Port Moresby Getting there & around

Getting around

Car & motorcycle

Car & 4wd

The airport is full of companies renting cars and 4WDs, and the major names also have offices in several top-end hotels. Prices start at around K175 per day and K0.80 per km for a manual Mitsubishi Lancer (plus insurance at K50 per day for a collision damage waiver excess of K2000). Port Moresby can be a confusing place to navigate at first, so be sure to have a map and take out full insurance. Police check points are common after dark but shouldn’t be a problem if you have your license.

Some rental companies and their central reservation numbers:

Avis (324 9400; www.avis.com.pg) Offices at the airport (domestic and international terminals).

Friendly Car Hire (683 6238) Utikas Pok runs this small operation – much cheaper than the big boys – and he’ll deliver a car to you.

Hertz (302 6822; sales@leasemaster.com.pg) Desks at the airport and Gateway Hotel.

Thrifty (325 5550) Offices at the airport, Airways Hotel & Apartments and Lamana Hotel.

^ Back to top

Local transport

Taxi

Port Moresby has no shortage of taxis, and you’ll usually be able to find one outside a hotel or the airport, and in Boroko. Sample fares include: Town to Boroko, K20; Town to Waigani, K20; Town to the airport, K30. Mosbi’s taxis are in poor repair, some are unlicensed and frequent roadside police checks are the bane of drivers’ lives. Petrol is expensive and many taxi drivers barely eke out a living.

The growing number of Scarlet Taxis (323 4266) offer a superior alternative. They’re clean, relatively new taxis with meters (though these often don’t work), radios and drivers in ironed shirts. But the clincher: betel nut and smoking are banned.

^ Back to top