Anyone been to PNG?

[Ethel6666]

We recently booked a cruise that stops in Alotau and Madang.
Just wondering if anyone has been to these ports and has any comments. We really prefer to just get off the ship and wander, but not sure if there’s a lot to see this way. 
Also any hints on where we can walk up and buy some Kina in either Sydney or Cairns? (Not the airport, because we won’t be going there). I would order some through Travelex but the minimum is $350AUD equivalent and we don’t want more than a bit of spending money. We arrive in Alotau on a Sunday so I guess can’t count on there being a bank or money exchange open.

thanks.

[Elorac123]

We took the ship tour to what they call the “festival” found it good value for money for a couple of hours, we waited a lengthy amount of time for the return bus with no shade it’s a few years ago so things may have changed.

I personally wouldn’t walk to far in this port.

Got our money exchanged at our Westfield shopping centre and I saw some queuing onboard th change money.

Cheers Carole

 

[Aus Traveller]

As you live in NSW your cruise might be starting in Sydney. I don't know if there would be money exchange in the terminal in Sydney. I have seen it in the Brisbane terminal for cruises that go to New Guinea.

 

We have gone on the 'festival' tour. It was OK but not great. Alotea is on the area where the (land) Battle of Milne Bay took place in WWII. The only wartime reminder that visitors can easily see is the memorial. It is on the left just before you get into town. BTW, there isn't much in the town. There are a couple of small 'supermarkets', a Chinese general store and a fruit/vege market.

 

I haven't been to Madang so can't offer any comments.

[SinbadThePorter]

10 hours ago, Ethel6666 said:

Also any hints on where we can walk up and buy some Kina in either Sydney or Cairns?

 

If you cruise is like any of the others I've been on to PNG, at Alotau the local bank will send some people on board just after docking to exchange currency.

 

As for Alotau township itself, I'm hard put to recommend getting off the ship.

[Elorac123]

Copied from “what’s in port”

 

Tours can be arranged to visit the nearby villages of Bilbil and Yabob to see traditional clay pots being made or you can explore Madang harbor with a morning harbor cruise. The south Coast road leads to the Balek Wildlife Sanctuary, which has strange fish-filled sulphurous caves, jungle walks, and hot springs. The Sanctuary was also location for filming scenes into he Pierce Brosnan movie "Robinson Crusoe". 

Shopping and Food

A variety of local markets sell artefacts, shell jewelry, cavings and pottery. The main streets, of which there are around 4, are composed of supermarkets or large stores.  People from the outlying islands come in to shop and take their goods back.

[Ethel6666]

Thanks all, we are departing from Sydney but it sounds like it might not be too difficult to get Kina. 
Yikes Sinbad, that is not much of a recommendation for Alotau. We will look at doing a tour I think then. There isn’t a festival option for Alotau as the cruise line is offering something that sounds similar for Madang. Madang sounds a bit nicer, hopefully.

[resordanis]

6 hours ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

If you cruise is like any of the others I've been on to PNG, at Alotau the local bank will send some people on board just after docking to exchange currency.

 

As for Alotau township itself, I'm hard put to recommend getting off the ship.

Totally agree with your view on Alotau. We really wanted to go to Milne bay but we’re really upset with all hawkers around on the memorial. We really couldn’t experience what Milne Bay meant to us. I do realise they are just so poor. Some of the children were trying to get water from drain as they had nothing to drink at that time. We did wonder where all our foreign aid went (but that is another story). Rabaul we did find very interesting, but not in a hurry to go back to PNG.

 

 

[aussielozzie18]

I cruised solo to PNG and did a private tour in a small group at Alotau .  We had a nice air conditioned van and had a lovely visit to a village by the water, the markets (where we were told to stay in the group and not wander off by ourselves) and a lookout.  The tour was recommended by an online cruise info group specific to PNG and it was a good recommendation.

 

the ship’s tour on the same day was in a large convoy of older vans with no air conditioning and one of the vans broke down.

 

The other tour they operated was for those interested in the war history of Alotau.  

this was pre-Covid.
 

Edited September 29, 2023 by aussielozzie18

[lyndarra]

Visited Alotau in 2019 on HAL Noordam. We booked 2 ship tours and enjoyed both.

First was a historical cruise along the coast which was very interesting. Our guide, a local bloke who went to school in Oz,  was very knowledgable on WW2 history of Papua/New Guinea. Light refreshments and drinks were served. Saw some dolphins along the way.

The second tour was a bus ride to a small village where we had lunch of home grown produce cooked over the family fire. Afterwards we were entertained with a performance by local dancers. The bus was old with no aircon but who needs it? I can get by without, after all it's not Miami🥱.

We could see the local market but did not really have much time to go there before or after tours. It was a bit of a hike from the ship.

Kina was available on the ship before going ashore.

 

[MicCanberra]

We did a private tour in Alatou, the van was rudimentary with no A/C but the shorex was cheap and enjoyable visiting quite a few local landmarks and attractions. That said it is nothing much, think port Vila but poorer.

[NSWP]

Been to PNG three times over the years, once on a land trip and twice on cruises, last visit some 10 years ago.  Not my favourite destination, although a few interesting sites to see.  What do they do with all the foreign aid money, lol.  I did not see a lot of improvement.

 

As for obtaining Kina, try your post office, generally got our foreign currency there.

 

Edited October 1, 2023 by NSWP

[Aus Traveller]

2 hours ago, NSWP said:

Been to PNG three times over the years, once on a land trip and twice on cruises, last visit some 10 years ago.  Not my favourite destination, although a few interesting sites to see.  What do they do with all the foreign aid money, lol.  I did not see a lot of improvement.

 

As for obtaining Kina, try your post office, generally got our foreign currency there.

 

The problem with getting Kina through the Post Office would be the minimum amount that a person would have to buy.

[lyndarra]

25 minutes ago, Aus Traveller said:

The problem with getting Kina through the Post Office would be the minimum amount that a person would have to buy.

Minimum order is AUD400. Which is likely more than you could spend. I can't recall how much I had but to start but I had PKG50 at our last of three ports which I split between two schools, as donations, to get rid of it.

[MicCanberra]

We didn't need any for our 5 stops, they took AUD everywhere. Conflict Islands uses tokens not cash for any purchases on the island, which are bought using AUD cash or card.

[Ethel6666]

Thanks, yes I was just thinking of a small amount of Kina to buy a drink or two or for a donation. We will most likely do ships tours as we have been ‘burnt’ before with adhoc local tours in the Pacific (and by the sound of it, we definitely don’t want to be stranded if something goes wrong 🙂) We have a few months before we go so I might trawl a couple of Travelex shops when I get the chance for some small notes or hope that an exchange is offered on the ship.

[Ethel6666]

Or just saw MicCanberra’s reply, perhaps try AUD if we need to.

[SinbadThePorter]

3 minutes ago, MicCanberra said:

Conflict Islands uses tokens not cash for any purchases on the island, which are bought using AUD cash or card.

 

Not anymore, it's all credit card now.

 

The problem with using AUD instead of Kina is that on the smaller islands it's often a problem for the locals to exchange money. Besides a lot of things are 5 Kina, if you use AUD it will be $5 which equals 10 Kina.

Edited October 1, 2023 by SinbadThePorter

[MicCanberra]

3 minutes ago, SinbadThePorter said:

 

Not anymore, it's all credit card now.

That doesn't surprise me at all, 3xcept the internet there can play havoc with the eftpos.

[Kellyansapansa]

My husband and I did an 11 day PNG cruise on Coral Princess departing from Brisbane earlier this year. We didn't book a tour in Alotau, we just walked into the main street and visited the small foreshore market, the war memorial and a supermarket. We're visiting again next year and have booked the 'Lik Lik Festival' tour just to see something different. We purchased Kina at Travelex at Brisbane airport. We didn't pre-order, they had it on hand so there was no minimum enforced. There was also a currency exchange offering Kina at the Brisbane cruise terminal on embarkation day.

[windsor26]

At Circular Quay  Railway station there is a currency exchange and they do not charge commission  we do use them if we are unable to get to a Travelmoneyoz shop  who are usually better rates 

[arxcards]

1 hour ago, windsor26 said:

At Circular Quay  Railway station there is a currency exchange and they do not charge commission  we do use them if we are unable to get to a Travelmoneyoz shop  who are usually better rates 

No up front commission, but an ordinary conversion rate.