Resorts

LISSENUNG ISLAND, NEW IRELAND, PAPUA NEW GUINEA

Here you really can get away from it all! (Tobias Friedrich and Lissenung Island Resort)

For those who really want to get away from it all and stay on a tiny tropical island this has to be the place to stay. Staying on Lissenung Island could really give you the impression that you are alone on the planet! The Austrian owner, Dietmar Amon, runs this exclusive small resort with attached dive centre, which is just a 20 minute boat ride from Kavieng, along with his wife, Ange, and assisted by some of the locals.

The resort is surrounded by a fringe of beautiful coral sand beach that shelves gently into the warm blue sea. Tall palm trees sway in the breeze and flowering bushes and scrub form a dense fringe of undergrowth that hides the tiny resort from the outside world. Within the fringe of vegetation, in the more open centre of the island, sandy pathways have been formed that link the dive centre, the restaurant and the bungalows.

There are 7 double, twin and single rooms, all with en-suite bathrooms, accommodating a maximum of 16 guests. Six rooms have en-suite bathrooms while the remaining room uses shared toilets and showers. Water supplies are on-demand hot water. All rooms have ceiling fans, fly-screens and mosquito netting. Each room has a large desk (useful for photographers!) and ample cupboard space. The pleasant verandah with seating is a great place to relax after the diving day is over. There is 24 hour electricity to each room. Though don’t forget to take a torch to light your way on the island at night. If you forget the torch; simply ‘feel’ your way back to your room in the glorious velvet dark night with the light of the stars and moon to show you the way.

The main house offers comfortable chairs on a sandy floor and here you can enjoy cold drinks and home-made meals. Fresh seafood, such as fish, crab and lobster feature high on the menu. Wine, beer and soft drinks can be purchased from the bar. Spirits are not always available and then very expensive, so feel free to bring your own from duty free shop on the way over. Ice and mixer drinks are available.

A stroll around this romantic island takes about 10-15 minutes. Wander through the tropical vegetation or rest in the shade to escape the heat of the tropical sun. The small, but very pretty white sandy beach is a delightful place to bathe or take advantage of the fabulous shore diving. Dietmar and Ange maintain that Lissenung Island has the nicest beach of all dive resorts in PNG and that they have one of the best house reefs, with almost 300 species of fish calling this reef their home! Why not take a deck chair and a glass of wine down to the beach after the diving and watch the sunset as you contemplate the joys of the diving day?

There are two dive boats which depart each morning at 0830, taking from 10 minutes up to 45 minutes depending on the chosen venue. The boats usually leave the island in the morning for two or three dives and return to the island for lunch. A third boat dive or shore diving is available in the afternoon. Excellent shore diving and snorkeling are available. Night shore diving is available most evenings, on request, for an additional charge.

Price: From about £1268 (US$1750, about €1458)

Includes:

• Return transfers between Kavieng airport and Lissenung Island by road and open motor boat
• 7 nights accommodation on a twin/share basis at Lissenung Island
• Full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner) daily including tea, coffee and orange squash, 
• 5 days of diving (2 boat dives daily and unlimited use of tanks for daytime shore diving, dive guide on boat dives).

Stays can be of any length.  The price above is for a 7 night package.

Supplement for 3 boat dives each diving day is also available.

Upgrades to other room types are available: Please contact us.

Reduced rates are available for non-divers.

Single Occupancy Supplement: Please contact us.

Air Travel: Our in-house IATA ticket agency can arrange your air travel in connection with your holiday from a departure point anywhere in the world, or you may arrange your own air travel if you prefer. We can tailor-make your itinerary to your personal requirements, so if you would like to make a stop-over or two, make a side trip to some other destination, or travel business class rather than economy, we will be happy to assist. Please contact us about your air travel requirements.

Mandarin Fish are an absolute highlight at Lissenung (Lissenung and Tobias Friedrich)

Starfish paint the beach on Lissenung (Lissenung and Peter Lange)

Clownfish everywhere (Lissenung and Marino Brzac)

Tiny seashells living in Lissenung's coral reefs (Lissenung and Beo Brockhausen)

Diving in a large school of Striped Barracuda is always a powerful experience (Lissenung and Peter Lange)

Divers can spend days exploring the diversity of Lissenung's coral reefs (Lissenung and Milan Czapay)