YPT Tours to Papua New Guinea
When it comes to Papua New Guinea tours, YPT are the experts. Over our years of arranging travel to Papua New Guinea we have been able to curate the best contacts in order to arrange safe and affordable travel to Papua New Guinea.
Whether you would like a group tour to Papua New Guinea, or more bespoke independent travel then Young Pioneer Tours are your travel agent of choice.
Group tours to Papua New Guinea
Our current Papua New Group Tour programme consists of the festivals in Mt Hagen and Goroka, as well as more specialist trips to West Papua, Bougainville and even the Solomon Islands.
We are constantly adding new tours to Papua New Guinea, so watch this space.
2025 Group Tours
Papua New Guinea Sepik River Crocodile Festival & East Sepik Province Tour – August 3rd – 11th 2025 – $3495
The Sepik River Crocodile & Arts Festival is a celebration which showcases the heritage, artistry, and traditions of the Sepik people, particularly their deep spiritual and cultural connection to the crocodile (pukpuk in Tok Pisin)
Papua New Guinea Mount Hagen Festival Tour And Bougainville – August 12th – 20th / 26th 2025 $2945 / $5945
Our signature tour to Papua New Guinea, that has us explore the highlands, visit the largest festival held in Papua New Guinea, and extend your adventure to Bougainville – soon to be the newest country in the world.
Papua New Guinea Bougainville Tour – August 19th – 26th 2025 – $3295
Our Bougainville tour can be done in combination with mainland Papua New Guinea, or as a standalone. Highlights include the crash site of Yamamoto and island hopping.
Great Papua Overland and Papua New Guinea National Day Tour – September 9th – 17th 2025 – $2495
Join YPT on our inaugural Papua Overland Tour, starting in Jayapura, the capital of Indonesia’s West Papua province before we journey overland to Vanimo, Papua New Guinea. This route takes us through one of the country’s most stunning and least-explored regions, where you’ll discover pristine beaches, secluded islands, and the genuine warmth and hospitality of the local communities.
Papua New Guinea 50th Anniversary Independence Day Tour – September 14th – 17th 2025 – $595
Papua New Guinea – one of YPT’s all-time favourite destinations – is gearing up for a monumental celebration: the 50th Anniversary of its Independence. This landmark event promises to be the most spectacular in the nation’s history, marking half a century of pride, culture, and unity.
Papua New Guinea Goroka Show and Mummies Extension– September 16th – 22nd / 24th 2025 – $2645 / $3745
This tour has us exploring Mount Hagen for a traditional show and then heading to Goroka for the spectacle that is the Goroka Festival. Extend your stay with us and visit the smoked mummies of Aseki.
2026 Group Tours
Papua New Guinea Essentials Tour – January 4th – 8th – $1495
Papua New Guinea Essentials tour, where you’ll experience rural life firsthand, take part in cultural events, and witness captivating performances by some of the country’s most renowned tribes.
Independent tours to Papua New Guinea
When we talk about independent tours to Papua New Guinea what we actually mean is private guided tours to Papua New Guinea. It is quite simply not safe to backpack, or travel independently around PNG, which is why we exist!
Our independent tours to Papua New Guinea offer the next best thing with us designing the perfect itinerary based on your needs and working around your schedule, whilst ensuring your, or your group’s safety in Papua New Guinea.
Example of a Papua New Guinea Itinerary (5 days)
Day 1 – Port Moresby
- Arrive at your convenience into Port Moresby – the capital city of Papua New Guinea which is well connected with flights from Australia, Singapore, the Philippines and Hong Kong.
- Pre-tour meeting will be held at the lobby of our hotel at 3:00pm to discuss tour itinerary and to meet your fellow travellers and YPT guide.
- We’ll then head out to visit the botanical garden, beachfront to take a dip, and the national museum.
- Dinner and drinks at the beautiful Yacht Club Waterfront.
- Overnight in Port Moresby.
Day 2 – Mount Hagen
Morning
- Breakfast at hotel.
- Early morning transfer to the airport to catch our flight to Mt. Hagen with PNG Airlines departing at 8:30am and arriving in Mt. Hagen at 9:30am.
- Upon arrival, we will meet our local guides and transfer to our hotel for check in.
Afternoon
- After check-in, you will go on a guided city tour to Mt Hagen where you can see all kinds of tribal artefacts unique to the interior of the New Guinea highlands, as well as visit the city’s main market.
- We will take a lunch break at one of Mt. Hagen’s top café-restaurants, where you can enjoy a diverse menu of local and international dishes, all paired with expertly brewed coffee made from freshly roasted local beans. Vegetarian options are also available, ensuring something for everyone!
- For dinner tonight we head to Mt. Hagen’s most posh local restaurant which boasts the best drink and wine selection in the city.
Day 3 – Mount Hagen
Morning
- After breakfast, we will begin making our way deeper into the highlands to join the villagers as they begin preparing for the celebration for our arrival.
- We’ll then head to the village of our local partner to be welcomed by his family and elders. For those wanted to join the festivities further you’re invited to wear local tribal attire, which includes getting your face and body painted.
- The locals will prepare beef and vegetable Mumu – Mumu involves meat which is then prepared and cooked in a hole covered by hot rocks with bananas, sweet potatoes and greens. While we wait for it to cook, the villagers will introduce us to different customs and traditional such as group dances and traditional music.
Afternoon
- After a massive feast, and welcoming ceremony by the village elders, we will check into our place for the night at the home stay provided to us by the village
- In the night we will have a camp fire within the village and get the chance to truly learn what life is like in a real PNG village
- Overnight at homestay
Day 4 – Mindima Skeleton Tribe
Morning
- For the early risers, there’s an optional 5am excursion to our local guide’s village, where we’ll hike to a special viewpoint and watch the Birds of Paradise as they begin to stir with the first light of dawn.
- We’ll begin our long days drive through Simbu province to reach Goroka on our private bus to explore more of the highlands regions. We’ll be stopping on the way for multiple photo opportunities. Goroka is the site of the other big festival in PNG and its oldest one.
Afternoon
- Quick stop at a bakery/cafe in Simbu province to grab lunch on the go.
- We’ll meet the Mindima Skeleton Tribes – Legend has it that the ancestors of this tribe were tormented by the presence of a monster in a cave and full of bones. So to attack the monster they disguised themselves as bones which was a success according to the locals.
- After the show we head to the scenic Mount Wilhelm Resort which will be our home for the evening. This venue offers great mountain views, as well as a great bar and restaurant.
- Overnight on the mountain
Day 5 – Goroka
Morning
- Breakfast with the tribe
- Transfer to Goroka for our return flight to Port Moresby at 09.45 arriving at 10.30, providing ample time for international transfers out of the country with YPT able to provide additional services.
Independent tours to Port Moresby Capital Region
Most tours to Papua New Guinea will involve staying in Port Moresby for a short while. Since all international flights go through the capital and most domestic flights are in the morning, connections often take a day or so.
We can arrange visits to the few sights of Port Moresby such as the National Museum, the Nature Park but also slightly more obscure attractions like the beginning of the Kokoda Trail, as well as the floating villages of the city.
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Papua New Guinea Independent Tours – The Highlands
The Highlands, a region made up of a group of seven provinces including the Western Highlands, Eastern and Southern Highlands provinces, is probably the most famous region of Papua New Guinea. Daily flights to Mount Hagen, Goroka, Lae and Madang connect the region with the capital and the region is well-known for its multiple festivals (see the calendar below).
Three of the country’s main and most popular festivals; Mount Hagen, Goroka and the Morobe Cultural Shows are found in this region. In this part, we can arrange village stays, coffee plantation visits, private sing-sing and, in the coastal cities of Madang and Lae, scuba diving and other water sports.
Papua New Guinea Independent Tours – East New Britain
Off the coast of mainland Papua New Guinea is the island of New Britain. It has a much more relaxed vibe than the main island and is much cleaner. The old capital of East New Britain, Rabaul, is an ideal place for relaxation but also for WWII history buffs.
In Rabaul, many Japanese wrecks and bunkers can be visited as part of a World War II interest tour. For water sport lovers, Rabaul is a great launching pad to go SCUBA diving, snorkelling around the wreck of a Japanese Zero plane or simply swimming amongst the dolphins. It is also possible to climb up the volcano Tavurvur, still active! Finally, in the evening, a typical fire dance of the New Britain tribes, with their traditional giant masks can be organised for groups.
Tours to New Britain can be perfectly combined with our tours to Bougainville which can be seen below.
Independent Tours to Bougainville
Slated to become the world’s newest country following their referendum, it truly does not get much more off the beaten track than travellng to Bougainville.
Highlights of travel here include the trek to Admiral Yamamoto’s wreck, cultural shows, as well island hopping and much more.
Young Pioneer Tours are currently the only company to offer Papua New Guinea and Bougainville tours combined. Click the link for our main Bougainville Tours page.
Visit The Mummies of Aseki
In 2023 Young Pioneer tours became the first tour group to visit the Mummies of Aseki. To get here involves starting in Lae, before going completely off road until you get to Aseki, before a hike to the Mummies.
Young Pioneer Tours arrange one yearly trip here, as well as offering independent tours to the Mummies of Aseki.
Festivals of Papua New Guinea / Papua New Guinea Festival Tours
The best time to visit PNG is for one of the numerous festivals of Papua New Guinea. The most famous is of course the Mt Hagen Festival, but there is also the Goroka Cultural show, which is even older. These can either be joined as one of our group tours, or we can arrange an independent package for you.
- July: National Mask Festival in Rabaul, East New Britain
- August: Mount Hagen Cultural Show in Mont Hagen (the biggest cultural show in the country!), Sepik Crocodile Festival near Wewak and Enga Festival in Enga (famous for its sand paintings). It is currently proposed to have a cultural show in Bougainville, but dates are yet to be confirmed.
- September: Goroka Cultural Show in Goroka and Hiri Moale in Port Moresby
- October: Morobe Cultural Show in Lae
- November: Kenu and Kundu Canoe Festival in Milne Bay
Bespoke Papua New Guinea Tours
Aside from our regular group tours and our Papua New Guinea independent tours based around destinations, or festivals, we can also arrange bespoke travel to Papua New Guinea to fit a number of areas of interest. The following is a non-exhaustive list of example independent Papua New Guinea itineraries that we can offer.
Homestays in Mount Hagen – YPT are pleased to now be able to offer authentic homestay programs in the Mount Hagen region of the highlands of Papua New Guinea. More details can be found on our dedicated page.
Anthropological Tours to Papua New Guinea – If there is a particular ethnic group that you would like to see, or if you would like to go further in land to visit the partially contacted tribes, YPT can arrange this as part of a trip to Papua New Guinea.
Bird Watching Tours to Papua New Guinea – One of the most famous activities within Papua New Guinea is to go bird watching. The infrastructure for this is very good and YPT can arrange bird watching tours designed specifically around what you wish to see.
Cultural Tours to Papua New Guinea – Tours related to the specific culture and culture of Papua New Guinea can be designed on a bespoke PNG tour basis. Please get in touch to discuss options for what you would like to include.
World War 2 Tours to Papua New Guinea – Papua New Guinea was one of the mostly important the theatres during World War Two and thus has many important historical sites related to this.
School Trips to Papua New Guinea – Despite its reputation for danger, it is possible to arrange trips to Papua New Guinea for students of all ages. For more information, or to get a quote please get in touch.
Rugby League Tours to Papua New Guinea – Papua New Guinea is the only place in the world where Rugby League is the national sport. YPT can arrange trips for teams wishing to play in Papua New Guinea, as well as for fans wishing watch Rugby League live in the country.
Journalist travel to Papua New Guinea – Young Pioneer Tours can arrange journalist travel to both Papua New Guinea, as well as Bougainville. Aside from this we can arrange filming at cultural events, as well as meeting politicians and leaders in both the Papua New Guinea “mainland” and Bougainvillea.
Papua Overland – YPT also offer tours in the Indonesian regions of West Papua. Culturally similar to Papua New Guinea these can combined overland to include both countries and areas. You can read more about our West Papua Tours here.
Frequently asked questions about travel to Papua New Guinea
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