Obtaining PNG Kina in Australia?

[Alessandrina]

Greetings all,

 

Is it easy to obtain Papua New Guinea currency (Kina) at a bank or exchange in Australia? That is, is it readily available/do they have it on hand? We will be in Brisbane before boarding a ship to PNG and would like to get some notes...

 

Thanks.:)

[Kinkacruiser]

Greetings all,

 

Is it easy to obtain Papua New Guinea currency (Kina) at a bank or exchange in Australia? That is, is it readily available/do they have it on hand? We will be in Brisbane before boarding a ship to PNG and would like to get some notes...

 

Thanks.:)

 

I haven't tried but it's not a popular currency for tourists. Last time we were in PNG, Australian currency was accepted. If you really need kina, then I would suggest you order it in advance.

[Alessandrina]

Ok, thanks Kinkacruiser!

[cruisine21]

Greetings all,

 

Is it easy to obtain Papua New Guinea currency (Kina) at a bank or exchange in Australia? That is, is it readily available/do they have it on hand? We will be in Brisbane before boarding a ship to PNG and would like to get some notes...

 

Thanks.:)

 

Quite a few money exchange places can order it in. I purchased mine in Cairns at Global Money Exchange. They keep the Kina in stock.

 

We recently cruised on the P&O Pacific Eden. The local bank came on board and you could purchase Kina. They are very well organised and have the cash prepared in envelopes. I was also able to sell back the Kina which I didn't spend.

Edited November 14, 2016 by cruisine21

[Opua Kiwi]

The Islanders really do want Kina if purchasing items from them on the Islands.

We were told they lose out big time on the exchange rate if you use foreign currency.

 

I was able to get Kina from a money exchange in Auckland, so my guess is that should be possible while in Brisbane.

 

Also, if your first stop is Alotau on a weekday, you can change AUD at the Westpac bank.

 

In addition a money changer may come onboard at Alotau.

[Alessandrina]

Thank you Cruisine21 and Opua Kiwi for the information!:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

On Sun Princess the money changer who came onboard at Alotau ran out of Kina before 9:30am, which annoyed many people who hadn't thought to acquire some before the cruise. And it was a Sunday so the banks weren't open.

[Gwendy]

Purchase from bank or money exchange, ring first and order it, generally do not have it on hand. Get snail notes. Islanders get very poor exchange rates. One person from island/village takes money to large centre to exchange it. They live in a very isolated world. I found many of the children who had Aus$ had no idea of what it was worth in Kina and at the end of the day were trying to swap it for Kina at ridiculous rates for them. They were losing big time.

Please make the effort to get Kina before you go and please don't try to bargain at their stalls. They have very little in comparison to what we have. Very shy but lovely people with huge smiles.

[Alessandrina]

OzKiwiJJ and Gwendy: Thank you for your reply! Helpful info.

[OzKiwiJJ]

Alessandrina, are you staying in Brisbane for a few days before your cruise?

 

If so:

Gwendy, prrhaps you could recommend a couple of currency exchange places that would be easy for Alessandrina to get to in the city, and maybe post contact phone numbers for them so the Kina could be arranged in advance.

[Alessandrina]

To OzKiwiJJ, we will be arriving on a Friday and the ship leaves on Sunday... So I've only got that one working day to make it happen! We'll be staying in the CBD (downtown) at Novotel in Brisbane.

 

I've tried a couple of banks and a currency exchange here in Canada and it was not possible to get the currency.

 

That would be helpful if Gwendy could post back with some places and telephone numbers for Brisbane. Of course, I could also look it up.

 

Cheers!:)

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, the banks will probably be closed on the weekend but some currency exchange places might be open. I was thinking that Gwendy, being local, might have a good idea of which places are most likely to have Kina.

[By The Bay]

To OzKiwiJJ, we will be arriving on a Friday and the ship leaves on Sunday... So I've only got that one working day to make it happen! We'll be staying in the CBD (downtown) at Novotel in Brisbane.

 

I've tried a couple of banks and a currency exchange here in Canada and it was not possible to get the currency.

 

That would be helpful if Gwendy could post back with some places and telephone numbers for Brisbane. Of course, I could also look it up.

 

Cheers!:)

There is a UAE money exchange at the Transit Centre Brisbane Kiosk 1.2, Ground Level, Brisbane Transit Centre, 151-171 Roma Street, Brisbane

Phone: +61 - 7 - 3021 3001/02

Email: romast.qld@au.uaeexchange.com

Business Hours: Monday – Friday: 09:00AM to 04:45PM, Saturday: 09:00AM to 12:45PM (to be applied from 21/05/2016)

[AE&JH]

I bought Kina at Westpac in Queen Street Brisbane without having to order it in advance. I also got some at Brisbane airport. It's worth taking Kina as the wonderful wood carvings for sale at the beachside markets are fabulous and, as mentioned earlier, it's much better for the locals to get paid in Kina, not dollars.

 

 

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[Alessandrina]

Thank you "By The Bay" and "AE+JH", very helpful!

 

Cheers everyone. :)

[AE&JH]

If Westpac don't have Kina, try the main Commonwealth bank which is close by. The airport exchange where I got Kina was in the check in area at the international terminal. It's also possible that the small exchanges around the Queen St mall also carry them.

 

 

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[Gwendy]

The airport would probably be your best bet. There is a Travelex currency exchange in the Myer centre in central Brisbane. I don't usually use Travelex as they charge a commission on each currency and going to Asia or Europe I sometimes have a few. I use Crown currency exchange but they do not seem to have a branch in the city. Try American Express on line for currency exchange, I managed to get Indian rupees through them in September even though this is a difficult currency to exchange. Good luck

[Alessandrina]

Thanks Gwendy!

 

Cheers. And looking forward to be back in Oz and hot weather.:)

[CruiseCriticAUeditor]

I'm so glad you're all recommending PNG passengers bring kina. The locals have to pay for a boat to take them to the mainland so they can get to a bank to exchange your dollars into local currency. Not ideal for people with little money to start with! And yes, you are likely to get people asking you to exchange their collection of Aussie notes for kina.

 

Have a great trip!

[OzKiwiJJ]

Yes, and take more than you think you'll need. We didn't take enough - partly because we don't tend to buy souvenirs often so didn't think we'd need much Kina. We gave most of ours away to various groups but also changed some dollars for some of the locals.

[newfarmers]

On top of what everyone has said... Get as small notes as possible, even if you have to go to multiple places. Large notes are very problematic. I got currency at a couple of holes in the wall in the Queen St mall in Brisbane. You'll love your cruise. We did. My review of our Pacific Eden PNG cruise has just been published, including pictures.

[Alessandrina]

Great! Thanks everyone for the info.

To "newfarmers" I'll have a look for your review.

 

Cheers.

[Sportfisher]

Small denomination Aus notes worked everywhere we went last year.

 

 

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