Things to do in Port Moresby
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Port Moresby
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Dry season, the best window: lower humidity, calmer seas for Loloata and the best Kokoda conditions.
Best single month: Hiri Moale Festival and Independence Day fill the city, so book rooms and drivers early.
Wet season: hot, humid afternoon downpours, local flooding and more frequent flight delays.
Anzac Day dawn service at Bomana on 25 April, in the late wet season, so build in flight slack.
What's on
- Hiri Moale Festival 8-13 September
Motu-Koita Hiri trade celebration with lagatoi arrival, performances and markets at Ela Beach and Sir Hubert Murray Stadium.
- Papua New Guinea Independence Day 16 September
National day falling inside the Hiri Moale period, with city celebrations and high hotel demand.
- Anzac Day Dawn Service, Bomana War Cemetery 25 April
Dawn service at PNG's largest war cemetery, a major morning for Australian and New Zealand visitors.
Best things to do in Port Moresby
Port Moresby Nature Park
A fenced, well kept park with tree kangaroos, cassowaries and birds of paradise, the easiest good sight in the city.
Papua New Guinea National Museum and Art Gallery
The essential introduction to PNG, with Sepik carvings, trading canoes and WWII aircraft in a spirit house style hall.
Bomana War Cemetery
PNG's largest war cemetery, immaculately kept and deeply moving, and the site of the Anzac Day dawn service.
National Parliament House
PNG's most striking modern building, modelled on a Sepik spirit house, best seen on a daylight organised tour.
Adventure Park PNG
A fenced family fun park on Sogeri Road, worth it for the birds and crocodiles, with the rides as a bonus.
National Orchid Garden
Shaded orchid gardens plus a bird sanctuary with many bird of paradise species, minutes from Bomana cemetery.
Koki Fish Market
A purpose built covered seafood market at its best early, visited with your driver or a local guide.
Hanuabada Village
The Motu-Koita stilt village Port Moresby grew from, visited only on a pre arranged guided tour in daylight.
Where to stay in Port Moresby
Waigani and Hohola
main base, museums and business
The hotel corridor by Parliament, the museum and the Nature Park, used only as a secured compound base, never for night walks.
Jacksons / 7 Mile
transits, Kokoda starts and early pickups
The airport corridor removes the cross city night drive, with full service secured hotels a short shuttle from the terminal.
Town, Ela Beach and Harbour City
waterfront outlook and Harbourside dining
Sea views and the guarded Harbourside precinct by day, with every movement after dark by car, even short distances.
Think twice about
- Informal settlement areas
Official and visitor guidance calls settlements in PNG towns especially dangerous. Never base in or walk through them.
- Parliament House area, Waigani, outside working hours
A high risk crime area, particularly after hours. Visit in daylight on a tour only.
- Gordons market and transport interchanges
Busy, high risk interchanges to pass through by car only, not a place to linger, walk or catch transport.
- Koki / Badili and Hanuabada on your own
Visit only with a driver or local guide in daylight. Solo wandering and night visits are not sensible here.
Best restaurants in Port Moresby
Mumu
PNG ingredients and mumu earth oven cooking at an elite level, served as generous sharing banquets to book ahead.
Bacchus Restaurant
The formal fine dining room at Airways, strong on wine and piano ambience, with a split local verdict on the food.
Tandoor on the Harbour
The city's best loved Indian restaurant, with tandoor cooking and terrace seating over the harbour at Harbourside.
Tasty Bite Indian Restaurant
The downtown Indian institution since 2012, where regulars order butter chicken and garlic naan by car to door.
The Cellar Restaurant
A quiet, highly rated dining room that outrates most hotel restaurants and suits calm business and couples dinners.
Fusion Bistro
A reliable Harbourside Chinese and Asian fusion restaurant with long hours that feeds mixed groups well.
Duffy Cafe
PNG's leading specialty coffee roaster, roasting highlands beans for the breakfast and lunch cafe expat Moresby runs on.
Mojo Social
Harbourside's casual bar restaurant, the closest sensible thing to a night out, in a guarded waterfront precinct.
Outdoor things to do in Port Moresby
Varirata National Park
Arrive at dawn for displaying Raggiana birds of paradise and a lookout over the city, with a booked guide.
Loloata Island Resort
A private island for diving, snorkelling and kayaking on Bootless Bay, a short boat ride from the city.
Royal Port Moresby Golf Club
The city's only course, home of the PNG Open, a long par 72 with water in play and friendly members.
Owers' Corner
The Kokoda Track trailhead above Sogeri, a guided day trip that pairs with Varirata and Bomana.
Kokoda Track
One of the world's great historical treks, eight to eleven permitted days that demand training and a reputable operator.
Best hotels in Port Moresby
Airways Hotel
The city's signature secured resort hotel by the airport, with everything on site so you never need to go out.
Hilton Port Moresby Hotel & Residences
The closest PNG gets to a conventional five star business hotel, in a secure compound with Mumu in its precinct.
The Stanley Hotel and Suites
The large Waigani grand hotel for conferences and official business, secure with a pool, spa and several restaurants.
The Sanctuary Hotel Resort and Spa
The best value secured stay in the city, a smaller resort hotel with a praised pool and the city's top traveller rating.
Gateway Hotel & Apartments
The workhorse mid range airport hotel, safe and lively with a pool, bars and a shuttle that makes transits easy.
Ela Beach Hotel & Apartments
The waterfront mid range pick, with kitchenette apartments and harbour air in the Town and Harbourside orbit.
The Shady Rest Hotel
The least bad budget name, a modest secured motel style hotel with mixed reviews, booked only with eyes open.
Is Port Moresby expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | PGK 500 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | PGK 1,100 a person |
| Splurge | PGK 2,400 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- National Parliament House: a few days ahead
- Hanuabada Village: a few days ahead
- Varirata National Park: a few days ahead
- Loloata Island Resort: a few days ahead
- Royal Port Moresby Golf Club: a few days ahead
- Owers' Corner: a few days ahead
- Kokoda Track: months ahead
- Airways Hotel: weeks ahead
- Book the secured hotel and your driver before anything else, as top hotels often sell out.
- Reserve Mumu and Tandoor on the Harbour, book Loloata boats and diving days ahead, and arrange Varirata the night before.
- Kokoda needs months, a Kokoda Track Authority permit through your operator, training and evacuation insurance.
- Have your hotel confirm the National Museum is open on the morning you plan to go.
Is Port Moresby safe?
- Serious crime is a high risk in Port Moresby, and some provinces are unsafe for all but essential travel.
- Carjacking is common. Lock doors, keep windows up, and consider an escort or convoy for any night travel.
- Keep valuables in the hotel safe, carry small cash only, and do not use ATMs alone or at night.
- Carry insurance that covers medical evacuation, and take malaria and dengue precautions below 1800 metres.
Port Moresby travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Vision City Mega Mall is a residents supermarket stop, not a sight. Spend the hour at the Nature Park instead.
- Ela Beach is a promenade and a view, not a beach holiday. Swim at Loloata or your hotel pool.
- Do not buy any tour, taxi or trek on the spot. Every good experience here is pre booked through a hotel or operator.
- Do not under budget and economise on security. Port Moresby is an expensive hardship posting capital.
Getting around Port Moresby: public transport and more
- Move only by hotel shuttle, reputable secure transport or a driver booked through your hotel, in a locked vehicle.
- Avoid PMVs and taxis. They are poorly maintained and targeted by criminals.
- Never walk after dark. Walking is a daylight, inside a precinct activity only.
- Never connect a domestic flight to an international departure on the same day. Delays and fuel disruption are frequent.
Who Port Moresby suits
| Solo travellers | Not ideal |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | OK |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Port Moresby your trip
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