Palau Island Scuba Diving Holidays: Liveaboards & Packages
The Republic of Palau is one of the most impressive dive destinations on earth. Palau Island scuba diving holidays provide a combination of world class reefs, mind blowing marine life and 30 discovered diveable wrecks from the last world war. If you have not been to Palau and you dive, you need to plan your visit now, Palau scuba packages has some of the finest dive sites on earth.
Why Scuba Diving in Palau Is World-Famous?
Palau has some of the most exciting scuba diving on earth with schools of pelagics and almost unrivalled biodiversity set on a series of beautiful islands. You can expect curious gray reef sharks on most of the outer reef dives, massive manta rays, very healthy coral reefs and schools of reef fish. The NOAA notes that Palau has well over 1300 species of reef dwelling life species and 700 types of coral. Palau was the first country on earth to imitate a shark sanctuary. Palau offers a mixture of reef dives, wreck diving and drift dives.
Palau is connected to Tokyo, Manila, Sydney Hong Kong, Taipei and Guam. These international connections make Palau so easy to get to.
The scuba diving in Palau is not always for everyone. This wonderful marine life is attracted to Palau by some very strong currents, which give us those awesome drift dives. In addition, this wonderful diving combined with great connections has attracted divers and tourists from around the world. Palau is not the dreamy sleepy pacific island destination that can be compared with Yap. So it is essential to dive with a reputable and safe dive operator and choose your accommodation carefully. Palau’s famous dive sites have also led to Palau diving adventures being highlighted as those that only a premium dive destination with corresponding premium pricing can give you. Palau is not a value dive destination.
Palau Scuba Diving: Resort vs Liveaboard (Which Is Better?)
The large number of divers that visit Palau make a liveaboard an attractive option, but there is a case for land based diving, and it’s important to choose the correct liveaboard. This information will help you choose what is right for you.
Resort-based Palau scuba diving
Our favourite dive centre in Palau is Fish’n Fins. They are independent and not based within a scuba diving resort, which gives you accommodation options. Shore based can be the best option for Palau as you still do 3 dives a day, and yet you return to the plethora of restaurant options. If you are with a non diving partner you can opt for two dives a day be back for lunch every day and go and explore Palau or simply hang around the beach. Resort based scuba diving in Palau also has the benefit of allowing you to chop and change your dives, and, for example stay diving Macro all week, or wrecks all week. Resort based diving can be cheaper than liveaboard diving in Palau IF you choose your accommodation carefully and eat at modest restaurants.
Accommodation in Palau
There are some wonderful accommodation options. Palau Pacific Resort (PPR) is the best known hotel in Palau, and the most luxurious. Coming a close second is the Palau Royal Resort, both of which are on the sea. We also recommend the cove resort. At the so called budget end you have the Palau hotel and the Rose garden. No accommodation in Palau is truly budget with prices around $120-180 for the cheapest rooms. The PPR can run to $300-$500 a night!
Palau scuba diving Liveaboard Experience
The greatest annoyance of resort based diving in Palau is the “Groundhog Day” boat ride through the rock islands. If you wish to diver German Channel or Ulong you need to take the dreamlike ride through the world famous rock islands. On the first day this is mind-blowing. The second day its interesting, by day 4 everyone has their earphone plugged in and is listening to music or their audio book.
A good Palau liveaboard gives you the experience of being on the dive site in the morning, and the ability to jump in on a dive site such as Peleliu before breakfast. Compare this with 1030 on a day boat. There is something so special about seeing the sun set over the pacific ocean every night, and waking up to the sun rising over water. But it’s essential to choose the right liveaboard for the less attractive ones “park” their vessel in a bay and then motor you on speedboats 45 minutes to the dive site. In these cases you might ask yourself why you are paying hundreds of extra dollars to be cooped up on a vessel which is moored off a hotel, when you could be strolling around the shoreline. We love the Ocean Hunter in Palau and also the Solitude 1 liveaboard dive vessels.
The best Liveaboard dive vessel in Palau
The Ocean Hunter III is an solid former Australian Research vessel. It is probably the best liveaboard for serious divers and photographers. The Ocean hunter offers up to 5 dives a day. It has good cabins and a dedicated camera room. Owned by the legendary Tova and Nevot Boronovski it has awesome food. The Ocean hunter accommodates 16 passengers in 8 cabins. The Ocean Hunter is air conditioned and has ensuite cabins.
Coming a close second is the Solitude Gaia liveaboard. A 40m long luxury vessel which cruises at 10 knots, the Solitude Gaia have 9 cabins and take 18 guests. The Solitude Gaia is our second choice as it offers such a luxurious experience and comes highly recommended by our divers.
The Palau Siren is a very special vessel. The Palau Siren offers a more budget option in a 40-metre traditional phinisi-style sailing yacht.
Best Dive Sites in Palau (Top Spots You Shouldn’t Miss)
Palau Scuba Diving Trips, What a Typical Dive Week Looks Like
A typical week in Palau starts with your being collected at Koror international Airport. Koror Airport is amazing because its connected by direct flights from Tokyo, Manila, Taipei and Seoul. Immigration is quick and efficient, where you will need to sign the Palau pledge. Baggage arrives within minutes and then you are outside and the team from Fish’n Fins will be waiting. They will transfer you to your hotel where you can have a well earned rest.
The next morning you will be picked up and taken to Fish ‘N Fins dive centre where you can hand over your kit, or be issued what rental stuff you need. Then you’ll head out to your first dives. The maximum depth of your first dive will always be kept concervative to allow you to show Fish ‘N Fins that you know what you are doing. Wherever you go, you’ll be surrounded by many species Fish including large pelagics as the best diving in Palau is incredible. After three dives and lunch you head back to the dock and wash your kit and cameras. Fish ‘N Fins also has a superb cafe bar by the sea and its a great way to fill in your logbooks, have a beer, or a coffee and chat the dive away. A short trip lands you back at the hotel for a shower and dinner. In Palau you are spoiled for choice for restayrants with Indian, Chinese, Asian, Mexican and of course the usual array of chicken, burgers/ Steak Houses and pizzerias.
Every day you’ll be out in the fast boat, jetting through the stunning rock islands to your dive site. You cannot get past the need to travel through the rock island, but this is part of Palau day diving. See the section below about the differences between live aboard and day diving.
After five days of this wondeful day diving routine, you can spend a day exploring the wonders of Palau on the surface. This is not just the etpison museum, but the long houses, the meeting houses and the dolmen of the fields of northern Palau. With Fish N Fins you really recieved personalized service.
And then sadly its back to the airport to fly home or on to Yap or Truk Lagoon!
Palau Diving Packages
- Assuming you are combining your Palau dive trip with Truk Lagoon or Yap Island. (highly recommended) we recommend one week of scuba diving in Palau.
An example itinerary
- 6 Nights Cove Resort, Marina Blue Bay View with complimentary breakfast. Five days of three tank diving (3 tank per day) including weights, boat, dive guide, tanks (air/Nitrox 32% fills) and a good lunch and soft drinks. Airport transfers and dive centre transfers would be included on dive days.
Typical price ranges
- Land-based scuba diving from $2,500
- Liveaboard from $3,995
The Best Time for Palau Island Scuba Diving
The best time to dive Palau is between November and May. This visibility usually hangs around the 50m 150ft mark outside the reef. Although Palau is so special you will have a great time whenever you go. It may be that some dive sites are out of reach. The water temperature is between 27-30’C
What Marine Life Will You See Diving in Palau?
Palau is one great big marine national park in the western pacific ocean. You should see grey reef sharks, white-tip reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, manta rays, (in the manta ray cleaning stations) hawksbill turtles, crocodile fish, in differing dives sites. Palau is also home to loads of tropical fish, massive schools of jackfish and quite a few barracuda. The hard and soft corals of Palau’s incredible coral reefs are vibrant, and in many cases pristine. The jellyfish of jellyfish lake are not present at the time of writing. This will be updated if it changes.
Who Palau Suitable for?
If you have an open water certificate you can dive in Palau. The dive centres we use are happy to take divers who need to build their experience up. But if we are honest, you should try and arrive in Palau with over 50 dives and some experience of diving to 30m or 100ft. Most of the dives are not as deep as this, but when you are taken to some of the more impressive wrecks or if you want to get close to a school of barracuda , it helps to be comfortable at depths exceeding 25m. Palau is a long way away from anywhere, and it is not a budget dive destination, so the more experienced you can be before you arrive, the more you will enjoy your palau diving experience.
Getting to your Palau Scuba Diving Holiday
Essential Travel Tips for Scuba Diving Palau
- Pack a pack towel for the long boat rides. Its nice to be dried off.
- You will need a drybag for the boat rides, some of the best ones are the backpacks made by aquacase.
- Fly directly to Palau avoiding Guam and you will avoid extra bureaucracy such as the need for a US ESTA or US Visa. There are many flights directly to Palau, ask us for details.
- Consider hiring a car to explore the island for a couple of days. Palau is an amazing land destination.
- Dont forget your DAN or DIVEMASTER insurance. You cannot dive without insurance as per the terms and conditions of most dive centres.
- Get at least 50 dives in before you go, and do at least 8 deep dives below 25m to get comfortable with depth and multilevel diving,
- Respect Palau. The nation is a marine national park and global example of great conservation. You will need to sign the Palau Pledge when you land, promising to behave. Stick to that pledge!
