---
title: "Living in Port Moresby as a digital nomad: cost, safety, visa, internet"
url: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/port-moresby
description: "Papua New Guinea's capital, gateway to Kokoda, with serious security limits"
dataset: 2026.11.2 (2026-11-09)
license: CC BY 4.0
---

# Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea

Port Moresby scores 42.8/100 for digital nomads under balanced weights, ranking 1411 of 1501 cities. Expect about $1,707 per month, no dedicated nomad visa, and a measured median download speed of 3.6 Mbps.

Port Moresby is the capital of Papua New Guinea and the entry point for the Kokoda Track, diving off Loloata Island and flights into the highlands. Most foreigners live in guarded compounds, move by car and avoid walking after dark; rents and imported goods are expensive and internet is patchy. Most governments advise a high degree of caution or to reconsider travel because of violent crime.

Known for: Kokoda Track gateway, National Museum and Parliament Haus, Diving at Loloata Island, Violent crime and high costs.

## Scores (balanced weights, 0–100)

| Factor | Score |
| --- | --- |
| Overall | 42.8 |
| Cost of living | 48 |
| Safety | 41 |
| Healthcare | 37 |
| Internet | 28 |
| Visa ease | 42 |
| Getting there & around | 4 |
| Climate | 67 |
| Air quality | 92 |
| Quality of life | 26 |

## The numbers behind the scores

| Metric | Value | Level | As of | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Monthly cost, one person | $1,707 | city | 2026-09 | [^2] |
| Central 1-bedroom rent | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Outskirts 1-bedroom rent (basis of the monthly total) | — | city | 2026-09 | [^3] |
| Homicide rate (per 100k) | 10.4 | country | 2021 | [^5] |
| Political stability (0–100) | 56 | country | 2025 | [^6] |
| UHC service coverage (0–100) | 32 | country | 2023 | [^7] |
| Life expectancy (years) | 67.8 | country | 2023 | [^8] |
| Median download (Mbps) | 3.6 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Median upload (Mbps) | 3.1 | city | 2024 | [^9] |
| Starlink residential service | Available | country | 2026-10 | [^10] |
| Nomad visa | none listed | country | 2026-07 | [^11] |
| Entry for US / EU / UK passports | eTA required (online, before travel) / eTA required (online, before travel) / eTA required (online, before travel) | country | 2026-02 | [^12] |
| Non-stop destinations (POM) | 31 | city | 2026-10 | [^13] |
| Restaurants within 3 km of the centre (OpenStreetMap) | 15 | city | 2026-11 | [^17] |
| Walkability / transit (1–5) | 1 / 1 | editorial | 2026-09 | [^14] |
| Comfortable months | 8 of 12 | city | 2001–2020 | [^15] |
| Annual mean PM2.5 (µg/m³) | 8.5 | city | 2023 | [^16] |
| Human Development Index | 0.576 | country | 2023 | [^18] |
| English proficiency band | — | country | 2024 | [^19] |

## Climate (2001–2020 normals)

| Month | Mean °C | Rain mm | Humidity % | Comfortable |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Jan | 28.1 | 231 | 81 | no |
| Feb | 27.9 | 186 | 81 | no |
| Mar | 27.8 | 294 | 82 | no |
| Apr | 27.8 | 147 | 83 | yes |
| May | 27.4 | 90 | 84 | yes |
| Jun | 26.6 | 69 | 84 | yes |
| Jul | 25.9 | 25 | 81 | yes |
| Aug | 25.7 | 35 | 80 | yes |
| Sep | 26.2 | 35 | 81 | yes |
| Oct | 27 | 44 | 80 | yes |
| Nov | 27.7 | 69 | 81 | yes |
| Dec | 28.4 | 112 | 79 | no |

## Airports and nonstop flights

| Airport | IATA | Nonstop destinations | International | From US airports |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| Port Moresby International Airport | POM | 31 | 11 | 0 |

Unique destinations across all airports: 31, of which 11 international (Wikipedia, 2026-10).

## Similar cities

- [Nosy Be](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/nosy-be) (43.4) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/nosy-be-vs-port-moresby)
- [Beira](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/beira) (43.5) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/beira-vs-port-moresby)
- [Harare](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/harare) (40.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/harare-vs-port-moresby)
- [Bulawayo](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/bulawayo) (44.3) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/bulawayo-vs-port-moresby)
- [Papeete](https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/papeete) (61.6) — [compare](https://nostos.navoy.io/compare/papeete-vs-port-moresby)

## FAQ

### How much does it cost to live in Port Moresby as a digital nomad?

A single person typically spends about $1,707 per month in Port Moresby. That is a 48/100 cost score, where 100 is the cheapest city in the dataset.

### Is Port Moresby safe for digital nomads?

Port Moresby scores 41/100 on safety. Papua New Guinea records 10.4 homicides per 100,000 people per year (WHO, 2021) and a political-stability score of 56/100 (World Bank WGI). Both figures are national, so neighbourhood-level risk can differ.

### Does Papua New Guinea have a digital nomad visa?

No dedicated digital nomad visa was listed for Papua New Guinea as of 2026-07. Visitors from the US need an electronic travel authorisation (eTA), bought online before the trip.

### How fast is the internet in Port Moresby?

Measured median download speed in Port Moresby was 3.6 Mbps (upload 3.1 Mbps) across 650 M-Lab tests in 2024. Measured speeds run below advertised plan speeds everywhere, so compare cities rather than reading the number as a plan.

### Is Starlink available in Port Moresby?

Yes. Starlink's availability map lists residential service as available in Papua New Guinea (checked 2026-10), so a dish can serve as a backup line in Port Moresby. Check the exact address on starlink.com before ordering, since capacity varies by area.

### Which airports serve Port Moresby and how many nonstop flights are there?

Port Moresby is served by Port Moresby International Airport (POM) with 31 nonstop destinations, of which 11 are international. 0 US airports have a nonstop link. Source: Wikipedia, 2026-10.

### When is the best time of year to be in Port Moresby?

The most comfortable months are Apr, May, Jun, Jul, Aug, Sep, Oct, Nov. Mean temperatures range from 78°F (26°C) in Aug to 83°F (28°C) in Dec (NASA POWER 2001–2020 climatology).

### Port Moresby or Nosy Be: which is better for digital nomads?

Nosy Be is the city with the closest factor profile to Port Moresby in this dataset. Which one wins depends on your weights; the comparison page puts every factor side by side with the numbers behind them.

## Plan a trip

[Plan a trip to Port Moresby](https://dashboard.navoy.io/trip/new?utm_source=nostos&utm_medium=web&utm_campaign=plan_trip&utm_content=port-moresby&destination=Port+Moresby%2C+Papua+New+Guinea) on Navoy, the AI travel planner behind Nostos.

## Sources

[^1]: City population (latest census or official estimate), Wikipedia (citing national statistics offices). CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^2]: WhereNext city cost estimates 2026 (city pages), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/cities (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^3]: Cost of Living Global 2026 (city rows), WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^4]: 2026 Cost of Living Index (country level), WhereNext. CC BY 4.0. https://getwherenext.com/data/cost-of-living-2026 (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^5]: Estimates of rates of homicides per 100 000 population, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/estimates-of-rates-of-homicides-per-100-000-population (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^6]: Worldwide Governance Indicators — Political Stability and Absence of Violence (score 0–100), World Bank. CC BY 4.0. https://www.worldbank.org/en/publication/worldwide-governance-indicators (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^7]: UHC service coverage index, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/uhc-index-of-service-coverage (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^8]: Life expectancy at birth (years), both sexes, World Health Organization, Global Health Observatory. CC BY-NC-SA 3.0 IGO (WHO data policy). https://www.who.int/data/gho/data/indicators/indicator-details/GHO/life-expectancy-at-birth-(years) (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^9]: M-Lab NDT statistics (city aggregates, 2024), Measurement Lab. CC0 1.0. https://statistics.measurementlab.net/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^10]: Starlink availability map, SpaceX (Starlink). Factual status cited from starlink.com. https://www.starlink.com/map (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^11]: Digital Nomad Visas 2026, WhereToEmigrate. CC BY 4.0. https://github.com/0brien18/global-emigration-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^12]: Passport Index dataset (visa requirements, 199 passports × 199 destinations), Ilya Ilyankou (compiled from passportindex.org). MIT. https://github.com/ilyankou/passport-index-dataset (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^13]: Airport destinations (Wikipedia airline and destination tables), Wikipedia contributors; countries via Wikidata. CC BY-SA 4.0. https://en.wikipedia.org/ (retrieved 2026-09-24)
[^14]: Walkability and transit ratings (editorial), Navoy. CC BY 4.0. https://nostos.navoy.io/methodology (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^15]: NASA POWER climatology (2001–2020 monthly means), NASA Langley Research Center. Public domain (US Government). https://power.larc.nasa.gov/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^16]: SatPM2.5 satellite-derived annual PM2.5 (V6.GL.02.04), Atmospheric Composition Analysis Group, Washington University in St. Louis. CC BY 4.0. https://sites.wustl.edu/acag/surface-pm2-5/ (retrieved 2026-10-07)
[^17]: OpenStreetMap restaurants (Overpass API), OpenStreetMap contributors. ODbL 1.0. https://overpass-api.de/ (retrieved 2026-10-02)
[^18]: Human Development Index (HDR 2025, HDI 2023), United Nations Development Programme. CC BY 3.0 IGO. https://hdr.undp.org/data-center/documentation-and-downloads (retrieved 2026-09-22)
[^19]: EF English Proficiency Index 2024 (band), EF Education First. Proprietary; band cited as a fact with attribution. https://www.ef.com/epi/ (retrieved 2026-09-22)

HTML page: https://nostos.navoy.io/cities/port-moresby