Recommendations for Palau?

[RobPNW]

I’m planning ahead but I’m thinking about doing a trip to Palau about this time next year. Hopefully, the COVID travel craziness is over by then. I would like to do a longer trip like 3-4 weeks without going totally broke. I may do a little sightseeing but my intention is for the trip to be 90% about diving. Any thoughts on best bang for my buck?

I will be traveling alone and lodging will mainly be for relaxing and sleeping so my standards aren’t super high. I’ve even done a trip where I stayed in a $15 a day dive shop “hostel” before. As long as I can get sleep and my gear is safe. I don’t want to blow all my money on a 5 star hotel when I can spend it on tanks, boat time and good food.

I’ve never done a live aboard before. Would that leverage my budget better? Do any of them do longer durations like 3-4 weeks? Any specific recommendations for Palau?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

 

[Scared Silly]

If you want land based I would head to Peleliu and hang with Dolphin Bay Resort & Peleliu Divers in Palau. If you are in the area I would doubler dip and head to Chuuk and dive True Lagoon and dive with Odyssey Adventures

 

[Centrals]

Sight seeing in Palau? Peleliu for the WWII relic! But divers just want to experience the "Express". Unfortunately It is quite far away from Koror and dive operator seldom go there unless there is demand and the weather co-operates as well.
LoB is the way for me in Palau because I hate long and bumpy ride to dive sites. And most of the sites are quite a distance from Koror.
Budget accommodation is probably difficult to find. Good luck for that.

 

[living4experiences]

The positive aspects of liveaboards are several dives a day, plus night diving (depending on the operator). You eat, sleep, dive, repeat for a week. I don't know of any that do multiple-week trips at once. You'd have to book several individual trips back to back, and you'd be going back to the same dive locations over and over. A liveaboard is quite pricey. If you're willing to share a 100-square-foot room or less with a stranger, the cost is sometimes bearable. If you want your own room, you will pay double. Think $800-$1000 per day or more, depending on the operator. I've done a couple of liveaboards, and it's a gouge to the budget to have your own room, which is what I prefer.

Please heed my advice and don't book with Master Liveaboards or the Siren Fleet (same company). They have sunk boats in the recent past, and they have questionable business practices, to put it kindly. I had a very negative experience with them when they tried to keep over $7000 for my trips that they cancelled in 2020. If you do consider liveaboard diving, do your research. One of those trips with Siren Fleet was to Palau, so I did my homework on Palau back in 2019. Others here on the board that have been there can speak from experience, but be prepared to dive in strong currents with a reef hook. My reef hook is still shiny and new and never been used yet...still waiting for the South Pacific to open.

Happy planning!

 

[RobPNW]

Are live aboards expensive pretty much everywhere? Or are there warm water locations with reasonable live aboard prices? Or how about places where there are dive shops that have there own lower cost berthing? It doesn’t have to be Palau. Just thought some of the diving there looked fun. Maybe Thailand instead, or the Philippines?

Thanks again.

 

[Blackcrusader]

I’m planning ahead but I’m thinking about doing a trip to Palau about this time next year. Hopefully, the COVID travel craziness is over by then. I would like to do a longer trip like 3-4 weeks without going totally broke. I may do a little sightseeing but my intention is for the trip to be 90% about diving. Any thoughts on best bang for my buck?

I will be traveling alone and lodging will mainly be for relaxing and sleeping so my standards aren’t super high. I’ve even done a trip where I stayed in a $15 a day dive shop “hostel” before. As long as I can get sleep and my gear is safe. I don’t want to blow all my money on a 5 star hotel when I can spend it on tanks, boat time and good food.

I’ve never done a live aboard before. Would that leverage my budget better? Do any of them do longer durations like 3-4 weeks? Any specific recommendations for Palau?

Thanks in advance,
Rob

I have been looking at Palau for the same thing. There are cheaper hotels around US$35 a night. LOB are going to cost a lot but offer mainly one week trips not longer. LOB isn't for budgeters. Go to airbnb and booking.com you will find different deals being offered. Also Palau is open now but I doubt many flights are going there. I live in Taiwan so there are direct flights for me.

 

[runsongas]

do the palau or rock island aggressor, rooms are on par with the mid level hotels on land, food is significantly better and once you do the math on a per dive basis, it is the same as land based. so unless if you enjoy spending 2 to 3 hours on a speedboat every day or want to sit around drinking red rooster ale in town in the evenings, go with the liveaboard.

for budget trips, southeast asia is still going to be more bang for the buck. thailand and bali should be sort of open.

 

[tc]

My go to in Palau is Sams Tours. Worked with them for 7 years taking college groups to Palau. Highly recommended.

 

[Centrals]

Sams has been around many many yrs.
Diving in Palau is highly recommended but definitely not on the budget side(no way near).
3-4 wks and 90% on diving then Indonesia and Philippines would be better.
Plenty of threads on those two countries but if you can plan your trip from late Nov onward then you should consider the West coast of Thailand(LoB + Koh Lanta) and plenty of topside distraction.

This is my recommendation:

Stay Raja Ampat: The best Raja Ampat accommodation & travel information source

Traditional Papuan accommodation is the best value Raja Ampat accommodation available. Here's all you need to plan a visit and book your stay in paradise.

www.stayrajaampat.com

I have no idea if they will be around this time next yr, hope they do.

Philippines:
The Visayas area.

 

[RobPNW]

Cool thanks folks. I’ve got some tips to crunch numbers on.