Palau Micronesia - Recommendations?

[500psi]

Howdy All

I was wondering if anybody has any opinions on places to stay on Palau. I have been looking at the Palau Pacific Resort (pricey!) and the Carolines Resort, and would like to hear people's opinions on these. Are there any other resorts that you would recommend?

If anyone has first hand knowledge of these, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks!

 

[scorpionfish]

Hi, 500psi!

We looked at the various digs on Palau and chose the PPR. It is simply the class act on Palau. And whilst there, we took the opportunity to look at the other choices: the bottom line was that we thought PPR was the right choice for us. The rooms were spacious and well-maintained, the restaurant provided a fine breakfast, and the dock was very convenient.

An added bonus was "Splash", the onsite photo shop. You can have E-6 processing done overnight on site or, if you are using print film, they will send it out for you and it will be back in a day or two. And, if you do slides, they will loan you a light box and loupe for your stay! Really nice folks!

Now, let's talk about the diving: no matter where you stay, eat, drink, or dissapate, the diving is some of the best in the Pacific. The Blue Corner is worth going back to many times. If your group is amenable, do it several times. The first time you will get the lay of the land and the hang of using a reef hook--subsequent dives will be even better because you will know what you are doing and what to look for. And there is plenty to look for!

One note: Palau suffered from El Nino a few years back and some corals were badly bleached. My opinion is that German Channel is still not recovered enough to warrant diving. However, most other sites are in great shape. Besides Blue Corner, Big Drop Off is worth more than one dive, also. The DM's will want you to see a variety of sites, but it would not be a sin to go back to the great sites like Blue Corner and Big Drop Off numerous times!

Hope this helps...if you would like more specific info on other hotels, let me know and I will check my notes--

Scorpionfish

 

[donacheson]

500psi once bubbled...
Howdy All

I was wondering if anybody has any opinions on places to stay on Palau. I have been looking at the Palau Pacific Resort (pricey!) and the Carolines Resort, and would like to hear people's opinions on these. Are there any other resorts that you would recommend?

If anyone has first hand knowledge of these, I would love to hear from you!

Thanks!

IMHO, get on a liveaboard.

 

[Scuba Jim]

I couldn't agree more. A live-aboard is definitely the best option.

By the time you have paid for meals & drinks at the PPRT for a week, and tried to cram in as many dives as can be done from a live-aboard (pretty much impossible!) you will have paid more money than going on a live-aboard. Also, a lot of the dive sites, particularly those around Ngemelis & German Channel (and let's face it, 99% of the day boats go there on a daily basis!) are an hour away from the resorts. Why spend so much time getting to a dive site when it's a 5 minute tender ride from a mothership.

I woud recommend Ocean Hunter if you like small groups (6 max) only snag is what if there rest of them are dorks!

The Aggressor is nice, and it is a shame Sun Dancer ha smoved to Belize as I don't much go for Star Dancer and she is only there 6 months o the year, as she splits her time between Palau & PNG.

If you did decide to go hotel based then the PPR is the best, but they have an arrangement with the Caroline Resort whereby people staying there can use the PPR's beach & facilities. When the resort is full service can be a tad slow, however. And if you are there for any length of time then the menu gets a bit boring aftr a while. Other hotels that are cheaper but less "resorty" in feel would be Sunrise Villas and perhaps the West Plaza Coral Reef. I would not recommend the Palau Marina as it backs on to the municipal dump!

I would also use NECO Marine for day diving. They would pick up from the PPR dock. By the way, Scorpionfish, Splash is the dive operator at the PPR; Photo Palau is the photo place. I would not use Splash as a dive operator for all the tea in China. There boats are too big and they mainly cater for Japanese divers.

You are right about El Nino, though. I went pre and post, and post the reefs are in a terrible state, though obvisouly the soft & fan corals are still fine. Ngemelis Wall is still amazing, but the hard coral gardens that were so beautiful in Palau have all gone now. Yap has currently got better reef diving than Palau as it managed to avoid the worst of El Nino.

And as for sharks. Well, having done dozens of dives at Blue Corner I can safely say that the best shark encounter there came nowhere near as close to the "average" shark encounters I had in Tahiti in October. See Part 4 of my Tahiti Trip report on this forum for more details! But you won;t get any interesting coal in Tahiti. Just loads of fish!

If you want to see what Palau looked like in the good old days before it was blighted by el Nino, click here! My Palau images

If you want great fish life & fab reefs my advice is go to PNG.

 

[scorpionfish]

Scuba Jim once bubbled...
By the way, Scorpionfish, Splash is the dive operator at the PPR; Photo Palau is the photo place.

Thanks, Jim! A combination of trying to do two things at once and a memory that now needs help from time to time led to the gaff! But at least they are right next to each other! And Photo Palau is one of the best onsite photo shops I have ever had the pleasure to visit!

I have experience with two dive shops on Palau: Sam's and Neco Marine. Each has its own character. Neco Marine has younger DM's and sometimes their inexperience shows. Sam's has American DM's and sometimes it seems that they can be very arrogant. However, by far, Sam's has the best t-shirts!

Resort vs. live-aboard--each is a different environment and experience. I tend to prefer resorts because I like to hike and "bum" around apres diving. I also like to choose my company. However, if you want to max dive time, a live aboard is the way to go.

PNG vs. Palau. PNG sites are more pristine because they are less dived. If you were to insist on a live-aboard and the choice was Palau or PNG, PNG would be the choice. I think it is a little more expensive, though. That said, Palau should be on every diver's punch card. I have seen schools of tuna and sharks feeding there and it was awesome.

Let's see, there is one more thing: recently Bill Munn, the chef who used to be at the Yap Manta Ray Bay Hotel, moved to the PPR. He is fantastic and will make a huge difference in the cuisine. If Bill does what he did at Yap, there will be no need to leave the resort for dinners!

And, finally, speaking of Yap, if you go to Palau, Yap is a (very late) short flight away. Most folks make that trip in order to see the mantas. My experience on Yap has never been super. The water where the mantas tend to come normally has poor vis and they do not come everytime (unlike the Big Island where Jack's can virtually guarantee visits). Also, the recent typhoon played havoc with the corals there and many of the dive sites are in poor shape. If I had a choice of one week on Palau + one week on Yap, or two weeks on Palau, I would choose two weeks on Palau. This is only taking the diving into consideration. For a wonderful relaxing atmosphere and charming local "hosts", you cannot beat Yap.


Scorpionfish

 

[Scuba Jim]

I will, of course, forgive your momentary brain malfunction!

Reason I like NECO is because of Burt & Jan Yates, who used to run Photo Palau. Jan is lovely. British, of course!!! And Burt is a nice guy as well (for an American!!!!)

The reason I don't like Sam's is their boats a cramped and certainly don't have the facilities of NECO's, and the divemasters tend to think the sun shines out of their proverbials merely because they work for Sam's. Many a time I have seen divers huddled under a low awning on a fibreglass tender, while I have been lux-ing it up on a NECO boat with freshwater shower and a tastey lunch!

Yes, I heard Bill was moving back to Palau. Other Bill must be gutted, and the PPR must have enticed him over with a healthy payrise! Mind you, I don't think I could have stuck it out in Yap for that long. Great place for a holiday, but to live - I think I might go tropo after a while!

I have not been to Yap for a while so can't comment on the state of the reefs. However, I do have a recent video from there which shows hard corals in excellent condition - much better than the algae-covered reefs of Palau.

And given the choice of going to Palau & Yap or PNG, I know where I would head for!!!

 

[scorpionfish]

Scuba Jim once bubbled...
I will, of course, forgive your momentary brain malfunction!

Reason I like NECO is because of Burt & Jan Yates, who used to run Photo Palau. Jan is lovely. British, of course!!! And Burt is a nice guy as well (for an American!!!!)

The reason I don't like Sam's is their boats a cramped and certainly don't have the facilities of NECO's, and the divemasters tend to think the sun shines out of their proverbials...

Hi, Jim!

Three comments:

(1) I am not certain it is "momentary"! Seems to happen with more regularity of late!

(2) Did you mention that Jan was the beauty of the island--too bad she does not DM!

(3) I think I mentioned that Sam's DM's were a bit arrogant. I would have been more explicit, but I tend to hope that folks can read between the lines! But, it is worth a trip to the dive shop because I still think they have the best t's on the island!

When were you last on Palua? Our last trip was earlier this year and, with the exception of German Channel, I would say the corals have made a pretty decent comeback. German Channel, though, was like an ashtray--all the debris from the dead corals had just settled on the bottom. That is why I said to steer clear of it.

Scorpionfish

 

[h3o]

yeah, the palau pacific resort is pretty expensive but its really nice... good food, nice beach, and even a little koi pond, except with sharks. if you're looking for a cheap place to stay, i recommend the penthouse hotel. its more like a motel, nothing fancy, really simple. its across the street from the only grocery store on the island and is more in the village than on the beach, in fact its not really near the beach at all. They have a decent restaurant, I recommend steamed parrot fish (on the menu or not), ask for it, they'll make it. You can't go to Micronesia without eating steamed parrot fish... if they can't steam it, any other way is just as good. for diving, i recommend sam's or splash. So if you're just looking for a place to sleep since you'll probably be busy during the day; diving, fishing, touring the rock islands,etc. i recommend the penthouse. if you're into 4:20, just ask the reception desk, they'll hook you for $2 each stick of prime stuff. I am from Guam, and in guam, palau is known more for the quality of marijuana than the diving.. heh. makes jellyfish lake even more surreal =)

 

[Scuba Jim]

Seems to happen with more regularity of late

I am sorry to hear that you may be approaching senility. My advice is to wrap a rug round your knees and get everyone to do everything for you. Works from my Granny!

Jan doesn't DM? You obviously need to be British to dive with her, then! See attached!

The last time I was in Palau was in 1999. It was a mess then - green algae all over the place. I hope that in the proceeding 3 years things have improved.

Whe you say German Channel do you mean the lip where you hang about for the mantas, or the edge of the main channel where the giant clams are/ were, or the actual channel itself? I have had fantastic fish encounters on the lip at GC - a monster school of jacks once, 1000s and 1000s of them. A couple of excellent manta encounters and an excellent night dive or two as well.

It's STILL not as good as PNG, though!!!

 

[Scuba Jim]

ignore that previous attachment!

THIS is the correct image of Jan!