Visiting PNG in January

Hello everyone!

I hope you are all doing well and enjoying your travels :-)

In upcoming January, I will hopefully be getting around 2 weeks of vacation.
As I've always wanted to visit the South Pacific and I found a flight to PNG that is a bit less unaffordable than the others,
I'm considering visiting the country.

I will be having 12 complete days for traveling. My wish is to find a place with beautiful beaches, mountain/volcano scenery and rainforests closeby and friendly and welcoming people.
Arriving in Port Moresby, which place in PNG do you think would be best suited for my vacations?

From what I've read so far, either New Ireland or the region around Wewak would come close to my expectations ...
Would you agree with this?
And is there any place in PNG that should be avoided in January due to heavy rains?
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Furthermore, I will be having around 900 € to spend (not including international airfare) ... Is this budget realistic for 12 days of travel in PNG, basing myself in one region only?
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And, apart from this, is it easy to travel independently without knowing the local languages?
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Thank you very much in advance for your help!

Best regards,

JAD

Since neither the Wewak area nor New Ireland has volcanoes, the more logical choice for you might be New Britain (full of volcanoes).
I think your budget can be OK if you find a cheap place to stay.
Check airfares to Rabaul though - domestic flights in PNG are expensive!
Language is not an issue as English is very widely spoken in PNG.

If you want to combine snorcelling / diving at the island and visiting rainforest ,then I think Wewak offers the best possiblities together
If you want to spend not so much money .then you must take not to drive so much with a motor boat as the petrol is so expensive.

So there is a real good possibilty the Wagu guesthouse at the Wagu Lake in the upper Sepik region
The Wagu guesthouse is situated directly situated at the bench of the lake with the wonderful view
of the lake and of the wetlands and of the hills and mountains of the Hunstein range Look at google video with searching " Sepik ,Ambunti " , then you can see a video with all informations of such a tour

Mathew Kaka is the owner of the guest house at the Wagu lake and he is a guide with an own motor boat and he is also the guide for hiking and watching birds of paradise (you can see them in the morning , it is easy to reach the spot in the forest in the morning – twenty minutes by boat and hiking )

It is the big house of Mathew Kaka , he is now living beside . There are 4 rooms with 2 beds with curtains in the doors , but it is possible that more than 8 persons can sleep there A western toilet for all is beside the house Great efforts arte made to offer best conditions what possible is in that far away situation

Normally all Sepik tours are organized only by driving with a motor boat from the upper Sepik to the middle Sepik . As much petrol is necessary for the long distances , so the tours are very expensive .If you concentrate your tour in the region of the Wagu lake, so you can save much money For your support you can contact directly Mathew in Wagu phone . digicel ++675 7378 6776 or email
wagulake@googlemail.com

From Wewak there is the possibility ,to reach Ambuti and farther on to Wagu lake
by road until Pagwi and then by boat to Ambunti and farther on to Wagu
PMV in the night from Wewak to Pagwi ( starting between 8 and 10 pm

arriving in the morning ) you can make reservation during the day ,the PMV

number ….. is waiting in the main road in Wewak around 40 Kinas one way
with a PMV boat from Pagwi to Ambunti after arrival in Pagwi

If you wish , Mathew will pick up you with his boat in Pagwi ,so you can go directly

to Wagu without changing the boat in Ambunti
This price will be included in your full tour program with Mathew

. 5. boat tour and hiking combined : with the motor boat across the Wagu lake and
through the lakes of the wetland , then upstream the Hunstein river until the
point ,where the hiking tour number 3 ends and from there returning by hiking
6 Hiking through the forest across the hills of the Hunstein range to the caves of the batmens
7 Canoeing on the Wagu lake and in the wetlands with a dugout watching animals especially birds and
fishing
8 Boat excursion on the other side of the Sepik to Tongwinjamb in the Washkuk hills

In Wewak it is general better , when a local man is going with you ,that you are not alone . So it is possible
that Mathew will expect you at the airport . So you have to decide ,whether you want to go first to Wagu lake
and at the end snorkelling at the islands near Wewak ,what I recommend

Thanks a lot for the suggestions so far! ... they r very helpful :-)
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Laszlo, New Britain sounds amazing, but LP says that the beaches r not that great ...
Is this true? ...
It is appearantly possible to tour the beaches of the Duke of York Islands close to Rabaul and the pics that i googled look great, but it sounds difficult and potentially costly ...
have you or has anyone else made experiences with this?
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I had been considering the area around either Wewak or New Ireland mainly, because of the beaches wich are supposed to be beautiful ...
LP states that there are the Prince Alexander Mountains near Wewak, but how far from the coast are they actually?
Basically, it all comes down to: Which place has the most scenic South Pacific clishee coastline (white beaches, swaying coconut palms and mountains in the distance) ? :-)
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and Digoebel, the Sepik region sounds fantastic as well! .... what would be the price for this kind of tour per day?
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once again, thanks a lot for the help!
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I thought beaches in NB were OK. Not as great as in New Ireland, but not bad either. Certainly not worse than the ones around Wewak, I"d say.
I didn't go to the Duke of York Islands, but they seemed easy to get to from Rabaul.
Otherwise, combine the volcanoes and war relics of Rabaul with the beaches and islands around Kavieng - a great combo, and the 2 cities are reasonably well-linked.

Of all the places discussed, New Ireland has the most "cliche South Pacific" feel for sure - but no real mountains within sight of the Kavieng area.

In regards to beaches near Rabual, we didn't find any usable, nice places around Rabual...however, Duke of York islands had great beaches - small but lovely - and they were accessible by a chartered boat - a bit of a bumpy ride if you mind that sort of thing... We did this from the Rapopo Plantation resort where we were staying but I'm sure you could organize it locally through wherever you're residing at. When you pay for the boat, remember to ask if you also have to pay to use the space where you land, as in PNG normally the drivers will give some kina ($$) to those that own the land that you're using.

Thanks a lot for the great advice, all of you ... u've helped me a lot! :-)
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if i make it to PNG, i'll post as much info and pics as i can afterwards!!
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all the best,

JAD

Hi Jad1990,

Are you still planning on travelling to Papua in January? I am travelling there solo from NZ around the 7th of Jan for 2 weeks - I haven't decided on an itinerary yet but if you would like to possibly share an adventure or two I could be interested-

I am a 32yo male from New Zealand- I have travelled solo through Africa etc and am looking for some of the same experiences you mention in your post- village life, wildlife, exploring etc

Anyway let me know and happy travels!

Hey leonz! ... thanks a lot for ur message ... i've just sent u a PM ... :-)

Hi Jad and Leonz,

I will also be travelling solo from 27 dec to 13 jan around new Britain and new Ireland provinces.. Have done a bit of research into both places and basically keen to do same kinds of things.. Perhaps to add to the list of stuff todo.. There's a waterfall that runs directly into the ocean in new Britain province, also treetop accommodation in new Ireland province.. I think you can do a cycling tour from Kavieng.. It's worth checking out 'villagehuts' for accommodation.

Anyway it'd be great to have some company at some point during the trip so let me know if you'd be keen for meet ups! I'm based in Sydney 26yrs female done fair bit of asia and middle east solo before.. It would be great to share notes, png sounds fascinating and am excited to be going!

Hi Gondwana!

Thanks a lot for the message! ... As great as exploring PNG sounds, I might have to postpone my trip, so I can't make any concrete plans yet.

If I make it, I'll let you know!
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If not, well, I wish you an amazing trip and that you enjoy yourself to the max! :)
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Best regards,

JAD

Hey Gondwana,

Good to hear from you :) meet ups at some point sounds great! I am arriving on the 7th so we overlap by 5-6 days... I don't have much of an idea of an itinerary at this stage although the very helpful Laszlo just posted a suggestion to me (should be one of the latest topics on the PNG bulletin board) which suggested Kavieng among other places... it sounds pretty great and just the kind of thing I'm interested in-

Anyway if you are keen let's keep in touch - would be great to at least have a contact on the ground if not a fellow traveller to share an adventure or two with!

Safe travels-