Rabual

I'm considering Rabual for Easter 2008, probably travelling solo. I'm an expat Aussie living in Lae.
Those that have been there where did you stay and how did you get around? Do any tours?
I'm looking at budget options.

I stayed at the Kabaira Beach Resort, which is good value and run by very nice Aussies who have lived in New Britain for ages. It's somewhat isolated though.

See the PNG link in my profile for more.

I did no tours.
The area around Rabaul and Kokopo is quite easy to get around by PMVs further away transport (and the road-network!) thins out.

I went to Rabual last January. We had been in New Ireland and caught a dinghy from the west coast of NI to Kokopo - probably not much use to you coming from Lae.

We stayed 2 nights at Rabaul (Hamamas) Hotel. I thought it was very over priced and didn't like it much. However, I have seen a number of posters who say they had a really good time there. It is not a budget option however.

Like Laszlo, I also stayed at Kairbira. It is about 30-40 minutes out of Kokopo. The guys picked me up from the Rabaul Hotel. The guesthouse was really good. It is on the bay and has a reef just off the beach, which was good for snorkelling. It is really a dive place, but they were happy to have us there just snorkelling. It was a great place to get away from it all and I give it a high recommendation.

We didn't do any tours in Rabaul.

Have lived in Rabaul for 5 years, not recently, but theres not really any budget options, however if you are an expat living in Lae, you should be able to source local knowledge.