PNG or Solomon's for a week in September.. (I know it's school holidays!!)

Hello fellow forumites
We have 7 -10 days to spare in September, but it is bang in the middle of Aussie school holidays :depressed:. We were going to head up to Santo or even back to Fiji but the flight prices are astronomical over these dates.

We can get to Port Moresby or Honiara relatively cheaply, but don't want to spend hours and hours doing sea/ air transfers once we are there if we can help it. Does anyone have any suggestions of where we may be able to dive without lengthy transfers?

Just the two of us and we will be taking all of our own gear.

Thanks

Been to the Solomons only once, and that was via liveaboard out of Honaira, so can't really speak to transfer times to other places...but have been to PNG three times. I've been to Milne Bay, Tufi, and Rabual, and all three of those places are within a 1-2 hour flight of POM, with the longest transport after than probably an hour in the case of Milne Bay. The only thing with PNG is that you might have to allow a day going in and/or out of Moresby due to either flight conditions or the (extreme) unreliability of Air Niugini and Airlines PNG. If you spend any time in Moresby, I'd recommend staying at Loloata, which is just out of town on its own island...fantastic diving and safer than staying in town. My favorite place of any I've been to in PNG, and of the limited time in the Solomons, is Milne Bay.

PNG generally will be a good bit more expensive than the Solomons, but the diversity will be higher. Really depends on what kind of diving you prefer. Pretty much all of the big dive destinations in the Solomons have a good number of wrecks and reefs, while it seems that in PNG (from what I've heard, I could be wrong) you get more of one or the other.

Personally, I would choose the Solomons to get a taste of everything, but I'm a newer diver, and I'm not completely decided on what kind of diving I prefer quite yet.

Out of Port Moresby you can stay & dive at Loloata. However i would not recommend this, I was there last year.
The golden dawn liveaboard also operates out of PM around Nov-Apr.
Generally PNG is very expensive and accom will run $230+ per night.
All other PNG options will require a domestic flight & additional travel. Generally PNG is less developed compared to Solomons. I would MUCH rather travel domestically throughout the Solomons compared to PNG.

For Honaira you can either dive with Tulagi dive (would be ok for a couple of days but not for 7-10 days) or board the Bilikiki (an excellent liveaboard).
Domestic travel within the Solomons is ok. I travelled to Gizo & Munda with no problems. The flight to Gizo & Munda is approx 1 hr. Once you land you can be at your "resort" within 10 mins. The dive resort at Munda is very very close to the airport. You can walk from the airport to the dive shop!

I would highly recommend Munda (quality diving).
Gizo is ok (diving not as good) but some really nice accom options. you can get your typical "South" Pacific type paradise at Gizo. (Check out Fatboys resort).

Another option is Uepi. FLight time from Hon is 1 hour but then an additional 1hr boat ride to the resort. I have yet to visit Uepi but it may be the best land based option in the Solomons.
As the flight from Brisbane is short you can easily make Brisbane-Hon-(Uepi/Munda/Gizo) within 1 day. You will leave Brisbane around 10am, arrive Hon 14.00 , then arrive at your dive resort around 16.00-17.00.

Uepi is more expensive(accom $220-250+ per night), accom in Munda & Gizo is less (Approx $50-150). Cost of a dive is approx $75 at all locations.

I would recommend Uepi or Munda (or both!). The Bilikiki is also a great option.

I did the Bilikiki when I was in the Solomons and, while it was an excellent trip and boat, in talking about costs as in the last post you're talking $3000 for just a one week trip...the most expensive out of the many liveaboards I've been on. I wouldn't see PNG short...I'd really put it second to only Indonesia in the world for overall quality and diversity of diving. It's remoteness to me is a selling point...it's one of few "wild" places left on earth...underwater and topside just beautiful. Travel times are short, 90% of which by plane...although as I mentioned the airlines are incredibly unreliable.

Kevster..why exactly would you not recommend Loloata?? Even diving aside, you don't find it better than staying in Moresby?

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. We're not averse to travelling to to good dive destinations, we just happen to be pushed for time (and cash:depressed on this particular trip. Uepi is on our list, but a bit pricey for us on this trip. Think it may have to be Munda if we can get booked. The idea of getting to the resort on the same day we leave has great appeal on this occasion.

ocdiver1:

Kevster..why exactly would you not recommend Loloata?? Even diving aside, you don't find it better than staying in Moresby?

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I spent 2 days at Loloata before my Eastern fields trip last year.
I did not enjoy my short stay there(i am not comparing it to staying elsewhere in PM), just the fact that it was very expensive($650 for 2 nights & 2 dives), i was not comfortable at the resort, service was so-so(they forgot to pick me up from the airport) & my 2 dives were very average(The water was very warm 29-31C, viss was low & marine life similar to typical Indo diving).
I agree PNG has great diving & offers a "wild/remote/adventure" trip however the pain of domestic travel & the high costs put me off. Several times i have looked at travelling to Milne bay & the Bismark sea only to go somewhere more covenient, with better value (i.e Indonesia!!!).

I fear for the future of the dive shops/boats in PNG. The high costs & difficult travel will likely result in fewer customers. The dancer boat is about to reloacte to Thailand, leaving only the Golden dawn & Febrina. Looking at there schedules they regularly have lots of space available. There are a few other liveaboards sitting in PM harbour that are for sale , but look very old & tired.
The land based options have very expensive accom, for very basic facilities. I try to avoid paying over $150-200 per night for accom.

Heg:

Thanks for the great suggestions everyone. We're not averse to travelling to to good dive destinations, we just happen to be pushed for time (and cash:depressed on this particular trip. Uepi is on our list, but a bit pricey for us on this trip. Think it may have to be Munda if we can get booked. The idea of getting to the resort on the same day we leave has great appeal on this occasion.

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Hello Heg, in short, I have not been to the Solomons, yet. But in my experience, it is no problem to get to nearly any part of PNG on the same day as the international flight, so long as the connecting flights are the first of the day, meaning originating in Port Moresby or other major towns in the early AM.

As the day goes on, and planes have to make more and more stops, the schedule gets more improbable. Been there 4 times and never had a problem with domestic flights, sometimes more than one in a day. And, other than arguing about excess baggage rules, which I printed and brought with me, I had little hassle and only a few flights delayed by an hour or two.

Air is nearly the only way to travel in any expeditious way as the ferries are not fast or convenient for tourists with limited time. The bad new about traveling to PNG is that the international flights are very expensive due to high taxes. The good news about traveling IN PNG is that the domestic flights tend to be very cheap-a few hundred $ roundtrip, and also very much depended upon. This means that in general, the flights all have a certain urgency and business like atmosphere as they are the only way for special guests like divers and mining engineers to get around in such a rugged place with little or no infrastructure... -Andy

silent running:

. The good news about traveling IN PNG is that the domestic flights tend to be very cheap-a few hundred $ roundtrip, and also very much depended upon. This means that in general, the flights all have a certain urgency and business like atmosphere as they are the only way for special guests like divers and mining engineers to get around in such a rugged place with little or no infrastructure... -Andy

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Hi
THe domestic flights to Hoskins from Port Moresby are $1200.00 AUD for two people. This is double the fare from Brisbane to PM. You say domestic flights are cheap? Am I looking in the wrong place?

---------- Post Merged on August 23rd, 2012 at 06:38 PM ---------- Previous Post was on August 22nd, 2012 at 06:31 PM ----------

---------- Post Merged on August 23rd, 2012 at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous Post was on August 22nd, 2012 at 06:31 PM ----------

OK, A huge thank you to you all for your advice. We are now booked for PNG as we couldn't get accommodation in Munda. 7 nights at Walindi resort, who had a cancellation . Flights are booked (domestic ones with Air Niugini who were expensive, but half the price of Airlines PNG). We just need a place to stay for one night in PM. Ayn ideas? The prices all seem huge...

Heg:

Hi
THe domestic flights to Hoskins from Port Moresby are $1200.00 AUD for two people. This is double the fare from Brisbane to PM. You say domestic flights are cheap? Am I looking in the wrong place?

---------- Post Merged on August 23rd, 2012 at 06:38 PM ---------- Previous Post was on August 22nd, 2012 at 06:31 PM ----------

---------- Post Merged on August 23rd, 2012 at 06:39 PM ---------- Previous Post was on August 22nd, 2012 at 06:31 PM ----------

OK, A huge thank you to you all for your advice. We are now booked for PNG as we couldn't get accommodation in Munda. 7 nights at Walindi resort, who had a cancellation . Flights are booked (domestic ones with Air Niugini who were expensive, but half the price of Airlines PNG). We just need a place to stay for one night in PM. Ayn ideas? The prices all seem huge...

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Hi Heg, it's been a few years since I was in PNG, and they were reasonable then. I also used a travel agent for the flights and I believe the domestic flights were discounted because I flew with Air Niugini for the international leg. Are you flying Air Niugini from Australia?

As for PM accommodations, I have only stayed at the Airways Inn and Loloatta, both not cheap. Do you have the Lonely Planet dive guide to PNG? It has been very helpful in the past. And again, if you are using a travel agent who deals with local hotels, they may be able to help get a better rate at a place like the Airways Inn... -Andy