Bougainville is accessed from Port Moresby, the capital city of Papua New Guinea. There are three flights to Bougainville every week with Air Niugini. These flights are on Tuesday, Thursday, Saturday.
The currency for Papua New Guinea and Bougainville is the Kina which is divided into one hundred Toea. There is one bank located in Buka town, Bank of the South Pacific. It accepts Westpac and ANZ cards and has two ATM machines.
Like traveling to any other foreign country it is important to learn some useful phrases. Useful phrases include, what is your name, how much does it cost etc.

There are about 800 languages in Papua New Guinea. Bougainville has about 19 languages, there is one common language in Papua New Guinea, this is Tok Pisin which is based on the English language. The lonely Planet produce useful pocket sized books with these useful phrases. Bougainvilleans are some of the blackest people in the world with South Bougainvilleans being the darkest.

Bougainville is very much suited to the independent adventurous traveler. What ever you decide to do it is important to talk to land owners first to seek permission. Services are slowly being reestablished and it requires time and patience to find your way around. Traveling around Bougainville is on PMV (public motor vehicle) these are either a ten seater Land Cruiser or open flat deck truck. These can get a little uncomfortable after awhile. There is vehicle hire but this is expensive. The roads are rough and many rivers are not bridged and can be impossible to cross after heavy rain, fortunately they drop quickly too. The price for a PMV from Buka to Arawa is K60.00, from Arawa to Buin is K30.00, one way.
The main towns Buka, Arawa, Buin have good trade stores where food and other useful items can be purchased. They also have kai bars and restaurant at the guesthouses. There is also a local market where fruit, vegetables, fish and some crafts maybe purchased. Vegetables and fruit are mostly organic.
Most villages have a small store selling basic food items such as rice, tinned beef or fish, snack foods, batteries etc.
There is a pharmacy in Buka and Arawa where personal and medical items are available. Malaria is a problem in Bougainville, it would be wise to be taken a preventative before entering, these can be

Sunset from Kangu Beach looking towards the Solomon Islands
purchased here in the pharmacy but most antimalarial drugs need to be started before entering a place known to have malaria, your travel doctor will help with choosing the right course.

Bougainville is a post conflict society. Bougainville endured a 10 year civil conflict that destroyed all infrastructure and services. A peace agreement was signed in 2001 with help from the New Zealand and Australian Governments. Bougainville is the only county in the world to have unarmed assistance to secure peace. “peace by peaceful means”.
Elections were held this year 2005 to establish an autonomous Bougainville government giving more decision making power to the Bougainville Government.
Bougainville has a huge task to establish it economy and tourism is seen as a way to increase its revenue and help establish normality and trust. Much has been written and documented on the Bougainville crisis and it is worth reading some of this literature to get an understanding on how the crisis came about. Bougainvilleans are a fun and peaceful people, please come and have a great adventure and enjoy this unique culture of island Melanesia.



NOTE:
Check travel advisory warnings issued from your government on travel to Papua New Guinea and Bougainville.