Papua New Guinea from Australia

Hi there, for a 6-month trip to Australia and NZ starting in NOVEMBER, I’d like to visit PNG and the Solomon Islands. Has anyone already explored these two countries? How can you travel solo there—transport, accommodation, banking, safety—and what’s the best way to get there from AUS? Thanks for any tips! Are there any French-language sites about these destinations? Cheers, jps

You can take a flight between Sydney, Brisbane, and Cairns to Port Moresby with Air Niugini http://www.airniugini.com.pg/. Port Moresby isn’t really worth it, so I’d recommend either taking a flight to the highlands (Tari, Mt Hagen) or to Sepik Wewak or Madang, depending on what interests you. There are no security issues outside the big cities. Hotels are expensive, but there are always budget lodges here and there. For banking, no worries about exchanging euros in any of the cities. I spent 20 years there—if you want more info, contact me at raycomw@global.net.pg. Cheers, Olivier

From Cairns and Brisbane, there’s also the airline Airlines of PNG with really cheap fares. A reliable and accommodating company.

which unfortunately went bankrupt 1 or 2 months ago??????????

I haven’t heard that Airline of PNG went bankrupt (I just checked online) in the past month. And before that, it was still flying since I took it.

Hi there,

I have little hope this message will reach you, given it’s coming 17 years after your original post 🤪. Did you end up going to the Solomon Islands? I’ll be there in June, and there’s not much info online for independent backpacking. I was wondering if you had any feedback to share. Also, we’ll have a layover in Honiara on our way to Gizo—I’m looking for affordable accommodation in Honiara, but it seems like mission impossible... Thanks in advance. Juliette

Hi there,

I was in the Solomon Islands back in 2018. There’s the tourism office website where you can find lots of info: www.visitsolomons.com.sb/. Accommodation starts at 50 €/night. When I arrived, I stayed at Dolphin View Beach, about 20 km northwest of Honiara, for around 40 €, I think. After that, I went to Munda, then Gizo, and made my way back to Honiara. If you’ve got any tips, feel free to share!

Fred

Hi Juliette,

If you'd like to travel in Oceania, I suggest visiting: Fiji, Kiribati, Niue, Samoa, Tonga, Cook Islands, and Vanuatu.

I went there three years ago and it was amazing!