Land Based versus Live Aboard - Palau

[ncchuck]

Okay, I love liveaboards. I use them whenever I can afford them or when they offer significant advantages (other than the number of dives). I know many readers suggest the liveaboard in Truk Lagoon for instance but having lived there, I found the shore based diving to be equivelant except for the number of dives offered (and I never wanted more than 3 or 4 dives that deep). I know many many people disagree with me on my opinion of Truk however.

What advantages do they offer in Palau?
Do liveaboards visit any significant dive sites not visited by land based operators?
How long are the boat rides for land based operations?
What advantages do land based operators offer?

I'm sure much of this is answered in various places but I never have much luck using the search features of this board.

This trip will be next year celebrating my wifes 60th birthday and likely our last very expensive dive trip.

Thanks in advance.

 

[wowpalau]

Dear Ncchuk,
Yes all the liveaboards in Palau go to the same dive sites as the land based operators, so no real advantage there.
Boat rides are up to one hour through the breathtaking scenic rock islands so well worth it with a land based operation.
Advantages of Land Based are that you can save money by booking a much cheaper package then a liveaboard, have an opportunity to see the cultural sights and sounds of Palau, still can do up to four dives a day like a normal two tank dive then a third dive then a night dive. Sam's Tours, a great operation by the way, offers free nitrox and free house reef dives where you can see mandarin fish and other sorts of creatures around the docks/reefs there, fantastic staff and a great bar & grill to watch the sunset after a great day of diving.
Take care,
wowpalau

 

[Mossman]

Having done 4-5 dives a day every day off the Odyssey, yes, I do disagree with your assessment of Truk diving. When I pay a small fortune to go on a dive trip, especially when land attractions are as sparse as they are in Chuuk, I'd rather maximize the diving that I can do in one week. If I lived there, I wouldn't be so dive greedy, but when it takes a couple Gs and a couple days each way just to get there, I'm going to be diving all I can in my five dive days.

If you have that attitude about Palau, a liveaboard is definitely the way to go. I stayed on land my first time at a beautiful hotel (the PPR), did 3 dives a day with Neco Marine, and couldn't figure out why anyone would bother with a liveaboard. Having done a liveaboard on my second trip, I wouldn't suggest otherwise to anyone wanting to maximize their diving.

The trip out to the dive sites averages about an hour each way. It's a most beautiful commute to be sure, but it's still a couple hours of the day that could better be spent somewhere else than on a cramped dive skiff. If you want to visit more remote sites like Peleliu, it's a much longer commute. The liveaboard will make the same sort of trips overnight or during the lunch break.

Palau ain't cheap. Sure, you can stay in a cheaper hotel and eat the cheapest food you can find, but the "all-inclusive" factor of a liveaboard made it cheaper for us than staying and eating and drinking somewhere expensive like the PPR (where the breakfast buffet alone is $28/pp). Surprisingly, while the PPR was out of tuna at the time, the chef on the Aggressor had managed to find some and served some great sashimi during the trip. Overall, I found the food on the Aggressor superior to the PPR's, it was really that good.

Palau has a few more land attractions than Chuuk, a much better selection of restaurants, and a wide variety of good hotels and great dive operations. If you think land-based is a good alternative to liveaboard diving in Chuuk, then you'll be very happy staying on land in Palau. But Palau has some amazing diving and most of it can be done much shallower than the wrecks of Truk. If you'd rather spend 4-5 hours a day enjoying all this with more ease than it would take to spend 3 hours a day underwater with a land-based op, then a liveaboard is a must. I calculate that as 50% more dive time, something to factor in when comparing the costs of liveaboard versus land.

 

[JasonG]

Having been to both Palau and Truk, I concur with Mossman's comments. I would add however, that if you choose a liveaboard, you should select carefully. A number of the divesites are difficult to get to on a liveaboard, so unless the boat has a very shallow draft, they will use dive tenders. The tender itself isn't a problem, but it means that once you surface, you get in the tender, wait for the other divers to surface and have a commute back to the mother ship. The commute may not be too long, but even 15 minutes each way, when you are doing maybe four dives a day, is significant. On the other hand, some liveaboards (eg Ocean Hunter) have shallow drafts boats that allow you to dive right from the mother ship. In my opinion, this is far more convenient and a more efficient use of your time.

Mossman mentioned the divesites around Peleliu. In my opinion, if you are going all the way to Palau (potentially a once in a lifetime trip), you don't want to miss Peleliu. From the resorts in Koror to Peleliu by a day boat is a long haul...another reason to do a liveaboard.

As an aside, the best time for diving in Palau is generally thought to be the late-February to late April timeframe.

Good luck and have fun.

Jason

 

[Mossman]

The Aggressor does use a tender and that certainly does add extra time to get to the dive sites to be sure, especially since the tender needs to be "parked" on the hydraulic lift and then raised to dive deck level. However, since the dive gear remains on the tender and the tender is kept flush with the dive deck level, boarding is no more difficult for the divers than walking to the stern of the liveaboard and sitting down.

However, another downside to this arrangement is that there are a lot of divers in the water in one place, even though they try to split into two staggered groups. It wasn't so bad on many of the drift dives, but occasionally clusters would form and it would get crowded.

I definitely agree with JasonG that diving directly from the mother ship is preferable to using a tender. In fact, I've used that premise when arguing that the Odyssey makes a better dive platform in Truk than the Thorfinn. I would seriously consider the Ocean Hunter for a future visit, except that I had such a great trip on the Aggressor that I couldn't imagine not doing that boat again unless the captain/crew or boat conditions had substantially changed. It sure would be nice to do both.

 

[robint]

We did Palau by liveaboard, Eco Explorer (Big Blue Explorer was out for renovations) and our boat stayed moored in German Channel all week except the day we went to Peleliu and the last day when we went back in to Koror. We did all diving from a tender. We had 5 dives per day offered and all were within 5-10 minutes of the mothership, exept the day we went up to Ulong Channel and had lunch on the beach there between dives in that area.

See my trip report here: Palau on the Eco Explorer - Dec 2007

typical day on a liveaboard in Palau:

we had 4 DMs onboard and some dives all of them were in water, some dives only 2 DMs. They did nothing but lead dives. Crew on the boat (14 people) did everything else for us. It was wonderful and relaxing! If you have the money it is the way to do Palau!!!

robin

 

[Mossman]

With the amazing Aggressor, the much lauded Ocean Hunters (I and II), the Explorer, and now another Peter Hughes boat, the liveaboard choices are overwhelming enough without even considering the three land ops (Sam's, Neco, and F&F). How frustrating is that?

If only we divers could convince the airlines to offer a nonstop SST direct from LAX to Palau, only a 5 hour flight at Mach 2!

 

[robint]

no kidding! The only negative about Palau is the FU flights there and back. I hated it. Really hated it. Get on plane, ride 6 hours, get off plane and run to connection... oops delayed, eat crappy airport food, get on plane and fly 6 more hours and try to sleep a bit, crappy airline food, get off plane, repeat again and again. Arrive in Palau in the middle of the night, get in van and transport to hotel or liveaboard. Now you are wide away and freakin' exhausted! Ugggh.
Then return doing the same thing!

robin

 

[ncchuck]

Getting there is definately a hassle but I've done much worse. Getting to Raja Ampat is an ordeal beyond words.

After spending 4 months at Truk Lagoon my wife met me and we went onto Yap for a week. While we had a fantastic time, we both wish we would have gone to Palau instead. Neither of us like these long trips but the diving is always worth it.

Thanks to everyone for the comments thus far.

 

[Centrals]

Have been to Palau twice. The place is expensive because of DIVERS as they are supposed to be loaded. Paid US$5.00 for two slices of toast and a juice for breakfast and then expected me to do two dives before a sandwich for lunch !!!! Have to settle for two orders and bought some pot noodles for the following five days.
The ride to the dive sites from Koror are PAIN in the arse because of the distance and the speed of the boatd. 200HP speed boat is not comfortable on whatever surface condition. 12 divers with 40 tanks occupied lot of space on the tender. Blue Corner and Blue Hole are miles away and you want to arrive early to get the best position. Never made it to Pelileu.
I promised myself never again and have to be liveaboard next time.
Big Blue: No more long and bumpy ride, hot meal for lunch, buffet breakfast, Pelileu Express etc etc. First group to arrive at Blue Corner and no sight of any other dive boats around.
If you are a keen diver then liveaboard is the ONLY logical choice. However, there are divers who like to mix everything eg. KTV with short time hotel.........