Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea

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Diving in Papua New Guinea means comfortable water temperatures, great visibility and a very diverse marine life. But beware, the history and culture of Papua New Guinea (PNG) is so rich, only a fool would just focus on the underwater world. On land you’ll meet authentic tribes, visit World War 2 sites and discover a landscape you’ve never seen before. In 2019 we visited PNG ourselves (for a whole month) and from our own experience we would love to advice you on everything PNG has to offer.

Scuba Diving in Papua New Guinea

There are many different places in Papua New Guinea where you can go scuba diving. It all depends on what you want to see and how you want to see it. When it comes to diving you’ve pretty much have two options in Papua New Guinea; you can stay in one of the fabulous resorts and do day trips or embark either the MV FeBrina or her more luxurious sister the MV Oceania. Depending on the season both liveaboards sail different routes, always offering the best of Papua New Guinea.

Marine Life in Papua New Guinea

Papua New Guinea has it all. But you need to know where to go for what. You’ll find fantastic macro especially around Milne Bay, in the ‘fjords’ of Tufi and all over the reefs near Port Moresby, the capital of Papua New Guinea. The bigger stuff can be found in places like Rabaul, Kimbe, Milne and outer Tufi. Dive with the Manta’s at Tawali and get greeted by a pod of 200 dolphins at Rabaul. Hammerheads are often seen at Rabaul as well as at Tufi.  It’s all there and we will help you find it! At the remote resort Lissenung you’ll find a bit of everything and they even run their own Sea Turtle conservation program!

Can’t choose? Consider hopping on the luxury MV Oceania or the more classic MV Febrina, both liveaboards that will take you on a fantastic scuba trip around Papua New Guinea. You’ll visit often more than one “dive area”. For example a great intinerary is the sail from Kimbe to Rabaul. But the Oceania will even go as far as Milne, in the right season.

Photocredit: Pete McGee

Culture and History in Papua New Guinea

As we’ve said before, only a fool would fly all the way to Papua New Guinea and just go diving. When you land in Papua New Guinea, it means you’ve just landed in a world where some tribes hadn’t even been in contact with the rest of world 100 years ago. It means you land in a country where they speak 800 different languages, not dialects, languages? Why? Because the landscape of Papua New Guinea is so rural and challenging it took centuries for tribes to even discover each other.

The Japanese fought against the Australians and Americans in Papua New Guinea during World War Two. Because of this you’ll find both underwater (especially at Rabaul but also around Milne) as well as on land plenty of wrecks, that serve as a reminder of the war history of Papua New Guinea. From the resort in Kimbe, Walindi Plantation Resort, you can visit several plane wrecks at an old landing strip in the bush. At Port Moresby you can walk the famous Kokoda Track (7 to 10 days) and at Tawali you can enter a skull cave, which is as the name implies a cave full of skulls.

Both the beautiful resorts at Lissenung and Tufi offer village tours, where you can visit a local village or tribe and learn about their ways. You might get a demonstration how Sago flour is made from the local trees. A traditional dance might be performed. Or you’ll get to start your own fire the Papua New Guinea way! The tours are a great way to get a taste of where the country is at today and the friendy locals love to answer any questions you fire at them. They enjoy it that people show an genuine interest in their lives and you’ll be welcomed with a smile.

MV Oceania – liveaboard

Build in 2019, so brand new, the MV Oceania offers you the most luxurious liveaboard diving Papua New Guinea has to offer! With a broad range of itineraries there’s always the perfect trip for you. The vessel can welcome upto 16 guests in 8 rooms, of which 3 have a Queensize bed which is ideal for couples. Nitrox is available on the boat and all the equipment, such as the compressor and dive gear, is brand new. The food is absolutely 5-star and you’ll never go to bed hungry.

Lissenung Island Resort

An absolute gem in Papua New Guinea is the Lissenung Island Resort. This resort is located on a private island, not far from de Kavieng airport in the North of New Ireland. There are only a few bungalows on the resort, making it a beautiful retreat suitable for people who enjoy being away from the masses. The resort itself is pretty basic, simple rooms and good food. The diving at Lissenung is very diverse, there are wrecks, there is macro, and you might see schools of eagle rays or a reef shark. A little bit of everything. House reef diving is free and boat diving can be planned every day! They also run their own conservation program for the endangered Hawksbill Sea Turtle.

Tufi Dive Resort

Arriving at the Tufi Dive Resort is like stepping into a Lord of The Rings movie. The nature around Tufi is absolutely one of a kind, high fjords where in between you’ll find magnificent macro life. Especially nudibranches enthusiast will enjoy diving inside these fjords. Lovers of the more larger pelagic fish will be pleased to hear that when weather permits, there’s also diving outside the fjords where it is not uncommon to run into hammerhead! The Tufi resort has beautiful rooms, some overlooking the fjords and their house reef has interesting muck & night diving. Tufi organizes village tours to a nearby tribe where you get to introduced to a way that the authentic Papua New Guinea tribes live.

MV Febrina – liveaboard

The most famous liveaboard of Papua New Guinea is without a doubt the MV Febrina! Many happy divers went before you and they keep coming back. The Febrina is a 73 feet motor boat liveaboard that has space for 12 passengers. Since 1991 the Febrina sails the waters of Papua New Guinea, visiting the Kimbe Bay Reef, Witu Islands, Father Reef, Rabaul and the South Coast New Britain. The home base of the MV Febrina is Walindi Plantation Resort.

Walindi Plantation Resort

Walindi Resort is an intimate dive resort right on the shore of Kimbe bay. Walindi has 12 traditional bungalows around the coastline and another 8 Plantation rooms. Every day there’s boat diving, where usually they go out to make 3 dives. Often they mix up their dive sites as Kimbe Bay offers both excellent big stuff, like Bradford Shoals where there is a cloud of over 800 barracuda’s as well as dive site with more macro life. Nitrox is available. Walindi is a great place to stay after of before staying on the MV Oceania or MV Febrina, as both boats call Walindi Plantation Resort their home. About a half hour drive from Walindi is an old Japanese Airstrip, hidden in the forrest, where you can find two plane wrecks.

Tawali Leisure and Dive Resort

Tucked away, only accessible by boat, sits Tawali Resort. Located on a volcanic bluff overlooking the clear protected waters of Milne Bay, Tawali offers travelers a unique location to dive, relax and enjoy the unspoiled wonders of this magnificent part of the world. Learn what it really means to step back in time where the worries of the world fade and the magic of nature unfolds. Covered walkways connect guest bungalows, which are complete with private balconies overlooking Hoia Bay. The air-conditioned bungalows are spacious with two queen beds. Many consider Milne Bay to offer some of the best all-around scuba diving in Papua New Guinea. The diversity, abundance and quality of the dive sites in the area is really quite amazing and encompasses everything from the famous muck diving sites at Lawadi and Observation Point, to renowned Manta Cleaning Station “Giant at Home” near Samarai Island. Sprinkle in to this mix some of the many WWII wrecks in the area, such as the Black Jack B17F Flying Fortress bomber just off the beach at Cape Vogel, and some of the superb reefs, and it’s easy to understand Milne Bay is on the “must do” list for most divers.