Can I travel overland from Port Moresby to the Highlands?

No. No road crosses the mountains between the capital and the Highlands, so the way in is a domestic flight, and Mount Hagen and Goroka both have airports. The road that does reach the Highlands, the Highlands Highway, starts at Lae on the north-east coast, which is itself a flight from Port Moresby.

How do I get to the islands?

By air. The larger islands, New Britain and New Ireland among them, have airports with flights from Port Moresby, and smaller islands such as the Trobriand Islands have airstrips. From the airstrip, the lodge or resort takes its guests on by road or in its own boat.

Can I hire a car and drive myself?

Self-drive hire exists in Port Moresby and the larger towns, and traffic drives on the left. Visitors normally take a car with a driver instead: outside the towns the roads are in poor repair and driving is erratic. Booked through the hotel or a tour operator, the same arrangement covers a day in town and a journey between towns.

How reliable are domestic flights?

Domestic and international flights are often delayed or cancelled, so a plan keeps spare days, above all before the flight home. A night in Port Moresby between the international arrival and the first domestic flight means that one late plane does not become a missed connection.

Getting around

Getting Around Papua New Guinea: By Air Between Regions, Arranged on the Ground

No road links Port Moresby with the Highlands, the north coast or the islands, so every region of Papua New Guinea is reached by a domestic flight out of the capital. On the ground, everything is arranged ahead rather than found on the street — the transfer, the driver, the boat. A trip is therefore built around the capital as the hub and each region a flight out and back.

Updated 2026-10-05

Arriving at Jacksons International Airport

Jacksons International Airport in Port Moresby is the country's main international gateway, and almost every visitor arrives there. Domestic flights leave from their own terminal at the same airport, so the capital is also where onward journeys begin. The hotels of Port Moresby run transfers from the airport, booked together with the room; a visitor who flies straight on to another region is met by the lodge or operator at the far end instead.

Domestic flights in place of roads

Domestic flights do the work a road network does elsewhere. The provincial towns have airports with flights from Port Moresby, and small aircraft continue to grass and gravel airstrips in valleys and on islands that no road reaches. A journey between two regions often connects back through the capital. Seats are booked when the rest of the trip is, and the lodge, resort or operator at the far end is given the flight, because they meet it.

On the small aircraft, baggage allowances are tight, and a soft bag fits where a hard case may not. For the Highlands shows, usually held in August and September, the flights into the show towns are booked together with the beds, well ahead.

In the towns: transfers and cars with drivers

In Port Moresby and the other towns, a visitor moves by hotel transfer or in a car with a driver, arranged through the hotel, the lodge or a tour operator. That is the everyday practice of staying safe in Papua New Guinea: visitors do not use the public minibuses, known as PMVs, or taxis hailed on the street. A driver booked for the day is also how a visitor reaches the sights spread across the capital's hills and bays.

The Highlands Highway

The country's main long-distance road is the Highlands Highway. It starts at the port of Lae, runs up the Markham valley and climbs into the mountains to Goroka, then on to Mount Hagen. Lae itself is a flight from Port Moresby; its airport, at Nadzab, lies well outside the town, up the valley.

Road journeys between towns are made by day and with a local operator, whose driver knows the road. In the wet season, from November to May, landslides can close sections of it. Between Goroka and Mount Hagen, the drive with an operator is an alternative to a second flight.

Boats on the coast and the rivers

On the water, the boat belongs to whoever runs the stay. Diving in Kimbe Bay, Milne Bay and Kavieng runs from resorts with their own day boats, or from liveaboards that move between reefs. On the Sepik River, villages are reached by motorised canoe, with the guide and the boat arranged before arrival.

This overview comes from Visaja's worldwide missions database (visaja.com), checked against official government sources; for binding answers, the mission itself always has the final word.