Louisiade Archipelago

The Louisiades run southeast from the tip of New Guinea for around two hundred kilometres, a chain of high volcanic islands, low coral islands and an enormous barrier reef enclosing lagoon, with Misima, Sudest and Rossel the largest and hundreds of smaller ones between. It is one of the least visited parts of the Pacific: there are no scheduled services, no hotels and no tourism infrastructure, and almost everyone who reaches it arrives by yacht on the passage between Australia and the Solomons or by workboat from Alotau. Villages sail large outrigger canoes between the islands, gold was mined on Misima until 2004, and the kula exchange links some of the communities. Reefs are essentially unsurveyed.

What you actually see

• The barrier reef - the enormous lagoon system enclosing the chain.
• Sailing canoes - the outriggers working between the islands.
• Village communities - the settlements on the larger islands.
• Unsurveyed reefs - the coral and passages rarely dived.

When to go

May to October in the southeast trades, which is the sailing season and when the weather is most settled. The northwest season from December to March brings unsettled conditions and is avoided by cruisers.

Honest expectations

There are no scheduled services, hotels or facilities of any kind, and reaching the group means a yacht or a workboat passage. Charts are incomplete and reefs poorly surveyed. Supplies must be carried and village trade is the local economy. Communications are minimal.

Nearby

Samarai and Alotau lie northwest; the Coral Sea is south.