Good luck - and prepare yourself to have to fly. | 1
ozziegiraffe 12:17 UTC 24 Mar 2011 | It is actually a very treacherous passage. Some people cross from PNG to some of the Torres Strait islands, so there may be some sort of passage to Thursday Island form PNG, if you fancy travelling by canoe or small outboard. However, even the islanders don't try the crossing to Bamaga on the Cape. | 2
pmack 12:18 UTC 24 Mar 2011 | hmmm thanks, yeah that seems to be the answer, unusual that there's no proper way to do it. If you hitch a ride on someones yacht, how does the whole customs thing work? | 3
Laszlo 12:23 UTC 24 Mar 2011 | If going by yacht, your captain will take care of the formalities. As for going via the islands - do note that you'd need a special permit just to visit them, and then crossing the border would be another matter - as of last I heard, it was not legal for foreigners, being only open to locals who have family across the border. And then, they usually cross from remote islands closest to PNG like Boigu, not from relatively accessible Thursday. Some earlier posts about this | 4
pmack 12:07 UTC 29 Mar 2011 | Thanks for the replies. Looking at all the previous topics on this with the responses typically "no you can't, no regular services", how sad, so many spoiled dreams! :P The idea of this passage being treacherous is intriguing, makes me want to do it even more! Laszlo, do you mean going via the islands as in the torres strait islands? I don't have a major problem if I can't spend time here or visit them, the main aim was to get out of Australia via boat, with anything on top (visiting Thursday Island etc) as a bonus. And do you mean the border into PNG being not open to foreigners? how is that possible if you can charter a boat there? Sorry I'm a bit confused. And you seem have been there a few times looking at the PNG article in your sig. After maybe a few weeks in PNG, are there problems with crossing the border into Indonesia? I presume once in Indonesia (West Papua), it will be much easier to do the whole "no aeroplane" thing. If i can't get to PNG by boat, seems I can get a $150 ticket from Cairns to Port Morseby with airlines PNG. Certainly sounds appealing as a last resort. Money is not the issue, but travelling halfway across the world spending $150 on a single ticket sounds fairly impressive. Hopefully this is not too lazy a question, but are there any significant visa requirements i need to be aware of for this leg of my trip? Thanks. | 5
Laszlo 14:21 UTC 29 Mar 2011 | Crossing from PNG to Indonesia is usually no problem, and from Indo you can travel all the way to Europe without flying easily. Nor will visas be a major pain (Russian being the worst, but certainly doable) along the way. Come on, whether you travel all the way to EU overland from AU or PNG doesn't seem a HUGE difference to me! ;-) I'd say fly from Cairns and then enjoy the rest of the trip. But if you do get to cross via the Torres Strait i\Islands legally, make sure you post back here! ;-) | 6
pmack 08:31 UTC 30 Mar 2011 | Thanks, i'll be sure to post back if i find a way. I hadn't quite gotten onto the logistics of visas in Russia etc, just had a quick look then, it seems like you need to get invited through a registered travel agent or tour group, and you can only stay for 30 days... that sux. Suppose i can just go along below russia, but i did want to visit. Actually that's the other problem i'm going to have, I don't want to plan any of my trips in advance if i don't have to, so it's going to be a pain going to places that require you to show them your ticket out of there. I'm not gonna know how long i want to stay at a place before i even get there! | 7