Vanimo is the capital of West Sepik, or Sandaun, province in the Sepik region of Papua New Guinea. You can travel overland to or from the neighbouring Indonesian province of Papua via Vanimo.
Photos: Wikimedia Commons contributors.
A Malaysian-owned forestry company dominates the town's economy. The local hardwood, kwila, is exported mainly to China, but is now in danger of extinction. Vanimo attracts lots of shoppers from the other side of the border and often comes close to running out of basic supplies.
Vanimo is an increasingly popular surfing location.[1] A short drive west of Vanimo finds surfing that is good from September to March, with breakers of up to 3 meters. But this is not an area for the inexperienced.
Guide content from Wikivoyage contributors (CC BY-SA) — abridged; the full article has much more.
In Nov, Vanimo typically sees ~30°C daytime highs and 26 rainy days.
Cheapest destinations travellers searched recently — refreshed daily.
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 2026-11-15. Some links earn Stayonomy a commission at no cost to you.
stayonomy