Practical information Papua New Guinea

178703  sq.mi

London-Port Moresby: approximately 21 hours. There are no direct flights, it is necessary to travel via Singapore, Tokyo or Bangkok.

5940775 hab.

Port Moresby international airport is located 8 miles away from the city (allow roughly 25 minutes for the transfer). It has several shops and a bureau de change. Shuttle services are ensured by the major hotels. Mini-buses will also allow you to get to the city centre. By taxi, allow roughly 25 kinas for the ride. A 15 kina tax will be required from you when leaving aboard an international flight.

Foreign affairs recommend not to travel to the Highlands, and particularly to Mount Hagen, Mendi and Tari, where the presence of uncontrolled armed gangs was reported. Make sure to contact the embassy before travelling anywhere within the country.
The capital city, Port Moresby, as well as other cities (Mount Hagen, Lae), are going through very insecure times. Armed attacks, thefts, rapes and robberies have become frequent. Many idle and alcoholic people, nicknamed "rascals", have become organized as armed gangs so as to rob banks and ransom shop owners. They sometimes organize ambushes on the Highlands' isolated roads. In 1996, the problem was so important that the government had to impose a curfew and prohibit alcohol sales. Therefore, be as cautious as possible. Avoid walking around in the cities, especially at night, and when driving, try travelling with a convoy of other cars rather than alone on mountain roads. The northern islands (New Britain and New Ireland) are however quite safe. You also ought to avoid Buka and Bougainville, in the North of the Solomon archipelago, because of the still tense military situation.

English and Neo-Melanesian (or Pidgin, a language derived from English) are the two official languages. Papua is the country where the largest number of languages are spoken with over 750 dialects.

Valid passport and visa (valid for two months); the visa is available at the embassy or upon arrival in the country, at the airport. To get a visa, bring a valid passport, two ID photos, a justifying document from your travel agency and the form duly filled in. Allow about a week for delivery.

Catholics (22 %), Protestants (44 %), Animists (33 %).

The national currency is the Kina, which is split into 100 Tosas. Credit cards (Visa or American Express) are not often accepted in hotels and restaurants and if they are, an extra tax is added to the bill. Plane tickets must be paid for in cash. You cannot withdraw money in banks or from automatic cash machines with foreign credit cards, because the network is not linked to the international banking network. Bring cash and travellers cheques with you, but only in US or Australian dollars. If you are travelling to remote places, bring a large amount of kinas in small denominations, because the local people rarely have change.
Banks are open from 9:00 am to 3:00 pm Monday to Thursday, from 9:00am to 5:00pm on Fridays, and from 8:00 am to 12:00 pm on Saturdays. The wait is often quite long, especially on Fridays when employees come to cash their pay cheques.

In the town: there is a taxi service in Port Moresby but not in Lae, Madang, Mount Hagen, Wewak or Ponpondetta. They generally have a meter but you will often have to negotiate the fare (10 to 15 kinas for an average ride). Some mini-bus lines are also available in the day time.
Driving: on the left-hand side of the road. The road network is very limited because of the very uneven relief. The main roads give access to the Highland villages from Madang and Lae, and run along the coast to the East and West of Port Moresby. It is however impossible to drive to the North coast Highlands from Port Moresby. The roads are in fairly good condition on the Bismarck archipelago. Public buses (Japanese mini-buses or old ramshackle trucks, depending on where you are) drive on almost all roads, for a low fare, and stop anywhere on the route. Most of them leave on market days (Friday or Saturday), very early in the morning. There aren't so many during the rest of the day or week, especially on secondary roads. Hitch-hiking is not recommended because of the climate of insecurity. Rental cars (Avis, Budget, Hertz, Thrifty, Travelodge Hotel Cars Services) are available in major cities. A national driver's licence is sufficient. They are expensive. If you witness an accident, do not stop but drive to the closest police station so as to avoid any trouble.
Boats: cruise boats will allow you to get to most islands and travel along the coasts. The company Lutheran Shipping ensures most of the passenger traffic on the North coast between Oro Bay and Vanimo as well as New Britain, leaving from Lae. On the East coast, you will use small boats or pirogues according to the traffic. River cruising in a motor canoe is sometimes the only way to reach some remote villages but you have to hire a boat, as there is no public transport on rivers. It is best to ask shop keepers if a boat transporting goods is likely to leave soon and if there are some available seats.
Flights: they are the main means of transport in most of the country's regions. In some remote villages, the arrival of the plane is the day's - or the week's main attraction. The national company Air Niugini ensures regular air links to about 20 urban centres, located in the Highlands and on the islands, but the fares are high and the aircrafts in bad condition. The company MBA also ensures numerous air links, whereas some other small companies have a charter service to isolated villages. You have to be at the airport an hour before take off to be sure to get a seat. You also have to reserve in advance and always reconfirm as delays and cancellations are very frequent. The company Air Niugini offers various reduced fare options to travellers reserving seats on several flights in advance.

No particular vaccine is required but it is highly recommended to be up to date with the following: tetanus, poliomyelitis, diphtheria, yellow fever, hepatitises A and B. There are some risks of cholera, so it is asked that you follow a strict food and physical hygiene. The country is listed in zone 3 concerning malaria: very high risks of malaria under 5,900 feet and areas of high resistance to chloroquine. Plan to take Lariam as a preventive treatment. It is absolutely necessary to pack a full pharmacy kit in case of an excursion into the inland. Do not drink tap water, and do not even use it to brush your teeth, do not consume raw food or unpeeled fruits, protect yourself against mosquitoes, which are present all year long, and particularly voracious at night (repellent product, insecticide, mosquito net). In case of an accident or a health problem, it is better to be evacuated directly to Cairns, in Australia, as hospital conditions in Papua New Guinea are very bad.

240 V. An adapter for three-pin outlets is needed. Most villages do not have any electricity, or for only a few hours a day, and power cuts are frequent in town.

Most tourists come from Australia. Except for the British, few Europeans visit Papua.

Taxes are included in the prices and tips are rarely given. Bargaining is not common practice and tourists who try to do it are often taken for impolite people. If you are staying in the home of a local inhabitant, you must leave some money as a way of thanking them.

To call Papua New Guinea from the UK: 00 + 675 + number. No regional code.
From Papua New Guinea to the UK: 05 + 44 + regional code (without the initial 0) + number.