Fiji vs. Palau vs. Tahiti

[Shasta_man]

thank u for letting me know.

ms ann tan, one of the girls at makati office of Scuba World, wrote to me that the boat manager was looking forward to seeing me. so, it's probably gat.

now, i'm looking forward to seeing him, too, 'cause i have never met any sarcastic filipino guys. they are usually pretty opportunistic and straightforward.

ken chung ar

I hadn't checked back on this thread until now. Thanks for your kinds words. The BBE will be great. Gat is the coolest. Wait'll he demonstrates the "hammerhead"! The rest of the guys Terry, Marius and James were also great. I remember my trip every day. The easiest diving you can do. Dive, eat, repeat.

Looks like I'm doing this right because my next trip is on the Bilikiki in 06, and the next poster recommends that. That's going to be awesome. Hopefully, it's as cool (temperature) on the boat as it was on the BBE compared to land.

Let us know how it goes.

Ask Gat whether he took care of his DSB on the last trip ashore. We're plugging all his best jokes.

 

[ScubaStella]

So how was it?

We're currently making the decision between Fiji & Palau.

 

[scubajunky17]

I have dived Palau twice by liveaboard once for ten day and then for one week, around 5 and 2 years ago respectively. I was a little dissappointed the second time I went, was not as good as I remembered it, Taiwan have been building roads there and there have been boats from HK taking Grouper. I have had this info from a local Govt guy who I met in the gym whilst there. I saw the Tiwanese building the roads with my own eyes, now I wander why they are building roads there ??????
Figi I dived around 15 years ago and I did not do the best of it as I had not researched the trip back then but it was pristine coral as I remember. Rangiroa and Fakarava will blow your ****ing mind if you like Palegic Diving, I rate it nearly as good as the Galapagos, now if anyone who has dived both these places knows anywhere better for Sharks ( bar cocos ) please let me know.

 

[matdiver]

Hi ScubaStella,
I've never been to Fiji, but Palau still blows my mind, and I've been there at least once a year since I first went in 2009. I think the choice of operator makes quite a big difference (I'm a huge fan of Fish 'n Fins' liveaboard, the Ocean Hunter III), and you should also make sure that you avoid Golden Week (Korean/Taiwanese/Japanese holiday time). The thing about Palau is that it's good for everything, from wrecks to mantas to small stuff, and the operators have the infrastructure to get you in the water 5 times a day. This short clip from my trip in November last year will give you an idea of what to expect:
[video=vimeo;57367956]https://vimeo.com/57367956[/video]

Cheers,
Matthew

 

[kaerius]

How's the dolphin situation in these places? Dive shop owner in the maldives told me stories of seeing dolphins almost every dive in Tahiti, and that they'd often interact and play, even pushing divers' fins when climbing back on the boat.