PNG or Vanuatu

Dear all,

I'm going to Brisbane for work at the end of August, and I have 3 weeks before that to travel. I only found this out only recently, so I haven't done any planning yet, except for reading this forum. I will be traveling alone, and I'd like to avoid taking internal planes to often or renting a car, as driving alone is not my thing. I am completely ignorant about that part of the world, but I figure traveling in Australia could involve either or both, so I am thinking of going somewhere else with my backpack, where I could see beautiful landscape (including underwater), interact with friendly locals, and immerse myself in an unknown culture. From what I read, PNG or Vanuatu both sound very interesting. PNG would be the first choice, but it doesn't look like a very easy country to travel to, and I am a but worried about going there without much planning and slightly concerned with security issues. Vanuatu on the other hand seems easier to visit on such short notice, but might offer less diversity. Would anyone care to send comments that could help me choose between the two destinations ( or suggest another one).

Thanks,

Pierre

Solomon Islands is in between the two, both geographically and in terms of development. With the recent start of Pacific Blue flights (3 hours out of Brisbane), it is now a viable option cost-wise as well. You can get to resorts and dive places, as well as very interesting culture without internal flights, as long as you are OK travelling by boat. Check out the address in my sig line for more information.
It doesn't have the security problem that exists in parts of PNG.

PNG and Vanuatu are my 2 favourite countries in the region, and I think both are fantastic.
But if you only have 3 weeks, and want to avoid internal flights, Vanuatu is certainly the one to choose. Don't worry, it does offer more than enough diversity, and the culture there is, if anything, even more traditional than in PNG.
I also found the people the friendliest in the South Pacific (followed by PNG).
Vanuatu is also safer than either PNG or the Solomons, not that I consider either of those really unsafe.

This site has great info on backpacking through Vanuatu.

Vanuatu offering less diversity? Wrong. Each island has it's own cultures and I insist on the "s" at the end. Just in Tanna, I think there's more than 30 languages spoken. I don't know about PNG, but if you read about Vanuatu, I'm sure you'll find an island to your taste that you'll want to know more about. Port Vila where you'll arrive by plane has something of a boomtown but is not seedy. People are really friendly. But transportation can be a problem though, the roads are often just trails.

Thank for the useful info. I'm still hesitating between the two destinations...
Concerning Vanuatu, I've read what I could find about traveling between Islands by boat, and what I basically got was: It's half the price than flying, but much more of a hassle, totally unreliable, and a likely way to spend days waiting for a boat that may not come. Is this accurate? I'm sure it's a great experience if one has the time, but should I plan on avoiding it?

Thanks,

Pierre

It seems that these days there's at least one reasonably reliable boat running on a fixed schedule to Santo.
Otherwise, you could simply wander down to the harbor and see if any boat is going where/when you need it, and if not, go over to Air Vanuatu and buy an air ticket instead.

If that makes you feel better about it, in PNG you would definitely have to fly out of Port Moresby, with not even a chance of catching a boat to anywhere of interest.

About the boat... It's probably right.