Palau & Yap - do they live up to the hype?

[H2Obaby]

Thanks for everyone's comments. Does it make a difference to the overcrowding if you go with a small liveaboard (eg Ocean Hunter I)? Or is it more that overcrowding has left sites damaged, as at the Blue Hole?

 

[H2Obaby]

Hi H2Obaby,

We recently returned from a trip to Palau, and while the diving is very nice, I would say it does not quite live up to the hype. We did not dive in Yap, but did stop in Truk Lagoon for a week, and the wrecks are fascinating if you're into history.

If you're planning a World Trip and want to hit the Best Places to dive in the World, I would suggest the Galapagos. Darwin's Arch is near the top of my list of the World's best dive sites.

For more information, please see my Palau Trip Report or better yet, my Galapagos Trip Report.

Have a great trip!

Yes you may have convinced me to include the Galapagos, despite the cold! Really enjoyed your trip reports. How was the vis in Chuuk & the Galapagos?

 

[boydski]

Yes you may have convinced me to include the Galapagos, despite the cold! Really enjoyed your trip reports. How was the vis in Chuuk & the Galapagos?

Vis in Chuuk is highly variable and depends on the site and wind direction. It seemed to deteriorate between afternoon dives. The best viz we had was on the deep wrecks in the morning and was close to 100'. The worst viz was the shallow wrecks, late in the afternoon with the wind up, and was more like 50 - 60'. I only managed to get lost once, and the 3 divers following me never even knew I was lost.

Galapagos viz is generally in the 60-80' range. Darwin is notorious for surge and currents, but a moderately experienced diver shouldn't have trouble with it. I was too busy gawking at the hundreds of hammerheads to even notice.

 

[nickdiver06]

I would highly recommend Palau. I was there for 4 months from Nov. 2005 through Feb 2006 working as a professional uw videographer for one of the largest dive centers in Palau. Was diving every day. 5 times a week, so I know the place like the back of my hand. I've been to many, many places in my diving career, and I still think that Palau is one of the top ones. The great thing about Palau is that it's got it all: sharks (Blue corner, New Dropoff, Ulong Channel, Siaes Corner, Pelelieu - gray reef sharks whitetieps, occasional silvertips), Mantas (German Channel, Devil Fish City), huge school of barracudas, jacks, etc. (Blue corner, New Dropoff), tons of macro stuff (German Channel, Short Dropoff, Brown Corner, Mandarinfish Lak, etc. ), Wrecks (Iro Maru, The Helmets, etc. ), drift diving at many sites, beautiful caverns with stalactites and stalagmites (Chandelier Cave), wall diving galore (most sites), uw tunnels and holes (Siaes Tunnel - a stunner - Virgin Blue Hole, Turtle Cove, Blue Holes - which are in excellent shape, contrary to what a forum member wrote), tons of softcoral, and of course Jellyfish Lake, unique!
I've talked to many colleagues when I worked there, and most of them agree than Palau is even better than Maldives, Red Sea, etc. (which they've worked at) both in terms of great shape of the reef, and because perhaps nowwhere else you can find so many diverse types of diving and animals in such a small area).

Yap is good, but the viz is often poor at the channels where the mantas congregate. Don't let the glossy brochures fool you; the average viz is 20-40ft, not the 100+ft you'd think from the pretty pictures. Not that often, and not at channels at least. More typical of the southern part, where you'll find very nice walls, but not mantas. If mantas is your main reason to visit Yap, stick to Palau. Much better chances, and much better viz. And, sometimes in Palau you'll get to see up to 15 of them, all at once (Devil Fish CIty)!
Yap is great for macro though, from mandarinfish to lots of nudibranchs, pipefish, and kinds of cool and weird macro life. I shot some phenomenal super macro of nudis when I was there in March.

If you are in the Palau area, a "hop" to the Philippines is also highly recomended. Trukloads of macro life (nudis, pipefish, frogfish, scorpionfish, pygmy seahorses, etc. ) at e.g., Puerto Galera, Anilao, etc. (2 hours south of Manila), plus lots of pelagics too (Whalesharks guaranteed in Marchin Donsol, 2 hours south of Manila), etc. Cheap, and the people are wonderful. Viz varies, was about 60-80ft when I was there last in March of this year. PI is stunning both above and below water.

Feel free to contact me at nickdiver03@yahoo.com for more info, if you need to.

 

[Diver Dennis]

I have to second the Philippines recommendation Rick. I'll be in PG and Anilao for three weeks in September, my third trip to the PI this year.

I'm going to Yap for the macro and to visit friend and photo Pro there Mike Veitch. I like Palau too and will stop there for 10 days.

We are going to Bali for the first time this trip and I've heard a lot of good things about Tulamben and Lembongan. The Molas should be around when we are there.

I do want to go to the Galapagos later next year.

 

[silent running]

Andy,
Thanks for the info. PNG is top on the list, I'm hoping to go in August or Sept. to catch one of the highland shows too. Have you done any travel on land?

You are welcome. I have not spent too much time on land, but if you get to Walindi, definitely do the hot water river trek. It's a thermal spring fed river in the jungle, very nice. I also did a nice hike to the highest point near Madang with a local guide named Damu Ikum. He's in the Lonely Planet guide-excellent but very demanding nature walk throught the jungle up to the high point used by the Coast Watchers in WW2. I also enjoyed the Botanical gardens in Moresby and the Zoo. Asian Aromas is an excellent retaurant in Moresby, I go there every time I'm in PNG. I would like to spend more time on land, but I like diving and being on the boat and visiting lots of uninhabited islands best... -Andy

 

[Diver Dennis]

Silent running, I will be based in Manila, which airlines fly to PNG? Are there any or do I have to fly from Austrailia?

 

[silent running]

Thanks for everyone's comments. Does it make a difference to the overcrowding if you go with a small liveaboard (eg Ocean Hunter I)? Or is it more that overcrowding has left sites damaged, as at the Blue Hole?

H2O, I would always go with the smallest boat that still has the amenities you need, for me this means air con=better service less kaos on the dive platform. Ocean Hunter 1 is the smaller boat, right? It looks like nice boat, the one I would pick if going to Palau. You can always ask the Capt. to shift the itinerary to avoid other boats on the same spot, most will try to do this anyway... -Andy

 

[silent running]

Silent running, I will be based in Manila, which airlines fly to PNG? Are there any or do I have to fly from Austrailia?

Hi Dennis, no you don't have to go to Aus. In fact, it's usually cheaper if you don't as Aus charges tax on every flight that touches their soil. The only carrier that flys to PNG is Air Nuigini(SP?). And I think they still fly from Manila, I took that route once. Other gateway cities are Tokyo, Singapore, and I think, Hong Kong. Pretty convenient, but not cheap... -Andy

 

[Diver Dennis]

Thanks Andy. Where would you suggest for a quick land based trip?