Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

from East Timor to Papua New Guinea by sea...is it possible?

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Papua New Guinea

hello..
I'll be in East Timor soon and then from there I'm going to Papua New Guinea.
Someone knows if is possible to go from East Timor to PNG by sea ?

thanks....

I'm going to suggest you to cross-post this thread on the Asia-South East Asia Islands & Peninsula branch in order to increase your options of getting a successful answer.

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http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=2157025&messageID=19451753#19451753

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I don't think this is possible, it would be a cool adventure though if possible. Maybe if you had your own yacht and sailed yourself. The alternative is looking at some flights via Darwin & Cairns/Brisbane to Port Moresby.

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nope.
I want to go without taking any flight.
maybe a combination of land and sea travel, via Indonesia.
but someone knows where in East Timor should I take the boat/ship?
and where I should arrive in Indonesia for taking other ships ?

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I'm not an expert in that part of the world but one route could be:

Overland from East Timor to Kupang
Ferry Kupang-Ambon
Ferry Ambon-Jayapura
Overland from Jayapura to Papua New Guinea.

Take a look at the web of Pelni for ferry's schedules.

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I can't find any ferry from kupang to ambon on http://www.pelni.co.id/

it says not found on any date...

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You are right. I looked Ambon to Kupang (it shows a ferry departing Feb. 11th from Ambon and arriving to Kupang on Feb. 16th) and I assumed there would be ferries on the opposite direction but it seems it isn't the case (at least on the dates available on the web of Pelni). My apologies.

P.S.: You can use the web of Pelni to look by yourself if you can find a way to make your trip on your travel dates.

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Last year, I made an overland journey from mainland Asia to Honiara (Solomon Islands) and I had to go to East Timor to get a new Indonesian visa. From East Timor I went back to the Indonesian side of the island, and then I took Pelni vessels to the following places:

Kupang (Indonesian Timor) - Eastern Flores (Larantuka (I think)) - Western Flores (Labanbajio) - Sulawesi (Makasar), then overland to Palu in northern Sulawesi - Then took a Pelni ferry to Sorong (2 days) in western Indonesian Papua before catching a final Pelni to Jayapura (2 days) on the border with PNG, where you can go overland to Vanimo (yet you can take a 4.5 day ferry from Sulawesi straight to Jayapura). This trip took a few weeks, yet is well worth the effort if you have the time.

I have attached the link to the English version of the Pelni website, where you can look at schedules:

http://www.pelni.co.id/?bhs=en

And use this Wikipedia map to find out where the ports are to help plan your route:

http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a6/Pelni_Schifffahrtsnetz_2006.png

Also, be warned: There is a PNG consulate in Jayapura; however, it is sporadic in issuing Papua New Guinea visas - my mate got his in two days, yet it took over three weeks to get mine! Additionally, their are rumours that the consulate has stopped giving visas altogether - I would suggest playing it safe, and obtaining one in Jakarta.

I hope this helps - I spent three months travelling across Papua New Guinea and it is undoubtedly my favourite country; yet getting there from China was also a lot of fun!
Kind Regards,
Jonathan

Also, if you do travel overland and pass from Jayapura to Vanimo, when you go through PNG customs, could you find out if there is an immigration officer called Gideon working there, and if so, could you say hello from me (and, if possible, message me a phone number or email address)? Cheers!

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Hi there, just wondering if you actually found a way to go by ferry from East Timor to PNG ?
If you did if you can let me know and also how much it cost ?
Thanks

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