Papua New Guinea Tours
Papua New Guinea Tours
2024
We have two confirmed Papua New Guinea tours per year. Don’t worry – we’ve chosen the best!
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Mount Hagen & Goroka Festival Tours
Come visit one of the world’s great civilisations as they celebrate the Mount Hagen and Goroka Festivals in style.
Every August & September, previously warring tribes come together in peace and friendship to show off their individuality. It’s a spectacle full of colour song and dance.
We’ll kick off the tour in Port Moresby – PNG’s seaside capital city before flying into Mount Hagan and the Central Highlands. Here we’ll visit local villages and schools and take part in a traditional pig mumu feast!
Then comes the trip highlight – 2 full days at the Mount Hagen or Goroka festival – Plus we make sure to get there early for some behind the scenes access!
That’s not all! We’ll also journey deeper into the highlands, visiting the town of Lae before flying back to Port Moresby.
Take a look at the itinerary below. Spaces are extremely limited so sign up today!
Port Moresby – Mount Hagen – Goroka – Lae – Port Moresby
Every August & September.
PNG has visa on arrival for most nationalities. If you’re not sure if you qualify just ask and we’ll let you know.
Tour Itineraries
Travel to Port Morseby before flying onto Mount Hagen for the main event. Finish up with a trip to Goroka and Lae!
- Aug 13 - 20th, 2024
- 2950
- 8 days
We start in Port Morseby before flying onto Mount Hagen and then Goroka for the 2 day festival. Complete the road trip across PNG with a visit to Lae!
- Sept 10 - 16th, 2024
- 2690
- 7 days
Port Moresby – Mount Hagen – Goroka – Lae – Port Moresby.
Day 1 - Port Moresby
- Own arrival in the capital Port Morseby and transfer to the hotel.
- In the early afternoon we’ll do a city tour – Visit the Parliament house, National Museum and Arts gallery.
- Group Dinner.
- Overnight in Port Moresby.
Day 2 - Mount Hagen
- Early morning ride to the airport to catch our flight to Mt. Hagen.
- Upon arrival, we will meet our local guides and transfer to the hotel/guesthouse.
- After check-in, we will check out Mt Hagen’s main market where you can see all kinds of tribal artefacts unique to the New Guinea highlands.
- Afterwards we head out into the surrounding mountains and we will see birds of paradise, highland echidnas and cassowaries if we’re lucky.
- Head back to Mt Hagen for dinner and overnight.
Day 3 - Mount Hagen
- We go deep into the highlands to a local village.
- The villagers will prepare a pig mumu lunch for us. This involves the slaughtering of a pig, which is then prepared and cooked in a hole under hot rocks. While we wait for it to cook, the villagers will introduce us to different customs and traditional skills such as fire making and archery.
- After a massive feast, we will go for a trek to the nearby waterfall where we can swim and enjoy the ice cold water.
- Head back to Mt. Hagen for dinner at the Kaibar, a local hole in the wall restaurant.
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
Day 4 - Mount Hagen
- After breakfast we will drive out to the Luglamp community.
- We’ll mingle with villagers of this community at the school’s cultural day. It is like a mini-Mount Hagen festival organised by students and teachers. Contrary to the actual Mount Hagen Festival, we will definitely be the only foreigners in sight!
- Drive back to Mt. Hagen.
- Lunch.
- Visit a local coffee plantation and factory. Mount Hagen is world renowned for the quality of the beans they produce.
- We head back to the city for dinner at the Highlander Hotel.
- Overnight.
Day 5 - Mount Hagen
- Today is the big festival day! We head to the local rugby ground which will host the Mount Hagen festival. We get there early enough to witness the participants preparing their costumes.
- We can partake in some traditional games and slap on some face paint (extra charge)
- After the show we will head back to the hotel for dinner.
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
Day 6 - Mount Hagen
- Another day at the show with more dancing, mingling and incredible photo opportunities.
- Night out in Mt Hagen to celebrate the end of the festival.
- Overnight in Mt Hagen.
Day 7 - Goroka
- We leave Mount Hagen to see more of the highlands region.
- Lunch along the way at Mt Wilheam Hotel in Simbu Province.
- We’ll meet the Mindima Skeleton Tribes – Ancestors of this tribe were afraid of a monster in a cave, so to attack the monster they disguised themselves as skeletons which apparently worked!
- We stop by the J.K McCarthy Museum in the city which is made up of several rooms showcasing everything from WWII relics and traditional PNG objects.
- Overnight in Goroka.
Day 8 - Lae
- Drive to the beautiful coastal town of Lae through mountains and dense jungle. It’s also PNG’s most important port.
- This is where some of the fiercest fighting took place between the Australian and Japanese forces during World War II.
- Picnic lunch in the Ramu Valley.
- City tour of Lae including a visit to the WWII cemetery. See the shipwreck of the Myoko Maru & Japanese War Memorial.
- Dinner and overnight in Lae.
Day 9 - Port Moresby
- We take the early Air Niugini flight from Lae to Port Moresby.
- End of tour.
**Due to limited domestic flight availability, especially in this period – Early booking is advised. If booking late then the tour cost is liable to increase in line with the flight prices. **
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Papua New Guinea Tours - FAQs
Most frequent questions and answers for our tours to PNG.
The areas which we visit on this tour are considered safe. We research the security of our destinations highly and safety is a priority, however we also advise you to do your own research as well to ensure you are comfortable with your trip.
Travel insurance is a must. We have teamed up with IATI Travel Insurance because they provide cover for all our destinations. You’ll also automatically receive a 5% discount with them as a Rocky Road Travel customer.
Currently there are direct flights to Port Moresby from Singapore, Hong Kong, Manila, Cairns, Sydney and Brisbane.
USD cash is the most widely accepted.
Some ATMs will work and credit cards are accepted in many places.
Group size will be no more than 12 travellers.
We will be staying in standard hotel/guesthouses with twin room sharing.
Not at all! We can cater to all diets.