Palau./Guam/Truk stopover advice

[Heg]

Hi
We are about to book a 7 day trip out of Palau on The Ocean Hunter III liveaboard for next Feb. Our flights froms Cairns force us to have a 13 hour layover in Guam in each direction. Plus , due to the flight timings, we arrive in the area three nights before we board the boat in Palau.

The question is
-Should we just book a day room in Guam and then fly straight onto to Palau?
Should we spend a few days/ nights in Guam?
Should we consider a few days diving in Truk or should Truk realy be another trip altogether?

We are planning on having three or four nights in Palau after the liveaboard, but would we be better to move onto the Guam or Truk instead?

 

[Kevrumbo]

Truk in this instance should be another trip altogether --need at least 3 to 5 dive days for a reasonable dive tour and flight schedule coordination.

Suggest getting a day room in Guam, with your overlap days pre & post liveaboard spent in Koror (Palau) with a hotel/land based dive-ops package -Fish n' Fins is good (Ocean Hunter embarks from there) with hotel West Plaza Desekel on Main Street Koror as a convenient lodging option (Bank of Hawaii, and various eateries around the corner in walking distance).

 

[cozcharlie]

One thought would be to do Yap and catch some mantas. Your flights will probably stop there on the way to Guam and/or the way back. I think a reasonable number of people do that with a three or four day stop over. Not certain how the flights work out. I enjoyed Yap, but it has been many years since I have been there. I usually just go straight in and out of Palau, but it seems like you have booked a fair amount of padding in with 3 days on each side. If you haven't booked the flights yet I would see if you could shift to arriving a little later and departing a little sooner (or vice versa)

 

[Heg]

. I usually just go straight in and out of Palau, but it seems like you have booked a fair amount of padding in with 3 days on each side. If you haven't booked the flights yet I would see if you could shift to arriving a little later and departing a little sooner (or vice versa)

We have no option of the three days on each side, as it seems the flights from Cairns to Guam only go twice a week and flying Brisbane via Seoul is a lot more pricey.:depressed:

 

[carpenterson]

I spent 14 yrs on the island of Saipan, only a 1 hr flight from Guam. I think the diving on Saipan is much better than Guam, so if there is any way you can run up to Saipan to dive the Grotto, it will be well worth the trip. Rota is also excellent diving, and is even closer to Guam. Sounds like your travel plans are already locked in, but if not, you could also consider taking the Island Hopper from Guam. It stops at Chuuk, Ponphei, Kosrae, Kwajelan, and Majuro on the way to Hawaii. Those islands don't have daily flights, so you can get off the plane on one island and catch the next one 2 days later. I'm planning a trip via the island hopper to Saipan next summer, and will stop in Chuuk for a couple days along the way. If none of that works out, I agree with a previous post that recommended a side trip to Yap while you're on Palau. Lots of mantas, and an authentic experience of primative micronesian culture on Yap.