Palau - House reef recommendations in Koror

[diver2005]

Hello!!

My wife and I are looking to dive on some easy/intermediate house reefs in Koror for 3 days before heading out on a liveaboard. We want to warm up and practice our underwater photography skills. Would love to get your recommendations on dive centers / hotels that have a house reef where we can do unguided dives. We are experience divers with 250+ dives. Below are a few options I'm researching into:
1. Sams tour dive center - I think i read somewhere that they do have a house reef, but i'm not 100% sure. Also I do not know if they offer just gear/tank rentals for unguided dives. I have emailed them.
2. Fish n fins - They do have a house reef but they want me to book boat dives with them to get access to their house reef. I am most likely going to hit all the boat diving dive sites with the liveaboard so I don't want to spend more on doing the same sites!
3. Palau Pacific resort - too pricey

Any other you guys recommend? Or have more info on the above options?

 

[Scared Silly]

There are some day dive sites that the live-a-boards do not do. We used Sam's Tours for a day of diving and made a specific dive site request, some others wanted the same site so we were all happy. Though two others were surprised. As such, ask the tour operators.

 

[jbjclj]

We spent 2 weeks in Palau. Dove with Sams. First week at Palau Pacific, expensive but beautiful..the house reef is incredible. Giant clams, much sealife. In 40 years of diving all over the world, the best house reef I have seen. Week 2 at Sea Passions. More budget friendly, but we could walk to Sams. Great restaurants nearby

 

[Damselfish]

It was a long time ago but the house reef at PPR was really good. So many giant clams, actually you could see alot snorkeling.
Splash dive center is there, We were staying there and they were happy to just rent us tanks and point out the way to go. I’m not sure but I don’t think you need to be staying at PPR to dive with them, just have to get there.

We also did a great kayak tour with Sams.

 

[cozcharlie]

Sam’s house reef is a good warm up but I wouldn’t call it a great house reef . It is basically in the harbor and doesn’t necessarily have that great of visibility. I am sure that is a function of how much rain they have had recently and the tide but I have never hit it with good visibility, mostly 20-30 feet. It was fine for macro the maybe 3 times I have dove it but not for wide angle . We jumped in late afternoon and saw mandarin fish in the first 2 minutes. I vaguely recall viz can get better there, presumably if there hasn’t been much rain.

Sam’s probably wants you to dive at least one boat dive . Yes boat dives are pricey but so was the airfare and time getting to Palau—make the most of it while you are there . Many of the dive sites you probably want to do 2 or 3 times because even the best sites vary from dive to dive (the currents there are difficult to predict — captains/DMs there with decades there get currents different than they expected about 30 percent of the time in my experience even after they consulted the tide tables )

 

[cozcharlie]

We spent 2 weeks in Palau. Dove with Sams. First week at Palau Pacific, expensive but beautiful..the house reef is incredible. Giant clams, much sealife. In 40 years of diving all over the world, the best house reef I have seen. Week 2 at Sea Passions. More budget friendly, but we could walk to Sams. Great restaurants nearby

Just to be clear your positive house reef comments were about the house reef at PPR, correct? (not Sam’s). When I first read your post I thought you were talking about house reef at Sam’s but when I reread it I think you were talking about house reef at PPR.

 

[jbjclj]

Just to be clear your positive house reef comments were about the house reef at PPR, correct? (not Sam’s). When I first read your post I thought you were talking about house reef at Sam’s but when I reread it I think you were talking about house reef at PPR.

Yes the house reef at PPR

 

[runsongas]

you can kayak dive outside chandelier caves at your leisure from sam's, its shallow so practically unlimited bottom time and has lots of cool stuff for photos (nudis, mandarin fish, frogfish, etc).

there also is a cove with jellyfish between there and PPR but it takes a bit of kayaking

if you were really ambitious, you could try to kayak to PPR, but be prepared to need a lot of sunscreen for it or get sunburnt to make it there from sam's

 

[Doc Harry]

What's the current status of jellyfish lake?

 

[cozcharlie]

We skipped it in late October since the jellyfish weren’t active , but there is a poster on this board who lives in Palau so hopefully she has more recent info