Truk Depth And Compared To Palau

[SandyUT]

Hi all,

we are looking at a couple options for a two week trip;
1. Palau Yap
2. Truk Yap

Initially we were all in on Palau but interest is string for Truk. I realize the following questions will involve some judgement, but none the less here we go.

We are AOW nitrox divers. I have noted in many of the pics of Truk that people are Tec diving. Diving only Nitrox, will we be looking at a lot of masts on some dives? the current plan is the Odyssey LAB.

If there is some comparison or if you had to pic between Palau and Truk knowing they are very different... what are your thoughts. Is Truk wreck overload?

Many thanks.

 

[WetLens]

I had the same concerns when booking Truk. On most trips, I look for 5 dives per day and profiles that allow getting shallow towards the end of each dive. Truk is different, but I did not find that it was too restrictive. Only a few dives were deep with no place to get shallow towards the end of the dive. Review the table below and note dives with dive times under an hour - those are the sites where the only dive is deep. There are only a few. Most of the others had plenty to see at shallower depths. I opted not to do night dives every night in order to allow more time to offgas (and the 1 night dive I did do was less than spectacular). Had two days with only 3 dives - one was due to camera problems; the other was a missed dive due to depth - San Francisco Maru. The computer I was using at that time would not have dealt well with that dive profile.

Can't compare with Palau as I haven't been there. I liked Truk, but am not likely to return. Too many other places to see and the logistics involved with getting there and back did not seem worth the effort.

Truk photos at: Truk Lagoon 2013 - WetLens

 

[SandyUT]

wow!! that is great info!!! many thanks. It's harder to get to than Palau and there are flights from Palau to Yap and back direct (one hour), to get to yap from Truk is 6 hours through Guam which kinda sucks.

this is a tough decision. Thank for sharing the dive log. that is very helpful to see.

 

[TulsaTime]

Truk photos at: Truk Lagoon 2013 - WetLens

Nice photos! My son and I are considering Truk next year so thanks for the dive log also.

 

[SandyUT]

great pics! I missed the link on the first read!

 

[JohnN]

I had the same concerns when booking Truk. On most trips, I look for 5 dives per day and profiles that allow getting shallow towards the end of each dive. Truk is different, but I did not find that it was too restrictive. Only a few dives were deep with no place to get shallow towards the end of the dive. Review the table below and note dives with dive times under an hour - those are the sites where the only dive is deep. There are only a few. Most of the others had plenty to see at shallower depths. I opted not to do night dives every night in order to allow more time to offgas (and the 1 night dive I did do was less than spectacular). Had two days with only 3 dives - one was due to camera problems; the other was a missed dive due to depth - San Francisco Maru. The computer I was using at that time would not have dealt well with that dive profile.

Can't compare with Palau as I haven't been there. I liked Truk, but am not likely to return. Too many other places to see and the logistics involved with getting there and back did not seem worth the effort.

Truk photos at: Truk Lagoon 2013 - WetLens
View attachment 369428

Very nice data and photos.

Your dive times/depths are most impressive. What type of cylinders were you diving?

 

[WetLens]

Very nice data and photos.

Your dive times/depths are most impressive. What type of cylinders were you diving?

Thanks. One of the things I really like about the Odyssey - they had 108 cu. ft. low pressure steel tanks - 30% nitrox - plenty of gas for this type of diving.

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

You can perfectly dive in Truk and enjoy the wrecks from outside. If you really want to do some penetrations, then I recommend you to do a course because going to Truk.

In Palau there are some pretty cool wrecks too and most of the liveaboards dive them on each of their itineraries. If you are really into wrecks then go for Truk Lagoon!

 

[Paul Haynes]

Hi all,

we are looking at a couple options for a two week trip;
1. Palau Yap
2. Truk Yap

Initially we were all in on Palau but interest is string for Truk. I realize the following questions will involve some judgement, but none the less here we go.

We are AOW nitrox divers. I have noted in many of the pics of Truk that people are Tec diving. Diving only Nitrox, will we be looking at a lot of masts on some dives? the current plan is the Odyssey LAB.

If there is some comparison or if you had to pic between Palau and Truk knowing they are very different... what are your thoughts. Is Truk wreck overload?

Many thanks.

Hi

I'm presently organising a Wreck-X (Shipwreck Explorers) combined Truk / Palau expedition for March 17. The dates for either are not set yet but see attachment for some general info. The wrecks of Truk are deeper than Palau, although there are plenty of outstanding dives in the 'recreational' range. The shipwrecks of Palau are mostly in the recreational range, however to complement the wreck diving, Palau offers world class sea life / reef diving also. Drop me an email at paul@wreck-x.com if you would like any further information on the wrecks. Alternatively, my dive buddy Rod published Dive Truk Lagoon a couple of years back, which has become the definitive dive guide and has just released Dive Palau The Japanese Shipwrecks (Life Journey).

Safe diving.

Paul

 

[Colo Hippie]

If you are interested in wrecks and history then Truk is a no brainer and is amazing. We did Palau then Truk, both AOW and no problems on the Odyssey. You can penetrate as much or as little as you want.

The diving in Truk & Palau are as different as can be. Truk is wrecks, Palau is currents and big animals.