Palau vs Raja Ampat

[Nor Cal Sea Serpant]

Hi Everyone,

Im planning a last minute dive trip with my wife for Dec 28th to Jan 13th, basically right after this upcoming Christmas and I wanted to ask your opinion?

Right now we have the a Palau LOB on hold OR we can stay at a dive resort in the north part of Raja Ampat on Kri island.

Both areas would be a new experience for my wife and I. I just can't decide. I feel like RA will be less crowded and fishier but I got a good price on the Palau Aggressor and I've heard good things.

If any of you have been to Palau or the north RA area I would love to hear your opinion.

Past dive trips:
Cozumel, Mex (6 dives) -Awesome
Monterey, CA (10 dives) -Good
GBR, AUS- only LOB we have done (18 dives) -Awesome
Maui, HI (4 dives) -Disappointed

 

[runsongas]

i did komodo last year and palau this year with aggressor. komodo was better imo (more mantas, more variety). palau had more sharks. my vote would be RA unless if you want to hang out at blue corner and watch sharks swim by. the aggressor boat was quite comfortable and had really good food though.

i am surprised you have only done 10 dives locally since you live in santa cruz though. carmel on a nice day is pretty decent diving.

 

[Kevrumbo]

Palau is the more convenient in terms of travel -no tourist visa needed, and currency is US dollars. You can de-plane (United Airlines) and get in by 11pm the Sat night before and go diving the next day Sun early AM with a land-based dive-op if you're up to it. However, it is crowded around the Xmas/New Years Holidays and although because of the LOB advantage you will be among the first on the dive sites in the early AM before the land based dive-ops arrive later mid-morning, you will still witness what IMHO is the growing problem of "diver pressure" on the famous sites like Blue Corner by Noon.

For a more relaxing getaway from the holiday crowd, go with the Raja Ampat option -although with a stopover, it may take you a little longer to get out there.

 

[BDSC]

If you decide on Palau check flights with China Airlines. We had a group trip earlier this year to Palau and used China Airlines and I was impressed. They fly non-stop from LAX to Taipei and then to Palau so it's only a one-stop trip from LAX. We booked their premium economy seats and they were really nice and worth the extra over economy. They were also running a deal that if you booked Premium economy on the first leg and since that class of service wasn't offered on the second leg, they bumped us up to first class/business class on the second flight. Don't know if that's still the case.