Bougainville to The Solomons by boat

Hi

I want to try the banana boat from Bougainville to the Solomon Islands in a couple of months, and I know there are. A few people who've done it. It seems fairly straightforward - trying not to jinx it - but I've found a bit of a formal hurdle before I even get close to Buin or any other place on Bougainville: entering the country.

I can get visa on arrival at Port Moresby, but the consulate in Sydney told me I'll need a return flight or similar proof that I'm leaving the country. The boat option doesn't seem to be very formalised, and I certainly haven't found an online booking site :-)
Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get around this or how to convince immigration that I will be leaving?

there are recent threads here and on the tripadvisor forum of people who have done this in both directions
read them and maybe try and contact posters

getting the visa on arrival should not be a problem (proof of funds and intention to leave should be enough - dont tell them your real plan) but getting the stamp out in bougainville seems to be laborious time consuming and cannot be guaranteed - if you have no intention of returning to PNG then this is not so bad - if you want to go back then without the stamp you may be refused VoA next time arriving

be aware PNG will be tense around the elections and bougainville especially so

The airlines are usually the problem rather than the immigration authorities. This is the database airlines use to decide if they let you board without a return flight: http://www.flyslm.com/visa.html

To solve it, simply book a separate one way flight that you cancel afterwards. with a fare for which you get a full refund.

I did the Bougainville Solomon Islands trip in December of 2015. I got the PNG visa at Jayapura in Indonesia and entered PNG overland at Vanimo, without any return flight. I got an exit stamp without any problem at Buka on Bougainville, and was told it is now possible to also get it at Buin. However the stamp is issued from the customs office, so I dont know if it is a "real" exit stamp. But it was accepted when getting the Solomon visa in Gizo (as proof for date of arrival in Solomons).

Getting a visa into to PNG is easily achieved at the airport.

All you need is an itinerary to show you have an exit flight. You can kindly ask a travel agent for a return quote, they will issue you with an invoice, this is suffice.

Once you have the quote/invoice, you only need to book a one way flight.

Be sure to get you get your exit stamp at Buka, before making the journey to the south of Bouganville to Buin region.

Once there, its a matter of asking the locals to give you a ride across to Kamalaei (Shortland Islands) or any other nearby islands. There is no regular "ferry" but a lot of trade between the local islanders. Its pretty easy to strike a deal with someone. The biggest issue is usually fuel. If you want to make it easy for yourself. Id grab a jerry can of fuel in Buka or Buin. This can be negotiated as for a trade for "fare". Money is useless if theres not fuel.

When you get to Gizo, identify yourself to local authorities asap.

Hope this helps you :-)

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