Palau or PNG

[mjh]

Without a doubt PNG has it all. Having dove both we found in Palau you expect and see sharks, rays on just about every dive. We went to several spots in PNG that were touted Manta Cleaning Stations and got skunked, that happens. In Palau every site that was advertised to have Mantas did, often 3-4 and we ran out of air before mantas.

All that said if we were to repeat either of the sites, PNG would be it.

 

[jasondcrawford]

If you've never done a liveaboard, you might want to try one a little closer and cheaper than PNG or Palau --- I would hate for you to spend $10,000 on a dive trip and not be able to enjoy any of it. I think generally, the nicer boats are large enough that unless there is a big storm you don't get bothered, but better safe than sorry.

 

[silent running]

I think generally, the nicer boats are large enough that unless there is a big storm you don't get bothered, but better safe than sorry.

Hello jasondcrawford, I disagree with this. Generally speaking, the "nicer", larger boats are usually ex-oil tender boats which were not designed for stability. They were designed with 4 engines to make fast trips to the oil rigs on their flatter, planing type hulls-comfort and stability were not a consideration. When the boats are re-commisioned as liveaboards they remove 2 engines and add more fixtures, partitions and they become top heavy and even less stable. I have watched one of these boats stay behind due to 6ft seas, while the smaller boat I was on went out to do the best diving of the trip. I have been on several of these boats in the Carribbean and had the Captains balk at making crossings in 4ft seas.

The major factor in boat stability is the hull design, with a full displacement type hull being the most inherently stable. Dynamic stabilaizers can make any hull more stable but the best combination is a full displacement hull with active stabilizers, neither of which are found on any of the bigger luxury franchise boats. The size of a boat has much less to do with stability than the shape of it's hull. -Andy

 

[caymaniac]

I think that you could go on Star Dancer for less than 10K, it's about $2500 each plus the plane ride and at least one night on Walindi. The air fare will really add up though, it depends where you are coming from.
New Britain is only visited by about 500 people per year and is much less traveled than Palau. This makes for quite an adventure, which is something I really enjoyed.

 

[caymaniac]

I think that you could go on Star Dancer for less than 10K, it's about $2500 each plus the plane ride and at least one night on Walindi. The air fare will really add up though, it depends where you are coming from.
New Britain is only visited by about 500 people per year and is much less traveled than Palau. This makes for quite an adventure, which is something I really enjoyed.

 

[Stransky]

I have not been to palau,but spent 7 nights on Febrina and 5 Nights at walindi at the end of September this year,the diving is the easy part,getting there is the adventure,good luck.
PNG,,,FTW.

 

[Travelnsj]

Never been to Palau as it is just as expensive as PNG but doesn't have the species diversity or as many different types of diving as PNG. I would put Palau as a distant 3rd or 4th after PNG, Indonesia and possibly parts of the Maylasian side of Borneo... -Andy

I have been to Bali twice, East Timor and Wakatobi in the Indonesia area. Also been to Sipadan and another Island off Borneo....I've been to Palau 8 times, I find Palau has the finest overall bio-diversity for large, medium and small marine life. I have found places better for Pelagics i.e. Fakarava....Indonesia is definitely better just for smaller marine creatures i.e. Pigmy Seahorses. I am headed to Raja Ampat (PNG) this week...but everyone who has been there says look forward to more intense corals than Palau and the Marine life to be abundant but not better than Palau....and little in the way of Pelagics....Palau is still number one in everything I have seen.

 

[silent running]

I have been to Bali twice, East Timor and Wakatobi in the Indonesia area. Also been to Sipadan and another Island off Borneo....I've been to Palau 8 times, I find Palau has the finest overall bio-diversity for large, medium and small marine life. I have found places better for Pelagics i.e. Fakarava....Indonesia is definitely better just for smaller marine creatures i.e. Pigmy Seahorses. I am headed to Raja Ampat (PNG) this week...but everyone who has been there says look forward to more intense corals than Palau and the Marine life to be abundant but not better than Palau....and little in the way of Pelagics....Palau is still number one in everything I have seen.

Hello T, I'm very glad you've traveled a lot, you have lots to share.

But how many silvertips, hammers, 15ft wingspan oceanic mantas and whales have you seen in Palau? How many different kinds of rhinopias, ghost pipefish, pigmy seahorses (both halameda and hippocampus varieties)? Ever seen an inimicus in Palau? Any stargazers? Any snake eels or ribon eels? How many wobbegong sharks and how many crocodile fish? Flambouyant cuttlefish? How many unidentified nudibranch varieties, PER DAY, have you found in Palau? Not to mention all the smaller fish-wrasses, damsells, blennys, gobbies...

Don't get me wrong, I woud be happy to visit Palau. But it would have to be on somebody else's dime. I have seen all of these animals in PNG and most of them in Indo-Komodo/Ambon.

No, it's not a contest, just a friendly comparison. -Andy

 

[Travelnsj]

Hello T, I'm very glad you've traveled a lot, you have lots to share.

But how many silvertips, hammers, 15ft wingspan oceanic mantas and whales have you seen in Palau? How many different kinds of rhinopias, ghost pipefish, pigmy seahorses (both halameda and hippocampus varieties)? Ever seen an inimicus in Palau? Any stargazers? Any snake eels or ribon eels? How many wobbegong sharks and how many crocodile fish? Flambouyant cuttlefish? How many unidentified nudibranch varieties, PER DAY, have you found in Palau? Not to mention all the smaller fish-wrasses, damsells, blennys, gobbies...

Don't get me wrong, I woud be happy to visit Palau. But it would have to be on somebody else's dime. I have seen all of these animals in PNG and most of them in Indo-Komodo/Ambon.

No, it's not a contest, just a friendly comparison. -Andy

Let's see I've seen Hammers, Marlin, Silvertips, Whalesharks (none in abundance)...many 15' wingspan mantas plus even a couple close to 20', crock fish, Cuttlefish, Nudis, Snake Eels, ribbon eels, sea snakes, many different types of rays, Sharks etc....and many of those in abundance.....some of the smaller stuff you talk about are there but you have to look for them...I do not...I usually choose dives with current and action.

As I said I find it the best "overall diving"....I have seen better just for Pelagics i.e. Fakarava and have seen better just for the smaller stuff i.e. East Timor and Wakatobi...I got back from Wakatobi in October...I almost feel asleep on some of those dives...LOL....Just a friendly suggestion....try Palau before you judge it.

 

[silent running]

As I said I find it the best "overall diving"....I have seen better just for Pelagics i.e. Fakarava and have seen better just for the smaller stuff i.e. East Timor and Wakatobi...I got back from Wakatobi in October...I almost feel asleep on some of those dives...LOL....Just a friendly suggestion....try Palau before you judge it.

Sure I would love to try Palau, but like Yoda says: "There is no try, just do.".

Each trip I take to the Pacific is very expensive and when faced with my first Pacific trip choice between PNG and Palau, way back in 99', I went with PNG. After reading a lot about the 2 places I choose PNG due to it's being right in the middle of four major ocean currents, 3 different seas-Coral/Solomon/Bismarck-many different environments-coral atolls, volcanic islands, fringing reefs, deep reefs, passes-and the very deep water right up to the coast due to a short continental shelf.

Glad to hear that you find Palau best for overall diving after all your travels and I'm sure it can be great. But as I've said before, from all I can tell, the species diversity and range of marine environments PNG is very hard to beat. The last new species of large fish discovered was found right in Madang harbour-a 3ft long nocturnal Bamboo shark. If they're still finding previously undescribed 3 ft long fish, imagine how many new smaller fish and nudibranchs there are. It's a huge country ranging from 12 degrees latitude to 2 and has one of the lowest population densities in the pacific. I have never seen more varieites and bigger fish. Thinking about this subject, I remember more amazing dives-the 14ft bull shark and swarm of silkies we got buzzed by on the south coast, the queen-sized bed turtle I saw on a night dive on Long Island, the 30+ school of silvertips on Portlock reef, the great hammer who buzzed us on the previous dive.

Then there are all the W2 wrecks, B-17, B-25, P-38, Zeros, Hansa Bay, Rabaul. Captain Craig found a new Japanese Zero upside down near Wewak last Summer, he's going to try and turn it over next trip, might have to be there for that one... -Andy