Visa

I'm now in Thailand and I'd like to go overland through Malaysia, Indonesia and Phillipines to Papua New Guinea. Anybody knows where is the best place to apply for a Papua Visa in those countrys. I'm spanish citizen. I'd like to know as well if it's easy to go overland (or by ship) to Papua New Guinea from the Indonesian side
Thank you very much

Kuala Lumpur, Jakarta, Singapore, Manila all have PNG high Commissions. Bangkok had in the past but not sure now. Probably still there. You can take a Pelni ship from Surabaya to Jayapura and cross the land border north of Vanimo. That ship goes on the so called southern route. Bali, Lombok, Sumbawa, Flores, Ambon, Manokawari. There is a northern boat(so called muslim route) that goes via Sulewesi and I,m not sure where else. Takes a week on the southern route and is a great journey.

Trouble is that most PNG embassies or consulates want to you fly into Port Moresby, and to show a ticket to prove it. Certainly the one in Jakarta.
The consulate in Jayapura MAY be your best bet, but is a bit of a hit or miss.
Crossing the land border usually works these days, assuming you have a visa.

The PNG and West Papua links in my signo line have info on this.

Forget the nonsense about muslim routes etc in the above post - that info is ca 6-7 years out of date. There are several Pelni ships going from Java to Jayapura, 4-5 at last count, but none take the route described by Yuwi. The Dobonsolo did years ago, but it no longer does.

You still have plenty of time and it would be a good thing to check the embassies in those coutries. Getting the visa inJayapura can be a painful process. I'm now in PNG and I got my visa there. They made me make many trips back and forth, but I got it eventually. They'll surely ask for a plain ticket for further travel (even one that doesn't leave from PNG), so be sure to have one ready. If you don't have one, I advise to check the cheapest one with air asia or tiger airways. I would suggest to even conssider to make a fake one out of a previous electronic booking, just changing dates and destinatios (don't choose any in PNG if you do this). They won't check this and you won't through your money away. I wouldn't suggest this if at least they would demand the flight to leave from PNG, because at least they would be favouring a national company, but just asking for a future flight is a nonsense.

There are some pelni ships that get to Jayapura, most of them going through Makassar. The one I took I think is the Dorolonda.

Good luck. PNG is an amazing place.

I'm a Canadian citizen. I'm planning on going from Singapore --> Australia (and beyond) by surface.

I just got my Indonesian visa in Kuala Lumpur with astoundingly little hassle. Applied for it at 9:30AM this morning and got my passport back at 4:30 PM, same-day. All it took was a brief chat with the guy behind the counter explaining that I was traveling by ferry and that I would be continuing on to PNG. He said that was fine, and not a problem at all. Didn't need any return tickets, invitation letters, or any additional paperwork. I don't HAVE ferry tickets yet, but listed my port of entry to Indonesia simply as "Aceh" which was apparently enough for the visa folks.

Visa cost was RM 170 (~$50 USD at the moment). I believe that's standard for all nationalities, but I'm not sure.

NOTE: You are required to wear long pants, and shoes (NOT flip-flops) when you go to the embassy.

It's also worth noting that the official processing time for the visa is, I think, one day. I may have just been lucky to get it back same-day.

Hope this helps.

--Nic

Ok, you got an indonesian visa.. thats easy! But did you get an PNG visa as well??