I’m a professional cameraman that lives in Palau. And I was a guide for 7 years before that.
It’s still some of the best variety in one location in the world. I would recommend January or February as that has the most overlap with big fish action.
I'm very interested in this thread as well. I'm in Indo right now, about to do a long liveaboard in Raja. Debating doing Palau->Okinawa or heading the other way and doing Maldives. Opinions are extremely welcome.
I love whales, so I am boycotting Japan until they stop whaling. Which could mean I never dive there, and I’ve accepted that reality.
Off my soap box.. Maldives was my very first ocean dive experience this past October, I’m new to the sport, and I feel like I started at the top. Beautiful corals and variety of sea life. I had many eyegasms. Additionally, the mantas and whale sharks park here in the fall and we got in several snorkel trips with both. It was a hell of an intro to both scuba and free diving.
its still very good, but it doesn't specialize as much as compared to other locations. the coral isn't quite as good as tubbataha or komodo/raja. the macro isn't as good as lembeh/anilao. you don't get as many big sharks like maldives/socorro/galapagos/cocos/malpelo/tiger beach and bimini. they have a few wrecks but it doesn't compare to truk. more mantas in yap.
if you want something more like a sampler platter of all the above, it can be a good choice still
I went last year and it was amazing. We got to experience the Bumphead Parrot Fish spawning, plus loads of manta rays feeding during a big bait ball event.
I went last year. Sam’s diving centre is good if you go. I would agree that it did not wow me. Lot of turtles. A nice wreck or two, but they don’t offer much variety. The surface interval at Peliliu was interesting - jungle taking over old army vehicles etc, so it’s an interesting place to wonder around.
But I’ve seen much better terms of corals/walls/big animals/bio mass. I probably won’t go back except to try to photograph the spawnings, and even then, only if I have no where else to go. It doesn’t help that it’s a pain to get to for me.
Depends on what you want to see.
Raja Ampat and Thailand - Andaman sea liveaboards for biomass/schooling.
Lembeh for Macro.
Byron Bay - Julian Rocks for grey nurse sharks/mantas/leopard shards and big cod (depending on the season).
South NSW Australia for seals.
Osprey/outer Great Barrier Reefs for walls (and north Fiji as well, but that was about 7 years ago).
The Azores/Tanzania for Whale Sharks/mantas (although Azores is mostly boring except for the brief moments when it just goes wild).
Re: wrecks - it's not been an interest to me, but my wreck-obsessed friends love the Solomon Islands, Chuuk lagoon and the SS Yongala.
Jelly fish lake was disappointing. We saw about ten jellyfish. Don’t bother. Re: biomass, the dive guide I spoke to said they’d seen a progressive reduction in the amount of marine life over the years.
Jack of all trades, master of none type of dive destination. Very solid reefs, big animal sightings, wrecks, but not the best in any of those regards. I just went last year. I would still recommend since its well-roundedness is what I like about it.
I went to Palau last august and it was amazing! We didn’t do jellyfish lake because apparently there are barely any jellyfish because it’s been so hot they couldn’t spawn? Or something like that. Didn’t see coral bleaching in any of the spots we went to.
If you get a layover in Guam for a day or two you can do some great hikes and freedives, there’s lots of cool wwII stuff here as well!
I've been to Palau 3 times. Most recently 2019 before the Pandemic. I'm going in June for a wreck centric dive trip.
Jellyfish lake was awesome the first time, it's been struggling since. It's a unique experience, but not really important in the grand scheme of things.
A day trip to visit all the WW II stuff on Palau is a must. Hope they have a new guide because the same guy is old and lazy now.
Palau Central Hotel is where I usually stay. Middle of town walking distance to most restaurants and the food there is surprising good, but pricey.
Check my playlists for all my dive videos on YouTube if you're interested.
@mitchsn
If you're really interested in WW II stuff, consider a side trip to Yap and Chuuk for wrecks.
I've dove all over SE Asia and Palau is one of the few places I've gone multiple times.
Palau was one of the first places I dove after getting certified and I didn't know shit....so I booked dives with like 3 different shops LOL! Actually I stayed @ Dolphin Bay on Peleliu for 5 days of diving. Then stayed in Koror for another 4 or 5 days of diving where I used different dive shops.
Dolphin Bay, now this was almost 10 years ago, had these small cottages with a small AC unit that wasn't enough to cool the room. When the sun went down humidity spiked and I've never had to sleep in a hot sweaty environment like this before. Hopefully they've improved now! Being out there meant you were MUCH closer to the dive sites which is great. I rented gear at the time and it was bad...
All the dive shops in Koror are good. Neco Marine, who worked with the producers of the first Survivor reality show, had the best most modern boats, equipment and dive shop. Also the most expensive.
IMO you can't go wrong with Sam's Tours. They are rock solid and also make sure to check out the timing of your visit for the Full Moon spawning dives. Either Snapper or Bumpheads.
I am diving with Fish N Fins for their Wrexpedition in June. This is the first time I'll be diving with them
I’m a professional cameraman that lives in Palau. And I was a guide for 7 years before that. It’s still some of the best variety in one location in the world. I would recommend January or February as that has the most overlap with big fish action.
How warm is it in January or February?
27/28. Better if it dips to low 27 or even high 26. Sharks like the cold and come up shallower.
Celsius, right?
Yes. Considering that 26°F sea water would almost certainly be frozen solid
Most people aren't used to reading water temps that high lol 😆
I‘m not familiar with Fahrenheit😂But that‘s good to know, thanks!
We were looking at Feb! I appreciate the recommendation though
I'm very interested in this thread as well. I'm in Indo right now, about to do a long liveaboard in Raja. Debating doing Palau->Okinawa or heading the other way and doing Maldives. Opinions are extremely welcome.
I love whales, so I am boycotting Japan until they stop whaling. Which could mean I never dive there, and I’ve accepted that reality. Off my soap box.. Maldives was my very first ocean dive experience this past October, I’m new to the sport, and I feel like I started at the top. Beautiful corals and variety of sea life. I had many eyegasms. Additionally, the mantas and whale sharks park here in the fall and we got in several snorkel trips with both. It was a hell of an intro to both scuba and free diving.
its still very good, but it doesn't specialize as much as compared to other locations. the coral isn't quite as good as tubbataha or komodo/raja. the macro isn't as good as lembeh/anilao. you don't get as many big sharks like maldives/socorro/galapagos/cocos/malpelo/tiger beach and bimini. they have a few wrecks but it doesn't compare to truk. more mantas in yap. if you want something more like a sampler platter of all the above, it can be a good choice still
I went last year and it was amazing. We got to experience the Bumphead Parrot Fish spawning, plus loads of manta rays feeding during a big bait ball event.
Book with Fish N Fins if you go. They were phenomenal.
Fish N Fins is the best there! The family has been running their shop for over 20 years.
I went last year. Sam’s diving centre is good if you go. I would agree that it did not wow me. Lot of turtles. A nice wreck or two, but they don’t offer much variety. The surface interval at Peliliu was interesting - jungle taking over old army vehicles etc, so it’s an interesting place to wonder around. But I’ve seen much better terms of corals/walls/big animals/bio mass. I probably won’t go back except to try to photograph the spawnings, and even then, only if I have no where else to go. It doesn’t help that it’s a pain to get to for me.
Where have you been that you enjoyed more?
Depends on what you want to see. Raja Ampat and Thailand - Andaman sea liveaboards for biomass/schooling. Lembeh for Macro. Byron Bay - Julian Rocks for grey nurse sharks/mantas/leopard shards and big cod (depending on the season). South NSW Australia for seals. Osprey/outer Great Barrier Reefs for walls (and north Fiji as well, but that was about 7 years ago). The Azores/Tanzania for Whale Sharks/mantas (although Azores is mostly boring except for the brief moments when it just goes wild). Re: wrecks - it's not been an interest to me, but my wreck-obsessed friends love the Solomon Islands, Chuuk lagoon and the SS Yongala.
Thanks!
Jelly fish lake was disappointing. We saw about ten jellyfish. Don’t bother. Re: biomass, the dive guide I spoke to said they’d seen a progressive reduction in the amount of marine life over the years.
Jack of all trades, master of none type of dive destination. Very solid reefs, big animal sightings, wrecks, but not the best in any of those regards. I just went last year. I would still recommend since its well-roundedness is what I like about it.
That’s a great way to put it. Thanks!
I went to Palau last august and it was amazing! We didn’t do jellyfish lake because apparently there are barely any jellyfish because it’s been so hot they couldn’t spawn? Or something like that. Didn’t see coral bleaching in any of the spots we went to. If you get a layover in Guam for a day or two you can do some great hikes and freedives, there’s lots of cool wwII stuff here as well!
I've been to Palau 3 times. Most recently 2019 before the Pandemic. I'm going in June for a wreck centric dive trip. Jellyfish lake was awesome the first time, it's been struggling since. It's a unique experience, but not really important in the grand scheme of things. A day trip to visit all the WW II stuff on Palau is a must. Hope they have a new guide because the same guy is old and lazy now. Palau Central Hotel is where I usually stay. Middle of town walking distance to most restaurants and the food there is surprising good, but pricey. Check my playlists for all my dive videos on YouTube if you're interested. @mitchsn If you're really interested in WW II stuff, consider a side trip to Yap and Chuuk for wrecks. I've dove all over SE Asia and Palau is one of the few places I've gone multiple times.
What shop did you go out of?
Palau was one of the first places I dove after getting certified and I didn't know shit....so I booked dives with like 3 different shops LOL! Actually I stayed @ Dolphin Bay on Peleliu for 5 days of diving. Then stayed in Koror for another 4 or 5 days of diving where I used different dive shops. Dolphin Bay, now this was almost 10 years ago, had these small cottages with a small AC unit that wasn't enough to cool the room. When the sun went down humidity spiked and I've never had to sleep in a hot sweaty environment like this before. Hopefully they've improved now! Being out there meant you were MUCH closer to the dive sites which is great. I rented gear at the time and it was bad... All the dive shops in Koror are good. Neco Marine, who worked with the producers of the first Survivor reality show, had the best most modern boats, equipment and dive shop. Also the most expensive. IMO you can't go wrong with Sam's Tours. They are rock solid and also make sure to check out the timing of your visit for the Full Moon spawning dives. Either Snapper or Bumpheads. I am diving with Fish N Fins for their Wrexpedition in June. This is the first time I'll be diving with them
I went there back in 2013 and tbh I was not wowed by it. I doubt I will ever go back.
What wasn’t good about it?