Hey all....
Im planning a dive trip to Palau or Truk....and need some expierences of yours to help make my decisions....
I want to do a Liveaboard....but..the question is....which is best?? I have heard that there are a ton of them out there....and dont know many reputations except Aggressor....
So give me some advise.....will ya.....Im about to kill myself if I dont figure this out....so many options...so little time...
Anyway....appreciate the advice....
NightRaven77
Truk and Palau are two (2) entirely different types of diving so first you have to decide on what type you like most.
Truk is all
"Wreck" diving. There are some beautiful wrecks with lots of history, artifacts, coral and marine life. The dives are
not guided unless you request it, so you're totally on your own to dive when and how you want.
The
guided dives are
"penetration" dives into the engine rooms and other accessable areas.
:warning:
WARNING: They do these penetrations with out the use of a line and reel. At least that's what they did on the Odyssey when I was there in Feb 07. There is no additional charge for
guided dives.
The Odyssey is a very comfortable boat. The food is good, and they supply steel 100's and free nitrox if you're certified. You can get up to 5 dives a day.
Palau on the other hand is mainly
Drift diving and has many plush reefs. It does have some wrecks but when I was there in Feb 03 on the Aggressor, they did not visit any of the wreck sites. Unless you are a hard core wreck diver, you won't miss them. The reefs are
"Spectacular", with lots of
big animals, and various species of coral and marine life.
The Aggressor is a comfortable boat and is very well laid out. The crew is excellent and are
"Experts" at guiding dives and finding you where ever you happen to surface.
All dives on the Aggressor are scheduled and guided. The only other thing the Aggressor crew does that the Odyssey crew does not is share in other ship duties such as cleaning and making the beds and kitchen duties. Yes, even the
Capt is scheduled for
KP a least once.
You also get up to 5 dives a day plus optional
Land Excursions to historical sites.
Either way you can't go wrong. You just have to decide which type of diving you'ld rather do. Since I've done both if I had my choice and could only choose one (1), I would not hesitate to go back to
"Palau". But that's just me.
Oh, and if you choose Palau you should definitely do the
"Rock Island Tour" with
"Sam's Tours" on your last (non diving) day there. This is a
"must do" before you leave. Have Fun!