PNG & Solomon Islands - looking for ideas/recommendations

Hi fellow travellers!

I am flying to PNG (+SOL) from Europe, landing in POM on June 25 for 20 days net time. I am thinking of doing around 15-16 days in PNG and about 4-5 in Solomon Islands. Flying back to Europe on 15 July from Honiara.

I am interested in parts of PNG, please see below, and would really be glad to hear you ideas about logistics, e.g. if it's doable or not manageable timewise + which of the parts you'd travel by your own (if any!), which ones for sure with using some ideally local agency (any good recommendations for some agencies very welcomed!).

I would like to make a combination of authentic PNG (tribes in highlands + ideally a festival), do some adventure and rest at some laid back place. What comes to my mind now are (sorry, perhaps I am really wrong here):

1/ North Ireland/Britain - Rabaul/Kokopo from New Britain & Kavieng area in New Ireland.
On top of it, first 2 weeks of July there is a festival Warwagira & Mask Festival.

2/ Highlands trip between Tari (Huli Wigman) and Goroka (Asaro Mudman)

3/ either Sepik region (art capital + canoeing down the river) or chill by the water at Tufi (or Alotau) - Milne Bay.

4/ Solomon Islands

I consider myself quite a "hard-core no-agency" backpacker :) - travelling this way for almost 20 years, however travelling with my girlfriend for the second time now, I choose to be more careful and wishing to see as much as we can in this short time of 3 weeks (in 2017 we traveled parts of Madagascar/Comoros with amazing local agency and it might be our only best chance in PNG).

Thank you so much in advance!

God bless & travel safe .)

Tom

5 days per region, including getting there and moving on, sounds extremely tight to me in this part of the world (especially when it includes say both New Britain and New Ireland).
It may not be impossible, but it sounds a good travel agent may really be useful in your case. I certainly can't recommend one though as I have always travelled alone.

Thats a nice mix of destinations, but as Laszlo said, very tight. I would recommend dropping one region - less stressful and you will actually be able to see the other regions more fully.

Instead of doing the long roadtrip from Goroka to Tari, I would go to the highlands for trekking. This allows you to experience the local culture in a better way than paying $$$ for a tourist performance of the wigmen or mudmen.

In you situation I would limit to one beach / chilling destination and my pick would be New Ireland / New Britain. Go to Sepik instead of Milne Bay. I would also skip the Solomons and save them for another time. On the surface - at least if you only have a few days anyway - they are not completely different from PNG islands (of course more "sane" and they have a little better infrastructure).

If you focus on 3 regions only, logistics will be easier and you can travel independetly. You should still line up the Sepik trip in advance (at least get a few contacts).

I spent about 80 EUR a day staying in budget rooms on a similar trip (including domestic flights, no tour agency). Just FYI so you budget accordingly.

Hi Laszlo! Thank you for the answer. If I find a good travel agent (or a local contact) to help out with Highlands/Sepik it could be hopefully doable. If not, I will limit the destinations in PNG to 2 only. New Britain & New Ireland part I will do myself without an agent. In terms of your experience as a solo traveller, would you please recommend to see the Highlands? Did it seem authentic (seeing Huli/Mudmen villages...) or was it more a tourist thing only? What about the safety in Highlands and Sepik region - any experience/recommendations taking into consideration having a girl with me? Thank you! If you have any tips where to go you'd recommend as a must, please share ;)

Hi mknoke! Thank you also for your comments and insights.

This is great to know/read - "nstead of doing the long roadtrip from Goroka to Tari, I would go to the highlands for trekking. This allows you to experience the local culture in a better way than paying $$$ for a tourist performance of the wigmen or mudmen." - was it really a tourist trap (performance)? If so, I will gladly skip...
Would you recommend some particular place/trek to look at?

You are right, most likely I will keep it for New Britain/Ireland (solo/no agency), + Sepik + trek (to be recommended by you if you know some good ones - perhaps with some agency help) and skip Milne completely. Re Solomons, I understand what you mean, however, we are arriving to PNG but have a departure flight from Solomons already booked, so in any case we have to spend a few days there.

Thank you for the budget estimations! Very helpful.

I have two more questions, please.:
1/ Would you recommend something particular in Sepik? (did you have a chance to do a boat trip, any possible contacts very appreciated).

2/ And, did you do the flight bookings in advance?

Thank you so much :)

Tom

The mudmen are purely a tourist/show thing.

The Huli wigmen are a traditional group but these days pretty much all only wear their wigs for special events. Just about al highlanders wear modern dress in everyday life. Of course the villages are authentic.

I still find the Highlands worth visiting and a girl with you not much additional concern.

Re wigmen, yes you are paying for a performance, though the performance and the elaborates costumes are very nice/interesting. I did not regret it. However the performance alone is probably not a good enough reason to visit the Highlands. I did not see the mudmen.

In terms of treks, there are several options. I did a trek in the Simbai area - you fly in from Madang or Mt Hagen and walk out (there is no road). I very much liked it, more for the experience than scenery. You need to schedule at least 4 days for it. It was easy to arrange.

I have not been to the Sepik myself, as I had to choose between Sepik and a highlands trek and chose the latter.

I did not do any flight bookings in advance, but I did not have such a tight schedule. At times flights were full or got cancelled. In your situation I would definitely book in advance (ideally a fare that allows schedule changes).

Btw, if you are going to Solomons and like snorkeling, Marovo Lagoon/Uepi Island Resort is an incredible place.

Thank you Laszlo! I will definitely consider the Highlands again. To be honest, perhaps do Huli only and not take the whole way to see the mudmen. I guess the only way to get there is a flight from POM, correct? Btw, if you were to choose between Sepik and Highlands, what would you recommend? I am defintely going to New Britain/Ireland, so the second destination would be the Huli/highlands area or Sepik region. Thank you!

Hi Mknote!

Thank you! What else would you recommend to do add to the Highlands trip? Huli + some particular trek/village? Not to travel there for Huli only... If Simbai area is the choice, can I arrange it on the spot upon arrival? So in total you reckon we can manage Huli + a trek in about 5 days? I would keep a week for New Ireland and the rest would be to/from POM flights. Did you arrange Huli and the trek w/o any agency just on a spot with some "local guides"?
Btw, a transfer between Huli men (Tari) and Simbai would be another flight, or is there a road option also?

I am also in between Sepik vs the Highlands :) Have not made a final decision yet.

How much is a flight on average please (in EUR)? As you are suggesting, I think I will need to do the booking in advance + schedule changes option :)

Solomon Islands - Marovo Lagoon! Thanks for a tip, I had it as a plan B already :). We will have about 4-5 nights in total in Solomon Islands. So will try to fly out of Honiara directly there upon our arrival and return a night before the departure to Europe. Uepi Island Resort - thank you also!

t

With your time constraints, you must fly everwhere.
Both the Highlands and the Sepik are great, as is New Ireland, so I'd visit these three and skip the Solomons.

Simbai is only one of the possible treks. The locals running the treks are quite experienced though and so it is well organized and with less surprises. For other highland treks, I'd suggest going through an agency or to be very flexible. E.g. I organized both a small trek and a visit to Huli wigmen in Tari upon arrival, chatting up a schoolteacher who proceeded to by my "guide". However the overnight stay was in a super dirty and basic hut and the trek was not very interesting (basically walking up roads). One thing to realize, Tari especially is a area with lots of poverty and violence with very little infrastructure for independent tourists. I still enjoyed the overall experience - even though when I wanted to leave the government had closed down the airport indefinitely due to a clan feud, people were killed a few km from my accomodation.

Back to your question, yes you can manage Huli and a trek in 5 days but realistically, it should then be a shorter trek around Tari or Mt Hagen area, not Simbai. From Tari to Simbai you'd need to take two domestic flights via Mt Hagen, but the Simbai flight does not go every day and is not reliable (cancelled in bad weather). You could also skip Tari and instead pay the Simbai people for a sing-sing (they will have different costumes of course).

On costs, a sing-sing / wigmen performance can be (roughly speaking) 100-250 EUR if they do it just for you. Domestic flights one-way costs 100-180 EUR. These prices are two years old, no idea if still accurate. You can check Air Niugini fares online.

The one highlands hike that stands out for scenery is climbing Mount Wilhelm.
This would be 2 days' travel by road from Tari, or a flight to Hagen, then 2 PMV rides. It may also be possible to organize a Chimbu singsing in this area, and I found their traditional costumes and dances far more impressive than that of the Huli.

Thank you mknote again!
I may skip Tari completely and do Mt. Hagen (Simbai or shorter trek) only = thank you!
If you still have some reliable contacts in general (Simbai or Sepik), could you please provide?
Marovo Lagoon, I already checked the flights. You reckon 3 days/3 nights there is ok?

Thank you :)

t

Thank you Laszlo.

I think I could skip Tari, fly to Hagen or Goroka instead and try to make it to Mt. Wilhelm region. If not doing the whole climb, do some trekking in the area. The trek itself takes 2-3 days (according to what I am reading), so maybe doing a 2 day trek in area would be just fine. Could we do Chimbu without the full trek to Mt. Wilhelm?

Would it be best to fly to Goroka or Hagen and how many days you'd estimate from POM and back including Chimbu + a short trek?

Thank you

t

mknoke, one more question please.
Are Solomon airlines reliable in terms of times/dates in comparison to flights around PNG?
Is if OK for me to take a flight from Seghe to Honiara day before the departure to Europe (from Honiara)?
Thank you

Btw, if you are going to Solomons and like snorkeling, Marovo Lagoon/Uepi Island Resort is an incredible place.

Hi,

for Simbai, try Esron (7135 7801 or kalamguesthouse.simbai@gmail.com) or Dickson (7318 9202).

Marovo Lagoon - 2-3 full days is fine. Re Solomon Airlines, you should be fine... if your schedule is tight you may want to ask the Uepi Resort owners what is their experience

Thank you mknoke!

for the contacts and ideas about Solomons. I think 3 days/3 nights should be fine also. I was curious about Solomon Airlines, so it's good to hear they are more reliable. Regarding Uepi resort, I may need to skip this particular one. I checked the prices and it will be a bit too much pricewise for us. So I think I will need to stick something good but not that fancy :( Unfortunately :).

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@Laszlo, is you advise still valid?
"try and get a copy of the OLD LP guide (the newer one is much worse).
Is it still worth reading the old guide for something?

thanks
Vlad
www.vladivlad.com

Of course it is valid.
It's worth reading the old guides, especially the Solomons one, for many more things than the new ones.

Hi Tomassko

The ladies at the small tourist office in Honiara can be very helpful. With 4 days you could do a boat trip to Tulagi island and/or Savo island.There are guest houses on both. I didn’t do this trip but the tourist office did have info about them. Small boats with big outboards cross iron bottom sound between Honiara and Tulagi often however it’s best to leave very early when the ocean is calmer. It takes a few hours.There is also a passenger ferry. Not sure if it goes everyday though.

Hi guys, a quick question - Could you please recommend if a vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis is needed for PNG? Thank you.

Hi Tomassko

The ladies at the small tourist office in Honiara can be very helpful. With 4 days you could do a boat trip to Tulagi island and/or Savo island.There are guest houses on both. I didn’t do this trip but the tourist office did have info about them. Small boats with big outboards cross iron bottom sound between Honiara and Tulagi often however it’s best to leave very early when the ocean is calmer. It takes a few hours.There is also a passenger ferry. Not sure if it goes everyday though.

Thank you :)!

Tomassko,
from what I know vaccination against Japanese Encephalitis is not really needed. Japanese Encephalitis is rather rare.
that is information i gathered while investigated asia, phillipines, borneo, indonesia and countries around. I may be wrong but this is how I see it now.

Vladimir
www.vladivlad.com

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