Questions about Palau

[guruboy]

Hey Guys,

Where should I look on this forum for Palau information? A forum search turns up all sorts of random threads.

1) Is there a subforum Palau falls under? I know it's in Micronesia, East of the Philippines, but that's about it.

2) Is Palau a good choice for a first trip to SE Asia?

3) A LDS is offering a trip to Palau March 2014. Does this look like a good trip and good value?

Trip Summary

$3350.00 PP DBL


Trip Includes:
- Round Trip Airfare Houston (IAH) to Palau (ROR)
- Airport Transfers to Sea Passion Hotel
- 7 Nights Deluxe Ocean Front Room
- 5 Days 2-Tank Boat Dives
- Afternoon Snorkelling trip to Jellyfish Lake
- Additional Afternoon Dive at Chandelier Caves
- Lunch Each Dive Day


TIA.

 

[Centrals]

1. I am not sure if there is any(may be in Australia and the Pacific islands).
2. Palau is never consider as part of SE Asia! Don't know why.
3. Only 10 real dives in the whole trip. Majority of the sites are miles away from Koror and the operators can easily run out of tanks if there is a couple of big groups want to do more than 2 dives a day!
4. If you can stretch your budget, liveaboard is much better.
5. March is fine.
6. Value for money? Definitely NOT if you compare it with Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines and Thailand. But diving in Palau is completely different. Your holiday, your shot.

 

[Heg]

I found a lot of info in the 'Pacific Islands' thread. Not sure why Micronesia doesnt have its own thread.....

 

[guruboy]

Thanks for the inputs!

I'll look into the liveaboards and check out the Philippines forum.

Now to convince my work to transfer me to SE Asia for a year or two...

 

[pughio83]

I went in November end and flew to Manila and had 3 days there, then continental airlines to koror. Did a weeks package with sams tours similar to what u described, using sea passion. At the same my international flight was around £600, then £270 for Manila to koror, and around usd1300 for a weeks diving with accomm bnb with 10dives plus the extras. So it's defo cheaper not to do an all in one package, cut out the middle man.

The diving is good with mainly big stuff, good viz and some of the most scenic boat rides to the dive sites. I have done a trip report before u can look at. I know live aboard is better but don't be put off by 1hr rides to the sites, because its beautiful and I did plenty of afternoon dives she it was busy. Live aboard way more expensive.

Value wise it's not the best value, diving in Indonesia and ppines is way better value and varied. I would maybe return to Palau but after I have been to Komodo, raja and png.

 

[diverkim]

Palau is an extremely good dive destination. If you really want to get the most out of diving though, get on a liveaboard (not Big Blue Explorer). There are so many good dive spots in Palau. The marine life is fantastic; there are plenty of wrecks; Chandelier caves is so cool and an easy dive as well. Also try out Mandarinfish Lake for the mandarinfish, of course, but also the arrowfish around the "lake" edges. Blue Corner is a dive spot that one can enjoy multiple dives at. Diving in Palau is not cheap, but it is good.

 

[jake11]

Palau is an awesome dive destination! We had gone to Indonesia 10x in a row and wanted to try something new. We LOVED it!!! We had a better deal but that was 2 years ago and we also had a smoking deal on airfare. Shop around and see what you can put together yourself. There are pros and cons to going with a LDS but we put our own trip together and saved some bucks. If you want to get in more dives do a LOB. We ended up going land based and had a blast. We were out at the same sites as the LOB but they did not have to ride out there every day. The rides out and back were gorgeous but sometimes very rough! If we go back we would go land based again. Check out the PPR( awesome) and also contact Sams tours to see if there are any deals available. Have a GREAT time! You will love the thrilling diving there!!!

 

[Kevrumbo]

For an American Diver with a Int'l gateway of Houston Texas (United Airlines), Palau is the easiest to travel & best long range overseas Pacific, far west tropical Oceania/Micronesia dive trip, especially if you like drift/wall diving & big pelagic/shark action.
Sams Tours dive-ops & Sea Passion Hotel is my favorite dive/lodging combination; while the Ocean Hunter large motor yachts/vessels are the better Liveaboards IMHO.

May not be the best value for the USD$ compared to Philippines/Thailand, but it's the most convenient --they use USD$ currency-- and along with Truk Lagoon, is my preferred "stopover" hub to dive if going on to dive elsewhere in the Indo-Pacific/SE Asia region.

 

[Bubble Junky]

Palau is awesome diving, but to agree with a point Centrals mentions, I'd also recommend diving it from a liveaboard. You'll get more chance to dive, plus you'll get better dives on Palau's signature sites like Blue Corner, as there will be less divers in the water.

 

[matdiver]

In case the OP is still interested, I think the Palau info is under "Pacific islands", like this thread:
http://www.scubaboard.com/forums/pacific-islands/454139-palau-june.html#post6740590

I've been there 5 times, on Ocean Hunter III. Each trip we did over 30 dives in the week. Not cheap, but good value for money. You travel to the other side of the world
If you're interested, I posted this video a while back:
[video=vimeo;57367956]https://vimeo.com/57367956[/video]
March is a very good time to go, but the liveaboards fill up quickly so book soon. I prefer diving around the time of the new/full moon, but it's always pretty good. With a decent liveaboard you'll be in the water at exactly the right time, rather than just when it's convenient for the operator out of Koror.
Matt