markmaloof
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Thanks to a generous flyer mile gift from my wife's brother, who has a ton of frequent miles he will lose, we are going to Palau and Yap for three weeks (to say we are excited is an understatement.) It will be Yap for seven days (the only way it can work with our flyer miles, fly in and out in the late evening), then thirteen days in Palau.
First and important is our dive experience/likes, etc: we live in NYC, so only dive once a year, have done our advanced (last year in Thailand), though probably have 35 to 40 dives in (have been to Thailand three times, once to Curracao, once to Bequia, and two cold dive days in Vancouver.) So we have some experience, but not super heavy either. We like to have a dive day or two, a day off, then dive a day or two, then a day off, etc. Don't think that liveaboard is quite our speed, and since we only dive once a year, we can still find satisfaction with some stuff that might bore many of you now (like reef life, smaller creatures, "pretty fish", etc.) In other words, not every dive has to be a deep dive to check out wrecks, we don't always have to see big fish/sharks/mantas (but looking forward to seeing some!) As stated, we like dive days off, so topside stuff like hanging at a beach, nature treks (or, say, checking out village life in Yap), snorkeling, kayaking, etc, are appreciated by us as well.
Yap first: are the dives calmer, current-wise, than Palau? We will probably get 8 to 10 dives in there (plus maybe Nitrox cert), so I'm thinking/hoping that if it's a little calmer than Palau waters, it could give us a chance to stretch out and get our skills up again (been about a year since we last went diving.) We thought about a smaller outfit like Beyond the Reef, maybe staying at Pathways (we like the simple Bamboo hut theme.) Yes, we are interested in seeing Mantas, but would also be happy if that was too murky to go to more conventional "pretty fish" coral sites, etc. As I said, since we only get to dive once a year, we are probably more easily impressed than those who dive a ton (though Thailand had some amazing sites.)
In regards to above sea at Yap, yes we know it is quiet (that's ok), just wondering if there is a small beach somewhere we can drive to (or hire a boat to take us to) on a day off. Will also check out the Stone Money, native culture, etc. I find that stuff as fascinating as the idea of diving!
Palau: I have read conflicting advice, with some folks warning that it's almost all high current and deep diving (though we are certified for 100 feet/30 meters), others saying there is a wider variety and levels of diving around Palau, and whomever we dive with could help us with that (we are thinking Sam's Tours, read great things about them, and they have Kayaking trips, etc.) Don't get me wrong, we want to try drift diving/the reef hook thing, some deeper diving, but don't want it all to be that.
Topside in Palau: I know this may not be on everyone's list here, but we do enjoy a bit of beach on our days off. I know that in Koror the only beach is at the Palau Pacific Resort, and that if you stay at Carolines you can also use that beach (not sure about Cliffside.) PPR is EXPENSIVE, but we are flying for free, so I'm willing to pay for seven or eight days there (unless the cheaper Carolines has a room), with a dive package, so we could use the beach, Kayaks, snorkel, etc. I talked to someone at Sam's tours who said there were a couple beaches on Babeldaob, and on days we did not want to dive, we could pay to be dropped off there and picked up if they had dives going that way. We are also not adverse to renting a car here or there and driving. Does anyone know if there is a decent beach (besides Palau Pacific Resort) that we could drive to or be boated to? Will also look into Carp Island (boats go there, I think, and they do have a rustic resort, though have read mixed things about it.) There is also a new place called Dolphin Bay on Peliliu, I think there is a beach there (Honeymoon beach). We would also not be averse to staying a few nights at a cheaper place in Koror (besides a week at the fancy resort) if there we can drive to a beach, take a kayak or boat trip, etc. We are going to be there for 13 days, but would be happy to dive maybe eight of them (plus, my wife's ears sometimes bother her if we dive too many days in a row, so we would like to break things up.)
First and important is our dive experience/likes, etc: we live in NYC, so only dive once a year, have done our advanced (last year in Thailand), though probably have 35 to 40 dives in (have been to Thailand three times, once to Curracao, once to Bequia, and two cold dive days in Vancouver.) So we have some experience, but not super heavy either. We like to have a dive day or two, a day off, then dive a day or two, then a day off, etc. Don't think that liveaboard is quite our speed, and since we only dive once a year, we can still find satisfaction with some stuff that might bore many of you now (like reef life, smaller creatures, "pretty fish", etc.) In other words, not every dive has to be a deep dive to check out wrecks, we don't always have to see big fish/sharks/mantas (but looking forward to seeing some!) As stated, we like dive days off, so topside stuff like hanging at a beach, nature treks (or, say, checking out village life in Yap), snorkeling, kayaking, etc, are appreciated by us as well.
Yap first: are the dives calmer, current-wise, than Palau? We will probably get 8 to 10 dives in there (plus maybe Nitrox cert), so I'm thinking/hoping that if it's a little calmer than Palau waters, it could give us a chance to stretch out and get our skills up again (been about a year since we last went diving.) We thought about a smaller outfit like Beyond the Reef, maybe staying at Pathways (we like the simple Bamboo hut theme.) Yes, we are interested in seeing Mantas, but would also be happy if that was too murky to go to more conventional "pretty fish" coral sites, etc. As I said, since we only get to dive once a year, we are probably more easily impressed than those who dive a ton (though Thailand had some amazing sites.)
In regards to above sea at Yap, yes we know it is quiet (that's ok), just wondering if there is a small beach somewhere we can drive to (or hire a boat to take us to) on a day off. Will also check out the Stone Money, native culture, etc. I find that stuff as fascinating as the idea of diving!
Palau: I have read conflicting advice, with some folks warning that it's almost all high current and deep diving (though we are certified for 100 feet/30 meters), others saying there is a wider variety and levels of diving around Palau, and whomever we dive with could help us with that (we are thinking Sam's Tours, read great things about them, and they have Kayaking trips, etc.) Don't get me wrong, we want to try drift diving/the reef hook thing, some deeper diving, but don't want it all to be that.
Topside in Palau: I know this may not be on everyone's list here, but we do enjoy a bit of beach on our days off. I know that in Koror the only beach is at the Palau Pacific Resort, and that if you stay at Carolines you can also use that beach (not sure about Cliffside.) PPR is EXPENSIVE, but we are flying for free, so I'm willing to pay for seven or eight days there (unless the cheaper Carolines has a room), with a dive package, so we could use the beach, Kayaks, snorkel, etc. I talked to someone at Sam's tours who said there were a couple beaches on Babeldaob, and on days we did not want to dive, we could pay to be dropped off there and picked up if they had dives going that way. We are also not adverse to renting a car here or there and driving. Does anyone know if there is a decent beach (besides Palau Pacific Resort) that we could drive to or be boated to? Will also look into Carp Island (boats go there, I think, and they do have a rustic resort, though have read mixed things about it.) There is also a new place called Dolphin Bay on Peliliu, I think there is a beach there (Honeymoon beach). We would also not be averse to staying a few nights at a cheaper place in Koror (besides a week at the fancy resort) if there we can drive to a beach, take a kayak or boat trip, etc. We are going to be there for 13 days, but would be happy to dive maybe eight of them (plus, my wife's ears sometimes bother her if we dive too many days in a row, so we would like to break things up.)
Make sure you do the "Cultural Tour". Yap will be perfect for tuning up your skills for Palau. 
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