Bougainville is the largest island of the Solomon Islands archipelago, and an autonomous island region within Papua New Guinea.
Bougainville is very off the beaten track and far from easy to get to. It is an island with vast untapped potential for tourism, with magnificently rugged, jungled terrain and amazing coral reefs offshore. After suffering a brutal civil war from 1988 to 1997 against the rest of PNG and Australia, the island is doing its best to return to some sort of normality, and tourism is seen as a key part of the future.
Paved roads are nearly nonexistent in Bougainville, though the road connecting Buka and Arawa is paved in parts and is improving. (There is one wet crossing that can be impassable during and after heavy rains.) A gravel track connects Arawa and Buin in the southeastern quarter on the main island, and there is circular road around the perimeter of Buka Island which is graveled in part. Otherwise "roads" in Bougainville are primarily rough dirt tracks. The southwest of the main island is especially remote and cannot be reached even in 4WD vehicles.
Buka has a lot of options during the day, from chicken and chips to fish-on-a-stick from the markets, which you can eat by the beach watching the hordes of small boats being deftly manoeuvred by the captains. At night there is a limited number of restaurants by the water. None are above average and shortages are common. Options outside of Buka are largely limited to local roadside food or preferably homemade food. Most formal accommodation options will provide full board with three meals a day if you request it. The local staples are fish (near the coast) and chicken, with pigs usually being reserved for special feasts.
"Homebrew" is a locally produced alcohol, sometimes as strong as 90° proof.
In some central and southern areas of the main island, to this date there are virtually no foreigners. These areas should not be visited by independent travellers without seeking local advice. The safest method, given the values of the culture, is to be accompanied by a local. In their culture, it is of the utmost importance to ensure the safety of a friend or guest. Travel to the no-go zone and Panguna mine can be made, but is only possible through a well-connected local. There are still guns in the hands of ex-combatants (unofficial reservist force), and while they are no longer carried out in the open, never forget that a local may have quick access to a gun.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
Flight prices are real fares travellers found in the last 48 hours, refreshed daily — the booking site confirms the final price. Train, bus and ferry fares are shown on the operators' booking sites. Weather data by Open-Meteo; exchange rates: ECB reference. Data updated 2026-09-21. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy