Papua New Guinea
Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
1,901km²
Area
534km
Coastline
665m
Highest point
33,000
People
30°C
Warmest sea
November
1,035km
To the mainland
When to go to Manus Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in November (30 °C) and coolest in August (29 °C). You can swim comfortably all year (21 °C or more).
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island part of Manus Province in northern Papua New Guinea
Manus Island is an island in Papua New Guinea. It covers 1,901 km², with 534 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 665 m. About 33,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,035 km away.
Getting there
- Momote Airport (MAS)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- 1,035 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From January to Maybest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
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On the island
What you find on Manus Island.
- 3named peaksMount Dremsel, Mount Hahie, Mount Bayem
- 1hotels, guesthouses and apartments
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Manus Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Manus Island, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
Beach with the warmest sea
30.0°C
Lorengau Bay
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 110 m above the sea. 84 % of it is below 200 m.
- 33 %0–50 m
- 51 %50–200 m
- 15 %200–500 m
- <1 %500–1,000 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
100 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Lorengau5,806 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 29 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 27 | 27 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 258 | 221 | 289 | 253 | 239 | 257 | 333 | 241 | 251 | 196 | 240 | 234 |
| Wet days | 27 | 25 | 28 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 27 | 25 | 26 | 26 | 29 |
| Sun h/day | 5.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 | 6.2 | 6.6 | 6.2 | 5.5 | 6.6 | 6.5 | 7.0 | 6.2 | 6.4 |
| Wind (km/h) | 16 | 17 | 16 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 18 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 14 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +0.4 | +0.3 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.8 |
| 2021 | +1.0 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | ±0.0 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.4 | +0.2 | +0.8 | +0.5 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.5 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.1 | −0.1 | −0.1 | −0.2 | +0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.8 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.8 | +0.6 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +0.9 | +0.6 | +0.6 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.1 | +0.1 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
About these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q602106) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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