Goroka or Mt. Hagen? & airlines from Bali

My husband and I are planning a long awaited trip to PNG next summer (08). Which of the 2 large singsings would everyone recommend? Goroka or Mt. Hagen? The Lonely Planet Guide suggested that Goroka was a larger singsing. We have an old travel book so I want to find out if there really is any diffenrence between the two shows and if its far better to go to one verus the other. Sadly we can not be there in August for Mt Hagen and mid-Sept for the Goroka singsing. We must pick one. Please help us differentiate.
Secondly, does anyone know the best/cheapest airline flight to get from Bali (Denpasar) to Port Moresby,PNG? I'm coming up with $3000 RT cost which is way too much for us. Our hope is to spend 2 weeks in Ubud, Bali and then 2 weeks in PNG with time at singsing and a short boat exploration along the middle of the Sepik river.
Any and all info is appreciated. Thanks, T

You should be pretty happy with either of the two events.

The chepest way to fly to PNG would probably be purchasing separate tickets from Bali to Australia, and then to fly from there to Moresby with Airlines PNG.

If you want to go to the Sepik and don't insist on seeing Moresby, you could also look into flying from Bali to Jayapura in Indonesian Papua, then crossing to Vanimo by land. Note that you'll need to get a PNG visa from the consulate in Jayapura before crossing!
From Vanimo, it's just a short domnestic flight to Wewak.
This could well be cheaper than flying via Oz and Moresby.

yep, airlines png is definitely the cheapest way to get to Moresby, if you can find a way to get yourself from Bali to Brisbane or Cairns cheaply. The suggestion above about going via Jayapura is definitely worth looking into.

I haven't been to either of the shows (though would love to see both) but have spent a little time in both towns and would recommend Goroka - it's prettier, quieter, more relaxed and has a few more attractions than Hagen. The JK McCarthy museum is worth a look (if it's open!).

The above information are really perfect especially on the subject of Ailines PNG and Jayapura rootings.

For Goroka and Mt. Hagen festival; Goroka festival is in fact takes 2-3 days or longer but of all festivals in PNG, Mt. Hagen show festival takes about 2 days period only Saturday/Sunday but it is more bigger and brighter than Goroka.

So if your interest is of spending more days then you can visit Goroka show festival which is held annually in September in conjunction with the country's independence anniversary celebration. However, if you prepare to experience more bigger and brighter show festival then why not you visit Mt. Hagen show festival?

Enjoy youself.

Cheers! Meiwa.

i agree with laszlo,both are very exciting/colorful,few things to weigh up//the trip from bali to jayapura via timika is easy,but the png visa in jayapura is becoming more lengthy in obtaining,they are taking up to 7days to process!!cost is 225,000 rp.way too long!from jayapura you travel by road to the border(2 hours),then by bus to vanimo(1 hour),to reach hagen or goroka it has become more difficult due to the suspension of small airline airlink,they used to fly direct from wewak to hagen daily,but as of june they are suspended,i hope they get back flying for links to smaller places?if you choose this option there may be a lot of wasted days waiting for connections to hagen.if you choose hagen ,good central accomadation at haus poroman motel,ask for maggie or keith wilson (phone 0011 675 5421388).it may be easier to get to brisbane from denpasar....you can reach hagen on the same day as you leave brisbane with a connecting flight from moresby to hagen late afternoon.hope this helps,let me know if you need more info.regards don

Re Hagan Vs Goroka shows, I haven't been to either but a friend was has and he says at the Hagan show the dancers dress up & practice at the show ground early in the morning while at Goroka they do this esle where and come to the show ready to perform. What I am saying is at Goroka you'll need to pay the 80 odd Kina to go into the main arena if you want to see the singsings, while at Hagan if you go early you can see them dress up & practice which is as good as the offical performace for just the K5 general admission.

Regards Michael

Why not see both the Goroka Show and the Kalam Culture Festival on our small group escorted tour? We'll be taking a maximum of 15 people to Simbai on a chartered aircraft for their remote cultural festival in the week after the Goroka Show.
Most tour operators like my company are now declining to make FIT arrangements for free independent travellers because there is such a shortage of accommodation, hire transport and guides during these very busy Show days and logistically it is very difficult to make separate arrangements for dozens of solos, couples or small groups all wanting to do their own thng. We have to economise on the use of available resources by operating small group trips. Apart from the Show weekends, Mt Hagen and Goroka in a good week each get about 20 tourists per week. (Remember there are less than 50 tourist arrivals per day for this whole country). Suddenly on Show weekend there are about 300 tourists. These small towns can't maintain enough accommodation and hire vehicles to accommodate this for just weekend a year.

If you are coming in off your own bat, plan to arrive a few days before the Show (either one) and depart on the second day of the Show while everybody else is at the Show and the flights are not too full. Trying to get in or out of these towns 48 hours either side of the Show dates is almost impossible - the flights are overbooked, he airline offloads passengers in a major way, and you will be either stranded in Port Moresby and miss the Show or stranded in the Show town and miss your flight home.

Plan to travel at least one way by road and avoid the airline mayhem.

Most tourists say 1 day at the Mt Hagen Show or Goroka is enough because often the same singsing groups come back on the second day and it's the same thing again.

The Kalam Culture Festival at Simbai is a bona fide local festival that is not just put on for tourists.
It will take place in the week following the Goroka Show and it a completely different event. The Kalam people do not attend the Mt Hagen Show or the Goroka Show, you have to go to their villages to see their traditional dances and rituals of pig killing and nose piercing.

By the way, tourist entry to the Goroka Show is now also PGK100=USD$35 per day the same as Mt Hagen Show. For this you get ringside seats and you are allowed to go inside the arena to take photos.

We don't recommend going in the public gate for K5 unless you have a couple of local minders with you because it gets extremely crowded in the public areas, people pushing and shoving and you are likely to lose your camera to a pickpocket and then you really didn't save any money after all, did you?

I went to the Goroka show in 2002.

Things may have changed, but there was plenty of accommodation at the sports institute close to the show ground, & I got a room at the Goroka Lodge no problem.

I would suggest there is more accommodation to be had at Goroka than Hagen.

Last I heard Keith Wilson was no longer at haus poroman

Most of the tourists who come in on expensive pakages stay at the Bird.

1 day at the Show would be fine. There were plenty of groups warming up on the road leading to the show ground in the morning.

If you have a budget to consider, I really would ask people for prices for the tour that has been suggested. You are planning way in advance, which should mean that you can secure internal airline seats. Chances are the times of the flights will change, but if you reconfirming your seats, you should be fine.

Thank you everyone that has replied to my questions. This forum is great. I'm inspired to continue my research and know that were ever we go will be special. We're now going to check the route between Bali and Jayapura then flight to PNG. I'm sure we'll work it out. Thanks again for these and any future responses. T

I was in PNG for two months in August and September, 2007. I attended the Hagen show for two days and other informal, private singsings.

The Hagen showground has a big fence around it with Coca Cola signs hung off the fence. The performers start to get ready outside the showground, opposite the tourist area, about 3 hours before their official entrance into the showground. Tourists are allowed to go and walk among the performers as they prepare themselves for the show, donning their costumes and makeup. The "show" started at 11:00 and we made our way back to the tourist area. You wear a show badge as proof of paid entry. Currently there is only one set of bleachers and they are first come first served. Some tour companies had erected awnings to shade their guests and provided small folding chairs to take a break from standing. When the show starts you are watching the groups of performers enter the showground through the chainlink fence. After all the groups have made their way inside the showground a gate is opened and all the tourists stream in to once again take pictures, and have their pictures taken with, the performers. Sunday is a repeat of Saturday.

So, how do I find out about your independent group trip to Goroka and Kalam Festivals?