Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
616km²
Area
159km
Coastline
458m
Highest point
53,986
People
30°C
Warmest sea
December
1,442km
To the mainland
When to go to Buka Island
Best for the beach from January to May.
The sea is warmest in December (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 of Papua New Guinea
Buka Island is an island in Papua New Guinea. It belongs to Solomon Islands. It covers 616 km², with 159 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 458 m. About 53,986 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 1,442 km away.
Getting there
- Buka Airport (BUA)airport on the island, with scheduled flights
- Ferries3 ferry terminals on the island
- 1,442 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 Buka Island.
- 8beaches
- 3ferry terminalsBuka Market boatstop
- 4named peaksMt. Bei, Mt. Butonva, Mt. Popagen and 1 more
- 6hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 9restaurants, cafés and bars
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
Buka Island in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Buka Island, each with its own numbers.
1mountainPeakyas
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 56 m above the sea. 96 % of it is below 200 m.
- 63 %0–50 m
- 33 %50–200 m
- 4 %200–500 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.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Bukano census figure
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 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 |
| Night low (°C) | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 | 28 |
| Sea (°C) | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 30 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 29 | 30 | 30 |
| Rain (mm) | 272 | 263 | 250 | 250 | 272 | 313 | 341 | 300 | 258 | 253 | 222 | 212 |
| Wet days | 28 | 27 | 29 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 30 | 28 | 26 | 28 | 27 | 28 |
| Sun h/day | 5.7 | 5.3 | 5.8 | 5.9 | 6.0 | 5.6 | 5.2 | 5.5 | 5.9 | 6.3 | 6.5 | 6.0 |
| Wind (km/h) | 15 | 16 | 15 | 13 | 12 | 15 | 19 | 19 | 16 | 14 | 13 | 12 |
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 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.3 | +0.7 | +1.0 | +1.2 | +0.9 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.5 | +0.4 |
| 2021 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.3 | +0.3 | −0.1 | +0.3 | +0.4 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.2 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.5 | +1.1 | +0.7 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.2 |
| 2023 | +0.3 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +0.2 | −0.1 | −0.1 | ±0.0 | −0.1 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | ±0.0 | +0.6 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +1.1 | +0.5 | +0.8 | +0.9 | +0.6 |
| 2025 | +1.2 | +1.1 | +0.8 | +0.2 | +0.7 | +0.6 | +0.9 | +1.4 | +1.1 | +0.9 | +0.7 | +0.3 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Bougainville Island
Papua New Guinea9,318 km²2,715 m138 km away
Shortland Island
Solomon Islands213 km²186 m235 km away
Choiseul IslandSolomon Islands3,119 km²891 m323 km away
New IrelandPapua New Guinea7,405 km²2,379 m362 km away
Lihir IslandPapua New Guinea201 km²700 m325 km away
Vella LavellaSolomon Islands651 km²808 m354 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q860540) · 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 | Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
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