Arawa Bay wrecks

Buka Island

Kieta Harbour

Tulun (Carteret) Atoll

Bougainville is remote and largely undeveloped for tourism, so meals are taken at small lodges such as Buka Island Resort or on expedition liveaboards that load fresh provisions. Local food centres on reef fish, root crops such as taro and cassava, and tropical fruit, with simple but hearty cooking. There are no tourist restaurants of note, so self-sufficient liveaboards and lodge full-board plans are the norm, and divers should advise dietary needs well in advance.

Buka Island Resort

Arawa Bay Lodge

Kieta Harbour Hotel

Lissenung Island Resort

Bougainville, the remote northernmost region of Papua New Guinea in the Solomon Sea, is a frontier diving destination of pristine walls, untouched reefs, and WWII wrecks that sees only a handful of visitors each year. Buka Island offers huge groupers, barracuda, grey reef sharks, and manta rays over largely unexplored walls, while Arawa Bay and Kieta Harbour hold Japanese and Allied wrecks, cargo ships, and coral-encrusted aircraft and landing barges from the Pacific war. The Tulun (Carteret) Atoll is an extremely remote, untouched coral atoll with sharks, manta rays, and massive schools of pelagic fish reachable only by expedition liveaboard. For divers seeking solitude, intact ecosystems, and a genuine sense of exploration, Bougainville is one of the last great unknowns in the diving world.

Bougainville & Solomon Sea (Remote)

Bougainville is reached by domestic flight from Port Moresby to Buka, with some services via Rabaul, followed by boat transfers to the dive areas. The remote atolls such as Tulun are reachable only on expedition liveaboards that stage from Bougainville or the Solomon Islands. Flights are infrequent and subject to weather, so flexible scheduling and a buffer are essential when planning a trip here.

Dive Sites in Bougainville & Solomon Sea (Remote)

Arawa Bay wrecks

Buka Island

Kieta Harbour

Tulun (Carteret) Atoll