runsongas
Contributor
flights to palau and truk are good reasons to churn credit cards for united miles and/or fly united/star alliance.
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I go there because Indonesia is still closed.BTW, prices like $1744 are why I haven't been to Palau in a while. I find that liveaboard prices are relatively similar around the world so the difference is in the cost to get there. It's difficult to spend $1750 when I can fly to Indonesia for example for less.
I go there because Indonesia is still closed.
Indonesian origin but American citizen.I thought you are Indonesian?
Indonesian origin but American citizen.
I used to live there several years ago and I thought highly of Blue Marlin dive center near the Palau Royal Resort (not to be confused with the Palau Pacific Resort). Most westerners go to Sams, and nothing wrong with them but Blue Marlin has nicer boats (bathrooms on board), all local guides-- I just liked diving with them better. Sams is probably better for tech diving, tho... They are probably the only rebreather-friendly outfit in Palau. Whatever you do, stay away from Maml---shoddy outfit. And don't rent gear from Daydream (although their liveaboard seemed nice when I ate lunch their a few times). It's definitely worth bringing your own o-rings.... I couldn't count how many times I had to replace o-rings on tanks there when I opted to go on a commercial dive boat instead of a private dive.I’m planning ahead but I’m thinking about doing a trip to Palau about this time next year. Hopefully, the COVID travel craziness is over by then. I would like to do a longer trip like 3-4 weeks without going totally broke. I may do a little sightseeing but my intention is for the trip to be 90% about diving. Any thoughts on best bang for my buck?
I will be traveling alone and lodging will mainly be for relaxing and sleeping so my standards aren’t super high. I’ve even done a trip where I stayed in a $15 a day dive shop “hostel” before. As long as I can get sleep and my gear is safe. I don’t want to blow all my money on a 5 star hotel when I can spend it on tanks, boat time and good food.
I’ve never done a live aboard before. Would that leverage my budget better? Do any of them do longer durations like 3-4 weeks? Any specific recommendations for Palau?
Thanks in advance,
Rob