Airlangga Jati · Pexels LicensePapua New Guinea
“Over 800 languages, the Kokoda Track and highland sing-sings.”
Papua New Guinea has more than 800 living languages — around a eighth of all languages on earth in a country of about ten million people — because the terrain divided communities so completely that neighbouring valleys developed separately for millennia. The highland sing-sings, where clans gather in full body paint and bird-of-paradise plumes, are the most visually extraordinary cultural events in the Pacific, and the Goroka and Mount Hagen shows in August and September are when most visitors come.
It is also hard travel. Roads barely connect the country — Port Moresby is not linked by road to Lae or the highlands — so internal flights are essential and expensive. Crime in Port Moresby and Lae is a genuine and well-documented problem, tribal conflict flares in parts of the highlands, and most visitors move with local hosts or operators. The compensation is the Kokoda Track, world-class wreck and reef diving in Kimbe and Milne Bay, and cultures that have not been packaged.
Highlights
The highland sing-sings
Goroka in September and Mount Hagen in August bring together dozens of clans in body paint, shells and bird-of-paradise plumes. These began as post-war gatherings to defuse tribal conflict and remain primarily for the participants.
The Kokoda Track
A 96-kilometre trek over the Owen Stanley Range following the 1942 campaign route, taking eight to ten days with porters and guides. Physically hard, historically heavy and the country's best-known walk.
Diving Kimbe Bay and Milne Bay
Reefs with exceptional fish and coral diversity, plus Second World War wrecks and aircraft in shallow water. Among the best and least-crowded diving in the Pacific.
The Sepik river
A 1,100-kilometre river with haus tambaran spirit houses, carving traditions and villages reached only by boat — one of the great river journeys, arranged through operators.
Entry requirements for Papua New Guinea
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Before you fly
The detail
- Passport validity
- Most destinations want validity beyond your stay, and some want six months. Check yours against the return date.
- Onward travel
- Airlines may ask for a return or onward ticket at check-in.
- Health
- Yellow fever certificate required from endemic countries. Malaria year-round in lowlands and coastal areas — prophylaxis is standard. Tuberculosis and drug-resistant TB are prevalent. Medical facilities are very limited outside Port Moresby; evacuation insurance to Australia is essential.
- Money
- The kina in cash for most things. ATMs in Port Moresby, Lae and Mount Hagen; cards work at hotels. Carry cash for anything outside the main centres, and use hotel safes.
When to go
BestMay–Oct. AvoidDec–Mar.
Dry season opens — the best trekking and diving conditions.
The band above each month is our editorial verdict - it weighs crowds, prices and access as well as weather. The line is average daily temperature, the bars are monthly rainfall. Select a month for the figures. Climate figures: ERA5 reanalysis via Open-Meteo, 2005–2024 normals.
What it costs
A day in Papua New Guinea
Comfortable · sample day
≈ $216
Line items are real prices we track. The daily budget is an editorial estimate for this level, not their sum.
Where this sits among 244 countries we have costed
The August and September show season is the one period of real tourist demand and flights and rooms around it book out and price up months ahead.
Updated Aug 2026 · Editorial synthesis — operator quotes and market sampling (2025–2026) · confidence medium
Excludes international flights - they depend on where you fly from.
Regions to know
5Port Moresby and Central
The capital, the national museum, the Kokoda trailhead at Owers' Corner and the Varirata plateau.
The highlands
Goroka, Mount Hagen, the Tari basin with the Huli wigmen and the birds of paradise of the cloud forest.
The Sepik
The great river, spirit houses, carving villages and the crocodile initiation traditions.
Milne Bay and the east
Alotau, the Trobriand Islands, wreck diving and the outer archipelagos.
New Britain and the islands
Rabaul beneath its volcanoes, Kimbe Bay's reefs, New Ireland and Bougainville further east.
Practical guide
Getting there
Port Moresby Jacksons is served by Air Niugini, Qantas, Philippine Airlines and Singapore Airlines, mostly via Brisbane, Cairns, Manila and Singapore. The land border with Indonesian Papua is not a practical tourist route.
Getting around
Domestic flights on Air Niugini and PNG Air are the only real option between regions — the road network does not connect the main centres. Boats serve the islands and the Sepik. PMV minibuses operate locally but are not advised for visitors in the cities.
Money & costs
The kina in cash for most things. ATMs in Port Moresby, Lae and Mount Hagen; cards work at hotels. Carry cash for anything outside the main centres, and use hotel safes.
Safety
High rates of violent crime in Port Moresby and Lae; tribal conflict in parts of the highlands; opportunistic theft everywhere. Do not walk after dark in cities, do not use street PMVs, and follow your host or operator's advice on routes and areas. Rural islands are much safer.
Health
Yellow fever certificate required from endemic countries. Malaria year-round in lowlands and coastal areas — prophylaxis is standard. Tuberculosis and drug-resistant TB are prevalent. Medical facilities are very limited outside Port Moresby; evacuation insurance to Australia is essential.
SIM & internet
Digicel and Telikom; SIM registration requires a passport. Coverage in towns and along some corridors; nothing across large areas. Operators in remote regions carry satellite communications.
Driving
Self-driving is not advisable, particularly in Port Moresby and Lae, where carjacking is a real risk. If involved in an accident, local custom around compensation can make stopping dangerous — drive to a police station. Almost every visitor uses hosted transfers.
Rules change - verify with an official source before you rent.
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Before you go
Papua New GuineaFrequently asked questions
How serious are the security concerns?
Serious enough to shape every itinerary. Port Moresby and Lae have high rates of violent crime including carjacking and armed robbery, and most governments advise a high degree of caution nationwide with stronger warnings for specific highland provinces where tribal conflict is active. Visitors normally arrive with a host or operator arranging transfers, and do not walk around cities after dark. Rural and island areas are generally much calmer.
Why is it so expensive?
Almost everything is imported, the domestic airline network is a near-monopoly with high fares, and hotels are priced for the mining and aid sectors rather than tourists. A dive resort or a trek is a package price; independent budget travel is barely possible outside a few islands.
When are the cultural shows?
The Mount Hagen show is usually in August and Goroka in September, both in the dry season. Flights and accommodation around them book out well in advance, and going with an operator who has standing arrangements is close to necessary.