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Region

Port Moresby and Central Province

Treat Port Moresby as a connection base: sleep in a secure hotel, use booked cars, and go further only with an operator, for example the Kokoda Track or a flight to another region.

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Key facts · Papua New Guinea

Best months
May–Oct
Visa
Depends on your passport
Currency
Kina (PGK, K)
Language
Tok Pisin
Plugs
I · 240 V
Time zone
UTC+10, no daylight saving
Month by month here
Rules in force · 6
  • Oceania ↗Oceania's island states guard their farms and reefs at the border: tick 'yes' on the arrival card for any food, plant, animal product, soil or used outdoor gear, and let the officer decide.
  • Oceania ↗Across the tropical South Pacific, cyclones are possible from November to April: choose insurance that covers weather delays and keep one spare night before a long-haul departure.
  • Melanesia ↗Malaria is present in Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and parts of Vanuatu (not Fiji or New Caledonia): ask a travel clinic about tablets before you go.
  • Papua New Guinea ↗Every visitor needs a visa (an online e-visa, or a visa on arrival for a short list of passports) and must file the free Digital Arrival Card before landing: check the PNG Immigration and Citizenship Authority for your passport before booking.
  • Papua New Guinea ↗Some governments advise against travel to parts of the Highlands provinces because of tribal fighting; check your own government's current advice before you go.
  • Papua New Guinea ↗Almost all land is customary: ask permission before walking, swimming or photographing, and expect to pay fees to landowners.

The capital is where most international flights land and where domestic flights connect. It is not a walking city, and crime is serious. Day trips beyond the city, such as the Kokoda Track start or nearby beaches, are done through an operator with their own vehicles.

Where to sleep

2 places in this region

Sleep base

One or two nights

  • Kokoda Track startGuide: planned

    Licensed operator and permit only.

    Page planned: listed so the region plan is complete.

Plan the nights

How to split the nights, day-trips and what to do with your bags

Open Plan the nightsClose Plan the nights3 partsNights · Day-trips · Bags

Night sequences

1 nights
Port Moresby 1, then fly on to a lodge region
2 nights
Port Moresby 2 with a buffer day before an international flight
  • Do not plan to walk between sights, and do not travel on public minibuses.

Day-trips door to door

ToFromDoor-to-door p50Last returnNote
Kokoda Track startPort Moresby240 minunknownThe track is walked with a licensed operator and a permit; ask the operator for transfers.

Bags between cities

No luggage forwarding culture: keep the big bag at the Port Moresby hotel and take a day pack.

When to go

Months and weather

Open When to goClose When to go1 partSeasons

Seasons at a glance

From each city's month table

Pick a month to see where to go.

Show all 12 months, country by countryHide the 12-month table
CountryJFMAMJJASOND
Port Moresby
Papua New Guinea (country-wide)
Go: the good monthsFair: workable, mixedPoor: heat, rain or hazeAvoid: storms, floods, closuresno data yet

Computed from each country’s own data; hover a country name for the source. Advisory countries are left out.

Eat and move on

Regional food and where to go next

Open Eat and move onClose Eat and move on1 partGo next

Go next

Other regions of the country

Highlands (Goroka and Mount Hagen)

planned

3–5 nights

Cultural shows and highland lodges; fly in with an operator

Sepik River

planned

4–7 nights

River villages by boat from Wewak or Ambunti; expedition-style

Milne Bay, Tufi and the islands

planned

4–7 nights

Diving and fjord coast; Alotau, Tufi, Rabaul and Kavieng are the bases

Port Moresby and Central Province: what we know, and what is coming

1 of 2 places open

On this page

  1. 2 places with their role: where to sleep, what to do as a day trip
  2. How to split 1 or 2 nights
  3. 1 day trip with door-to-door time
  4. Seasons month by month, from the cities’ own tables
  5. What to do with the big bag between beds

Coming as the guide grows

  1. Climate strip by zone, with the storm and haze months
  2. Get in: airports and stations with door-to-door times
  3. Regional passes and cards, with a buy / skip verdict
  4. Regional food: what, where and when it works
  5. A page for Kokoda Track start — Licensed operator and permit only.

Meanwhile

Planning aids

Built from this guide's own data

Open Planning aidsClose Planning aids3 partsIn numbers · Trips here · Local time

Region in numbers

Where to sleep
1 base
Day trips
1, 4 h
Nights suggested
1–2 nights

Trips that stop here

From the Papua New Guinea guide

  • Capital plus one lodge

    7 days · 2 nights here

    Port Moresby → Tufi (or Goroka) → Port Moresby

  • Highlands and reef

    10 days · 2 nights here

    Port Moresby → Goroka (show season) or Mount Hagen → Kimbe Bay or Tufi → Port Moresby

  • Highlands, Sepik and coast

    14 days · 2 nights here

    Port Moresby → Mount Hagen or Goroka → Sepik River → Madang or Tufi → Port Moresby

All Papua New Guinea trips →

Local time

What time it is there now, compared with the clock on your device.

  • Port Moresby

    …

    Checking your clock…Pacific/Port Moresby

Open Port Moresby Up to Papua New Guinea

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