Beaches in Papua New Guinea

Five thousand kilometres of coast, over six hundred islands and the most linguistically diverse country on earth — some eight hundred and forty languages. The northern coast and the islands of Milne Bay, New Britain and Kavieng hold reef and black volcanic sand; the Coral Triangle's western edge runs through these waters and the marine biodiversity is among the richest anywhere. Almost none of it is developed for visitors. Travel is expensive, internal flights are the only practical means, and security in parts of the country requires local advice rather than a guidebook. The dry season runs May to October. Practically: internal flights are the only realistic transport and they are expensive and unreliable. Land and reef are held under customary title almost everywhere, so access is arranged with the clan that owns it and a fee is normal. Security varies enormously by province and local advice is worth more than any guidebook. Malaria is present throughout. What the country offers in return is reef in a condition that almost nowhere else can match.