Papua New Guinea is one of the hardest countries in the Pacific to backpack independently, though it is doable if you plan each leg in advance and lean on local hosts.
Most provinces are not linked by road, so you fly between regions at roughly K400 to 1,000 (US$100 to 250) one way. Guesthouses in
Kokopo,
Goroka and
Madang run K150 to 350 (US$40 to 90) a night and will arrange airport pickups and trusted drivers, which is how most solo travelers get around safely. In
Port Moresby and
Lae, avoid walking at night and use hotel transport.
Ten to fourteen days is the realistic minimum to see two or three regions of Papua New Guinea without spending every day in transit.
Five days covers one area well, such as
Kokopo and
Rabaul in East New Britain. Ten days fits
Port Moresby, the Highlands around
Mount Hagen and
Goroka, and the coast at
Madang. Fifteen days adds
Milne Bay or the volcano country. Budget a buffer day for every two or three flights, since delays are common. The
Kokoda Track alone takes 8 to 10 days of walking, so plan three weeks if you want it alongside other regions.
You can travel Papua New Guinea without a car, and most visitors do, using domestic flights, PMVs (public minibuses and trucks) and small boats.
The main road network is the Highlands Highway:
Lae to
Goroka takes about 5 to 7 hours,
Goroka to
Madang around 6 to 8 hours, and
Mount Hagen to
Goroka 4 to 5 hours, with PMV fares roughly K30 to 80 (US$8 to 20). Islands such as the
Duke of York Islands and
Samarai Island are reached by banana boat. Everything else, including
Alotau,
Kokopo and
Kavieng, needs a flight, usually via Port Moresby.
The essential stops in Papua New Guinea are
Rabaul and
Kokopo for the volcano and WWII sites,
Goroka for Highlands culture, and
Madang or
Milne Bay for the coast.
In
Port Moresby, spend a day at the
National Museum and Art Gallery and an early morning at
Varirata National Park, about an hour away, for birds of paradise. Divers should add
Kimbe Bay or
Kavieng, each a flight from the capital. Hikers aim for the
Kokoda Track (8 to 10 days) or
Mount Wilhelm, the country’s highest peak at about 4,500 meters, which takes 3 to 4 days including acclimatization.
If time is tight in Papua New Guinea, skip
Lae and keep
Port Moresby to one or two nights, since neither rewards a long stay.
The far west, including
Tabubil,
Kiunga and
Daru, needs extra flights and several days to reach anything beyond the town, so leave it for a second trip.
Wewak,
Aitape and
Vanimo make sense mainly if you are heading up the Sepik or crossing into Indonesia. A focused 10-day plan of the capital,
Goroka,
Madang and either
Rabaul or
Alotau gives you far more than chasing six provinces with constant flight connections.
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