With the recently introduced Australia-Palau Connector flights on Air Niugini, it’s never been faster – cheaper – or easier – to get to Palau. Here’s everything you need to know.
Australia-Palau Connector flights depart Brisbane every Tuesday, flying directly to Palau with a short stop in Port Moresby, and a total flight time of around eight hours.
Palau by Liveaboard
There is a decent choice of liveaboards in Palau, ranging in pricing, and style, from the traditional Phinisi-style Palau Siren to the luxurious Black Pearl. While the Tuesday-to-Tuesday turnaround doesn’t always work for these, if you have two weeks to spare, it’s worth looking into a combination of land-based and liveaboard diving.
For a 7-day liveaboard trip that works with these flights – check out the September and October trips on Ocean Hunter III – starting from only USD 2900 pp twin share. Ocean Hunter will pick you up on arrival Tuesday evening, take you straight to the boat and you’ll be diving the next morning – 4-5 dives for six days – before flying back to Brisbane the following Tuesday evening.
Land-based Dive/Stay Packages
The cheaper way to dive Palau is to start with a prepaid Dive/Stay package and add to it if necessary. Dive centres in Palau including Neco Marine, Sams Tours and Fish n Fins offer packages with accommodation, with transfers included – and as the diving here can be challenging, packages normally include free Nitrox. Choose from a broad selection of hotels, from Budget to Luxury. If you are travelling solo, you may need to pay a single supplement.
When to Dive Palau
The visibility is great year-round, but whilst it is often 40m+ (aside from the wreck dives) during July to Sept it can sometimes drop to around 15-20m. Expect the best conditions between November and April.
What can you expect to see?
If you like ‘Big Stuff’, Palau is the capital of big stuff. These fiercely protected waters are home to a healthy population of pelagic marine life – sharks, mantas – and lots of exciting sexy underwater events. It’s one of the best places in the world to dive with sharks, mantas and big schools of pelagic fish including barracuda, snapper and bump head parrot fish.
There are exciting marine events throughout the year that happen in the lead up to full moon and new moon weeks, including mass snapper, bumphead parrot fish, Moorish idol and orange spine unicorn fish spawning aggregations. We can help you time your trip to witness these unique events.
But wait! There’s more! For lovers of rust, Palau’s lagoons (and jungles) are littered with WWII wreckage, including a few, largely intact planes. Sharks, sharks and more sharks, natural wonders like Jellyfish Lake and the magnificent Chandelier Cave.
Talk to Diveplanit Travel’s experts to plan your dive trip to Palau. Diveplanit.com Email: enquire@diveplanit.com Phone: AU: 1800 607 913 NZ: 0800 607 913
Dive Clubs: we offer the best group rates for dive resorts and liveaboards. Contact groups manager jess@diveplanit.com for more information.
