Vanimo Getting there & around

Getting there & away

Land

Car & pmv

The road from Vanimo to Jayapura is finally finished and travel to Indonesia by land is simple. You need to have a visa, which you can get from the Indonesian consulate, but other than that, what used to be complicated is now very easy.

Visser Enterprises Ltd (857 1366) rents cars for K280 per day. It also runs a local guesthouse and will drive you to the border for K154.

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Boat

The Lutheran Shipping agent (857 1320; 9am-1pm & 2-4pm) is located in the Vanair building not far from MAF. It opens its office three days prior to the arrival of the fortnightly MV Rita or MV Momase. Prices vary between the two boats and the two classes (the upper-deck tourist class and the bottom-deck passenger class). Boats travel to Aitape (K45 to K94), Wewak (K79 to K107) and Madang (K107 to K192).

Rabaul Shipping (Star Ships; 693 3176) runs the MV Kokopo Queen twice a month to Wewak (K80, overnight) and Madang (K160, two days). Its office is the white shipping container opposite PNG Ports at the wharf.

Banana boats depart Vanimo, weather permitting, for Aitape (K90 to K100, four to five hours) regularly. Larger vessels that supply the coastal trade stores sometimes pin notices around town advertising schedules and departure dates.

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Air

To avoid the queues head early to the Air Niugini (857 1014; sales.vanimo@airniugini.com.pg) office in town near the market. There are three flights a week to Wewak (K351), Madang (K607), Lae (K836) and Port Moresby (K824).

MAF (857 1091; fax 857 1481) has flights to Amanab (K250), Green River (K320), Telefomin (K580), Tabubil (K610) and Oksapmin (K750).

Dovair (857 1259) is principally a charter-only company that can drop you into the jungle so that you can walk out. Good luck with that!

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