Rabaul - Clearance
Rabaul is an official Port of Entry.
It is very important that yachts follow the proper procedure for clearing into PNG through Rabaul. For full details on clearing into and out of PNG see Formalities.
For those wanting to check in to PNG here, it is recommended to email the appropriate documents to:
[email protected] (who will forward them) or directly to:
Health/Quarantine – Peter J Tomadao : [email protected]
Customs – Jeffrey Owen: [email protected]
ICA Immigrations – Robin Naiken: [email protected]
John Nungu: [email protected]
Rabaul
Drop anchor just off the yacht club (it is to the right of the main wharf as you enter the harbor). A local live-aboard sailor by the name of Rod will likely meet you. Otherwise call “Rabaul Harbour Control” on VHF Channel 16 and they will advise you when to expect the Quarantine and Health officials.
All the officials (Health first) will come to the yacht club pontoon. Collect them in your dinghy and take them to your boat. Locals at the Yacht Club are happy to help with the clearance procedure, if necessary.
There is no visa-on-arrival facility in Papua New Guinea. PNG travel visas, especially Visitor Visas, must be applied for online at the Immigration and Citizenship Authority website or at a Papua New Guinean Overseas Mission or Post.
In most circumstances, you can expect to be issued a Visitor visa, which is valid for a single entry stay of sixty (60) days from the date of arrival. (Cruisers who recently cleared in at Rabaul reported to Noonsite that they were able to obtain visas at the PNG High Commission in Honiara in the Solomon Islands very quickly at no charge.)
Kokopo
Current recommendations from cruisers are to check in from Kokopo due to the conditions in Rabaul. Anchor off the Kokopo Beach Bungalows and officials will come from Rabaul.
Last updated: January 2024
If you have information for this section, or feedback on businesses used, please let us know at [email protected]. We also welcome new information about businesses you have used (see Related Businesses).
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Related to following destinations: New Britain Island, Papua New Guinea, Rabaul
Port Navigation
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DUKE OF YORK ISLANDS: Only a few hours sail from Rabaul is the DoY islands. We have anchored here next to Mioko Island in a near geographically perfect anchorage. It is 5m of sandy bottom, fully protected in all directions from wave and swell and with a stern tie to the beach you are near fully protected from the strong winds that tumble through the St George’s Channel.
Culturally the village is beautiful. It’s full of children and you can hear their laughter all day. The village pretty with houses surrounded by flowers.
Simon and his three sons run a local guest house and were on the beach to guide us in as we arrived. They understood our security concerns and for K50 a day they provide 24hr security. At night they stay awake with their torches on and we feel very safe. We make them dinner and bring over coffee before we sleep. Simon is friendly with perfect English as is his wife. They are very keen to develop this geographically blessed anchorage into a yachting hub and rightly so. Contact his some Manuel in WhatsApp +675 7111 4635 in advance to make arrangements.
They offer a range of tourist services including transfers to the mainland and a dolphin tour which we did today and was totally epic!
RABAUL: We didn’t feel hugely comfortable in Rabaul, even off the yacht club. The club was robbed the day we arrived, despite having 4 security guards, and the expat, Rod, who greeted us from his live aboard yacht told us that he sleeps with a gun and has been attacked several times.
Saying that, we had no incident and there were so many huge commercial vessels in the harbour that it was well lit by their lights. We had all our deck lights on, locked the hatches and doors and had a proximity alarm and security camera on at high. This helped us to sleep well and we left as soon as we could the next morning to an all together different anchorage that is the complete opposite!
See good feedback about Rabaul July 2023 in PNG comments, accessed via speech bubble on main PNG pages.
Customs in Kokopo have changed location
The customs in Kokopo have changed their location. They are now a bit off the Rabaul-Kokopo-Road. As soon as you found the WestPac-Building, you will also see a Brian Bell hardware store on the other side.
Enter the road to the right of it (while facing it) and walk about 50 meters. On your left, you will find a small plaza with the customs offices as well as a Catholic book store.
Happy sailing,
Fritze (S.Y. Alytes)
Posted on behalf of SV Segue:
The Internet in Rabaul is AWESOME! Digicel just upgraded their towers to 4G and — with either a smartphone (iOS or Android) and subscribing to a data plan, you’ll enjoy FAST 4g service!
Sims are available in most of the supermarkets for k$5.00 and data is — as usual in this part of the world — a little “spendy”, but very high quality. Skype works perfectly!
Whoever sells you the sim can help you with selecting a data package that works for you –and help you configure your device to access the ‘net.