Aqua-Firma always places a special focus on locations which have great terrestrial wilderness and bountiful marine life. Papua New Guinea is a prime candidate with vast areas of both pristine rainforest and coral reef; colourful tribal cultures scattered from high mountains to tropical islands; birds of paradise; volcanoes and more.

A journey to Papua New Guinea cannot possibly feel like ‘doing’ the place. There is so much to explore above and below the water that you will find yourself immersed in a world that time forgot, scratching deep below what feels like an unfathomable surface. No one can possibly say that they know all the corners of Papua New Guinea – it’s simply too difficult to get around.

It is worth quoting a few numbers when describing Papua New Guinea, beginning with Tribal Culture. When we take you into the rainforest, an hour by motor canoe might take you past tribal villages spanning three or four unrelated languages.  Across PNG, there are a total of 848 known languages, spread amongst a modest population of 7 million people. Whilst very much a thing of the past, cannibalism and tribal wars have played a major role in isolating communities and preventing integration. Today, contests are more often settled at a festival where tribes compete for the most elaborate costumes and displays, or take to a patch of grass to play their national sport of rugby league.

Holidays to Papua New Guinea

A land that is bound to intrigue, excite and astound in equal measure, Papua New Guinea has always been surrounded by myths and superlatives and, for those with an adventurous spirit, a genuinely different experience awaits. Your Papua New Guinea holiday ingredients range from highland tribal festivals with painted warriors, crocodile watching along the Sepik River, stunning birds of paradise, fabulous landscapes, dive sites that are amongst the best in the world, peaceful beach resorts, fascinating WW2 history, serious trekking, and a colourful and friendly population that offer a true South Pacific welcome to everyone making the long journey to
these exciting islands.

The journey to Papua New Guinea is a long one and so the destination combines well with a stopover in Singapore, Hong Kong or Manila. Get in touch to let us plan your PNG adventure and we’ll create the very definition of a ‘once in a lifetime’ experience.

BirdQuest, founded in 1981, has an unequalled repertoire of birding tours and combined birdwatching and wildlife holidays and cruises that will appeal to every kind of birder. Our tours are celebrated as the very best available, and we have shown our clients and friends over 10,200 bird species worldwide, more than any other birding tour company (and not that far off the total for all other birding tour companies combined!), as well as an extraordinary variety of mammals and many other fascinating aspects of the natural world.

 UNCHARTED PAPUA NEW GUINEA EXPEDITION

Papua New Guinea Birding Tours: Birdquest has been operating tours to Papua New Guinea for over 30 years, but this phenomenally biodiverse country still conceals hidden avian gems which have been seen only by a handful of intrepid researchers and expeditioners. This special expedition will explore well off the beaten track in search of an enticing array of endemic birds which have previously been considered ‘off-limits’ to world birders, and our adventurous itinerary will certainly break new ground, potentially even rediscovering one or more lost species!

One of diving’s last frontiers Papua New Guinea plays host to a collection of the world’s finest reef diving regions. Here deep waters run adjacent to the mainland and neighbouring islands which in turn offers excellent chances of pelagic sightings such as sharks and rays. Combine this with pristine coral reefs and vibrant marine life and you have all the ingredients for a premier dive destination.

Kimbe Bay, Witu and Fathers Reef offer exceptional diving in the shape of huge soft corals and barrel sponges, big fish make for regular sightings in the open ocean north east of Kimbe with silvertips and grey reefs not uncommon.

We’ve handpicked a number of preferred operators throughout the region to offer a scope of the finest diving and land based opportunities. Walindi Plantation Resort is located in Kimbe Bay and is run in conjunction with FeBrina Liveaboard allowing easy access to local sites of New Britain and also the more remote regions of Witu and Father’s Reef.

Tufi Resort is easily accessed from Port Moresby on the north eastern coastline of the country, this is beautifully located resort is surrounded by inlets and dense tropical rainforest and offers superb diving. For land based we can arrange tours inland to Mt Hagan for authentic culture and beautiful topside vistas.

First and foremost, we are a small company and plan to keep it that way. 21 years ago, in 1994, we (Ian Green and Fiona Dunbar) started Greentours, from the back bedroom of our flat in Norfolk, where we had both been at University studying Ecology, with one computer and a new fangled phone/fax machine. We still have customers travelling with us who came with us on in our first year, or indeed on our first tour!

Ian, who had already been leading and organising wildlife tours for other companies, noticed a yearning on the part of many of his customers. Those on birding holidays rather wanted to stop and look at the butterflies and flowers that were being passed by, and customers on butterfly trips were covertly sneaking looks at bird books, floras, and even the odd tome on reptiles… Sometimes, there would even be couples with different areas of wildlife interest! Again guided by the desires of our customers, we have more recently started offering our popular photography, wildlife at leisure and Alpine Garden Society tours.

Naturetrek was founded in 1986 and our first tours specialised in birdwatching and botanical treks to remote and mountainous areas of the world. Thirty-two years later, we still offer many such treks, but our portfolio of holidays now includes 450+ holidays to over 90 different destinations worldwide. Today, we offer the world’s largest selection of professionally organised natural history holidays.

What Can I Expect on a Naturetrek holiday?

All of our holidays are expertly guided by a leading naturalist. In addition, we often take an expert local guide(s). Birds, mammals and plants are usually the main focus of our tours but we do incorporate as many other aspects of the natural world as possible, and many of our tours also include cultural highlights. Our holidays are often longer than other wildlife tours and, because they tend to be slower-paced (with the exception of our Bargain Selection), offer more time for detailed wildlife exploration, photography, relaxation and to take an interest in the region’s people, culture, history and architecture.

We generally spend as much time as we can in an area searching for birds, mammals and plants on foot, though we do travel by minibus at least some of the time on most of our tours.

Papua New Guinea is one of the wildest and least explored regions on earth. Its astonishingly rich avifauna includes nearly 400 endemic species, amongst them the exquisite birds-of-paradise. This group of birds forms one of the principal objectives of this 16-day birdwatching tour. Starting in the capital Port Moresby, our tour visits Varirata National Park, Rondon Ridge, Karawari Lodge and finally the world-famous Ambua Lodge, encountering en route a wonderful variety of birds including many of the unique and fantastically plumaged birds-of-paradise. The lodge is situated at Tari Gap in the central highlands, home of the Huli tribe, or ‘wigmen’, known for their ornate ceremonial wigs, and dances and songs fashioned on the mating rituals of the birds-of-paradise.

The nation of Papua New Guinea (PNG) comprises the eastern half of the island of New Guinea, second largest island in the world, as well as many other Pacific islands, some of a considerable size such as New Britain and New Ireland, and many much smaller islands and atolls.

The most linguistically diverse country on earth, PNG has more than 850 mutually unintelligible, indigenous languages reflecting at least as many different traditional tribal societies. This astonishing cultural variety has given rise to many different forms of expression, including art, carving, dance, singing, music and flamboyant costumes and hairstyles. The colourful cultural heritage is celebrated annually at numerous large regional festivals and sing-sings, including Goroka and Mt Hagen and lesser-known Tumbuna and Kundu.

Habitats range from dense tropical rainforest to savannah and wetland plains, volcanic mountains to white sand beaches and coral reefs. The forests are home to many rare species of marsupial such as tree kangaroo, insects including the Queen Alexandra birdwing (the world’s largest butterfly) and birds such as the cassowary. However, PNG is best known for Sir Richard Attenborough’s favourites: the brilliantly coloured birds of paradise, with 38 of the 43 known species found there.

Papua New Guinea is truly one of the world’s last travel frontiers. Nature and humanity unite in a heady mix of sights and sounds, and many parts of the country remain blissfully unaffected by the ever-advancing ways of the western world. However, PNG is definitely up and coming (it received the Most Emergent Destination award from Wanderlust Magazine in 2014) and, now that Reef & Rainforest can put together tours at reasonable cost, there should be many more visitors, so go now while it’s still authentic and unspoilt.

DIVEQUEST – THE ULTIMATE IN DIVE TRAVEL

What makes Divequest stand out from the crowd? Why have we been leaders in our field since 1995? The answer is simple: our level of expertise. We know far more about the underwater world, never mind the details of dive travel itself. Enjoy reading our Divequest destination descriptions: we are sure they will convince you!

Divequest arranges professionally-organized, dedicated diving trips to the finest dive destinations in the world. All our trips are ‘tailor-made’. We have no rigid packages that you cannot change. Total flexibility is our watchword!

Divequest provides diving tours to:

• East and West New Britain
• New Ireland
• Milne Bay

Photo courtesy of www.divequest-diving-holidays.co.uk

From our HQ in London, we curate some of the world’s most unique travel offerings.
Having travelled extensively to all corners of the globe over the past 30 years, along with my team of travel experts, there is nothing that thrills us more than crafting extraordinary travel experiences for like-minded clients.

Working alongside our clients we adopt a consultative approach to truly bespoke travel planning. Just as no two clients are the same, we believe no two experiences should be the same. Whether you want to explore hidden beaches along the Amalfi Coast with your family aboard a sublime yacht, or be strapped into a live ejection seat in a fighter jet screaming through the air at near supersonic speed – we have a proven track record of delivering the right experiences designed just for you.

The renowned art scholar, John Rewal, once remarked of French post-Impressionist artist, Paul Gauguin, who lived, painted and travelled extensively from Tahiti to the remote Marquesas Islands, “we cannot all go and live on South Sea islands”. Alas, but we can certainly try…
Combining otherworldly underwater adventures and surprisingly diverse far-flung island hopping, few people who fantasise about the South Pacific ever actually make the journey. Perhaps thanks to the largely unexplored nature of these islands – from the coral forests of Fiji to the volcanic peaks of French Polynesia – stretching from Polynesia to Micronesia, Melanesia and Papua New Guinea, for those who do dedicate time to explore one of the most remote parts of our planet there is an incredible world that awaits.

As one of the last unexplored corners of the world, Papua New Guinea lies in the centre of the Coral Triangle and offers some of the finest diving on earth. You can also extend your trip with an excursion into the heart of the land to experience unique cultures, communities and festivals.
3 recommended trips. Our trip ideas are offered to inspire you and can be tailored to suit your requirements.

Dive and Discover PNG

Uncover the magic of Papua New Guinea, one of the world’s last remaining frontiers, on this adventure to two exceptional diving areas – both renowned for macro life and pelagic encounters on vibrant coral reefs.
•    When to go: Apr-Jun, Sep-Dec
•    Duration inc. flights: 17 days
•    Price inc. flights: From £4,995 pp
•    Trip type: Tailor-made trip idea

Explore Tufi & Walindi

Dive two famous locations in Papua New Guinea. Both Tufi and Walindi offer pristine reefs, unique dive sites and untouched WWll wrecks. You’ll need a macro and wide angle lens here, the biodiversity is amazing.

Adventure in Tufi

The undiscovered Tufi region is blessed with stunning marine diversity and pristine WWII dive sites, as well as majestic fjords, perfect for kayaking. This trip also offers a fascinating insight into PNG’s indigenous culture.

Where Adventure Holidays Begin

45 years experience of taking people on extraordinary adventures.

At Exodus, we love adventure travel and always have. There’s something about the feeling of visiting a new country, culture or environment – whether that’s a mountain range, desert or jungle – that just can’t be beaten. We first took a group of travellers to the Himalaya 45 years ago, and have since expanded to offer more than 500 itineraries across more than 90 countries. So, if you’re looking for an adventure holiday, or are in need of some travel inspiration for your next activity holiday, you’ve come to the right place.

Our trips include walking and cycling tours that take in awe-inspiring scenery and breathtaking wildlife encounters. And we have adventure holidays designed specifically for families, mixed-activity holidays and seasonal getaways, perfect for those interested in winter sports. There are unforgettable experiences in top destinations the world over. From your own African odyssey, to a journey of discovery in Central America and pioneering expeditions to the Arctic and Antarctic, with Exodus these are just some of the memories waiting to be made. We’ve also launched a collection of new adventure holidays for 30s and 40s to help busy professionals maximise their annual leave. Join us now for the adventure holiday of a life time.

The adventure travel experts

Since launching in 1981 with only six tours in a four-page brochure, Explore has grown to offer over 500 trips; from classic ‘discovery’ group tours, solo traveller holidays and active family adventures, to walking holidays, cycling trips and even self-guided options. Choose from over 120 countries and explore cultures, landscapes, wildlife and communities from Asia to Africa, the Arctic to the Americas.

Read on to find out why people travel with us again and again.

1. Unforgettable experiences

On our trips you’ll see a mix of famous sights and hidden gems that others miss, or don’t even know about. As travellers, we want to experience a country, not merely observe it. We’ll take you closer to the country, its culture and people, often in unscripted, spontaneous, impossible-to-replicate ways. You’ll come home having seen and experienced the country in a way that other travellers might never have.

2. Expert local guides

As your resident expert, your guide (or tour leader) will use their insider knowledge and local connections to make the most of unexpected opportunities. You might be invited to watch the sunrise from a lighthouse or to join family Diwali celebrations. They’ll be on hand to make sure your trip goes smoothly, taking care of logstics. Our tour leaders are all hand-picked and trained by our experienced team to ensure consistently high standards.

3. Small groups

Our average group size is just 12; big enough to meet like-minded people but small enough to get to the heart of a destination.  All sorts of people travel on our trips; groups are usually a mix of solos, couples and friends. What unites everyone is an adventurous spirit, sense of fun and a desire for real travel experiences. Call us to learn more about the group already booked on a particular trip (age range, solos vs couples etc).

4. Carbon neutral travel

We’re carbon offsetting all trips booked with us from 1 January 2020. We recognise it’s not perfect, but believe that carbon offsetting is the most effective way of addressing carbon emissions in the short-to-medium term.

By working with ClimateCare, a Gold Standard provider, we will offset the transport, accommodation and flights booked with us. This is part of a bigger project to reduce carbon, as part of our long-standing commitment to sustainable travel.

Tailor-made diving and adventure holidays to the world’s most remarkable places

Great Escapes Diving Holidays is a UK based Tour Operator, run by a team of professionals with over 45 years combined experience in the dive and travel industry. We are passionate divers and travellers and we have first-hand knowledge of many of the destinations we feature, so please do contact us for impartial and expert advice.

We can take care of all aspects of your holiday, including flights, transfers, diving, guided land tours and city stopovers. We are ATOL Licensed, giving you full financial protection when booking with us.

Jacada was founded in 2008 by Alex Malcolm, who wanted to show people the side of a country that not everyone gets to see.  While working in Brazil, he was lucky enough to travel the country with local friends who took him to places and shared things he would never have experienced on his own. He felt there was a space to create these unique travel experiences with a personal, human touch for others – and flew back to the UK to start his own company. Though we started out just selling trips to Brazil, Jacada has now grown into an international travel company, selling trips around the world; and despite our growth, Alex’s vision still remains. Personal is how we began, and that’s how we continue to be.

Jacada travel provides three tour packages to Papua New Guinea;

• The Coast
• The Highlands
• The Islands

Specialists in real adventure travel

Here at KE, we’ve been creating real adventures for more than 35 years.

We’re all about sharing our experiences. It’s how we started, back in the 80s in the heart of the Karakoram Mountains in Pakistan, and it’s how we operate worldwide today. Originally running expedition-style trips, we now also offer walking, trekking, cycling and family adventures in over 80 countries. All of our trips have an element of physical activity, so whether you’re exploring Europe’s most breath-taking destinations on foot or taking on a two-week trek in some of the world’s greatest mountain ranges, we guarantee we’ll get you moving. We are a fun, friendly and caring bunch, from our passionate team in the UK to our expert leaders worldwide, with a wealth of experience in all aspects of adventure travel and the outdoors.

Established in 2003, Wildlife Quest offers small group departures and private tours in search of the most spectacular wildlife around the world.  Using the best guides in each location we look for the mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians that the region has to offer.  We don’t neglect local culture either, including unmissable cultural gems in our itineraries.  Our aim is to show you the best of each destination, taking in spectacular wild places filled with animals, while staying in top-quality lodges, and enjoying delicious food.

Water By Nature grew out of a passion for running rivers and taking a bunch of like-minded people to remote and exciting parts of the world. It was founded by kiwi, Hamish McMaster, who had spent many years guiding the best rivers around the globe, in such countries as Nepal, Zambia, Israel, New Zealand, Australia, America and Europe. His vision was to start a company dedicated to providing safe, fun, exciting and cultural trips for clients and guides alike. He leads a team of world-renowned river professionals, who have helped him to realize this vision. Water By Nature is now the rafting specialist of the world. Our classic river journeys stand alongside climbing Kilimanjaro and trekking the Inca Trail in their appeal to the most avid adventurers. Our palette of river journeys reflect that we raft the best rivers in the world, and with 80% of our clients returning for a second trip, we must be doing something right! Many clients have expressed their amazement that a river journey entails so much more than just the river.

Hamish still loves nothing more than getting out on a certain number of rafting adventures every year with his guests and family. It’s his ‘happy place’. It is important to him to spend time connecting with customers and guides to ensure we are delivering the quality product we strive to give you.

Wexas Travel was established by current chairman Dr Ian Wilson in 1970, and, over the past five decades, has grown from a small, independent operator, to one of the UK’s most respected travel companies, endorsed by such honorary presidents as Sir Ranulph Fiennes, Kate Adie, John Simpson and Michael Palin.

During that time, Wexas has moved on from its humble beginnings supporting student and explorer expeditions to, in the 1980s and 1990s, being one of the top-10 sellers of airline tickets in the UK, and becoming the country’s leading membership club for luxury travellers. Indeed, Wexas’ continued success has been its ability to adapt to the needs of its clients, from the introduction of annual multi-trip travel insurance in 1982 – Wexas was among the first travel companies to offer this service – to the opening of a still-flourishing corporate division, Wexas Travel Management, and the 2007 launch of White Star Cruises, now rebranded as The Luxury Cruise Company. Further additions to the Wexas portfolio include the acquisition of Best Served Scandinavia in 2010, which has since grown to become the UK’s second-largest tour operator specialising in Scandinavia and the Nordics.

It’s a great source of pride that, to this day, Wexas remains a privately owned, family business. It’s a fact that enables us to put you, our customer, at the heart of everything we do.

As an established adventure tour operator, Wild Frontiers is proud to have been consistently voted one of the ‘Top 10 Tour Operators’ by Wanderlust readers in each of the last 10 years. In 2014 we were delighted to be voted second best tour operator in the UK in the Wanderlust awards.

We have also received similar accolades from National Geographic Traveler, Conde Nast Traveler, The Guardian/Observer and National Geographic Adventure magazine.

We are frequently asked what makes Wild Frontiers different from other tour operators. Below are a few of the factors that we believe set us apart from our competitors and form the reasons as to why our clients travel with us again and again…
Personal Service & Expertise

Our London office is manned by experienced tour leaders and travel consultants and every trip we run stems from their first-hand knowledge. In short, we run the kind of holidays that we, as passionate travellers, like to do ourselves. When you ring our office, you will be guaranteed to chat to someone who knows the region and the terrain and is able to offer sound and practical advice.

When creating bespoke, tailor-made itineraries our specialist travel consultants will take you though each step of the process, advising you on everything from the most interesting accommodation to advice on tipping.