My first trip report on this forum so here goes.
Booking: We booked our flights and accommodation 2.5 weeks prior to our trip. We decided to fly on SQ from Australia to Manila via Singapore then UA from Manila to Koror. We could have gone with Korean Air via Seoul or UA via Guam but we wanted to stop by Manila on the return leg therefore we opted for the SQ/UA combo. It took us a total of 26 hours travel time due to the stopover at Changi and NAIA but it was all worth it. We booked direct with Fish n Fins and took their 7 night package staying at the Palau Royal.
Accommodation: FnF tried to steer me towards Sea Passion but I insisted on Palau Royal. The resort is part of a Japanese hotel chain and you get the feeling that the hotel is run and managed very well. The rooms are in great condition and well-kept. Service at their restaurant can be slow if ordering a la carte during dinner and again their menu feels limited but you can always go for the dinner buffet. The food caters mainly to Japanese tastes so the breakfast buffet really gets boring because we had bacon and sausage constantly. We didn't feel like going for the fish tempura so early in the morning.
Diving: During 5 days of diving, we did Blue Holes, Blue Corner 3 times, German Channel, Ulong channel, Siaes corner twice, Siaes tunnel, Iro wreck, and Turtle wall. The currents were not ripping when we went diving but we did see sharks on every dive and they were more in number at the Blue Corner. Water temp is 30C on average so we chose to dive without wetsuits and viz is variable, maybe 15 to 20 meters on most sites. Ulong channel was our favourite because we enjoyed the dive even without any current. We tried to set out early from the shop but the current died down as we got there. We saw a couple of sharks at the mouth of the channel and then enjoyed the corals and reef life as we swam through the channel. Saw a lot of large groupers and fortunately for us it wasn't Triggerfish spawning time otherwise it would have been really interesting says our guide. The most memorable dive in this trip would be in the German Channel. We were nearing 60 minutes and still no Manta sighting so the group got split into 2. The first group stayed near the sandy bottom just poking about while we were in the 2nd group staying at around 12 meters since we were almost nearing the end of the dive. As one of the guides was preparing to unhook her SMB a small Manta came into view in the distance so we all watched and observed. Suddenly a second and much much bigger Manta swooped in near the sandy bottom passing by the first group then it flared its wings and appeared to head straight up for us at around 10 meters. My wife and I knew that Mantas are harmless so we just froze as it really got close then it turned and swam away from us. The sheer size and beauty of that Manta left us really happy with that experience.
Dive Ops: Overall experience with FnF was great. You get picked up from your hotel to the shop were you setup your gear. The speedboat will take between 30 to 60 minutes depending in which dive sites you go for. We normally had 10 to 11 divers with 2 guides on each trip. We were initially apprehensive with the size but things went well as we did our first dive and did not cause any issues for us. Lunch is at an isolated beach before going back to the shop or before an optional 3rd dive. Some users on this forum prefer liveaboards when diving in Palau due to the distance to the divesites but in our experience we found this not to be a problem at all. The trip to the dive sites is very scenic, through the beautiful rock islands, and being able to rest and sleep in a proper bed at the end of the day is priceless.
Palau would definitely be on the top of my list if I were to do a dive over again. We did Sipadan last November and absolutely loved it but we found that Palau has it all, reef life, schools of jacks/snappers to sharks, turtles and mantas. I may have put in more detail in this report than I originally intended to but I wrote this while we were sitting at the hotel waiting for our flight out of Koror. Anyway, I have to end this here as we head out to Manila for a couple of days to see friends and family before going home to Australia. Can't say I'm excited to fly into NAIA which is a bombed-out ruin compared to modern airports (I am from the PI so I get to call it a bombed-out ruin as many times as I want) but then I can't wait to get to Manila and gorge on ripe yellow mangoes which should still be in season.
Booking: We booked our flights and accommodation 2.5 weeks prior to our trip. We decided to fly on SQ from Australia to Manila via Singapore then UA from Manila to Koror. We could have gone with Korean Air via Seoul or UA via Guam but we wanted to stop by Manila on the return leg therefore we opted for the SQ/UA combo. It took us a total of 26 hours travel time due to the stopover at Changi and NAIA but it was all worth it. We booked direct with Fish n Fins and took their 7 night package staying at the Palau Royal.
Accommodation: FnF tried to steer me towards Sea Passion but I insisted on Palau Royal. The resort is part of a Japanese hotel chain and you get the feeling that the hotel is run and managed very well. The rooms are in great condition and well-kept. Service at their restaurant can be slow if ordering a la carte during dinner and again their menu feels limited but you can always go for the dinner buffet. The food caters mainly to Japanese tastes so the breakfast buffet really gets boring because we had bacon and sausage constantly. We didn't feel like going for the fish tempura so early in the morning.
Diving: During 5 days of diving, we did Blue Holes, Blue Corner 3 times, German Channel, Ulong channel, Siaes corner twice, Siaes tunnel, Iro wreck, and Turtle wall. The currents were not ripping when we went diving but we did see sharks on every dive and they were more in number at the Blue Corner. Water temp is 30C on average so we chose to dive without wetsuits and viz is variable, maybe 15 to 20 meters on most sites. Ulong channel was our favourite because we enjoyed the dive even without any current. We tried to set out early from the shop but the current died down as we got there. We saw a couple of sharks at the mouth of the channel and then enjoyed the corals and reef life as we swam through the channel. Saw a lot of large groupers and fortunately for us it wasn't Triggerfish spawning time otherwise it would have been really interesting says our guide. The most memorable dive in this trip would be in the German Channel. We were nearing 60 minutes and still no Manta sighting so the group got split into 2. The first group stayed near the sandy bottom just poking about while we were in the 2nd group staying at around 12 meters since we were almost nearing the end of the dive. As one of the guides was preparing to unhook her SMB a small Manta came into view in the distance so we all watched and observed. Suddenly a second and much much bigger Manta swooped in near the sandy bottom passing by the first group then it flared its wings and appeared to head straight up for us at around 10 meters. My wife and I knew that Mantas are harmless so we just froze as it really got close then it turned and swam away from us. The sheer size and beauty of that Manta left us really happy with that experience.
Dive Ops: Overall experience with FnF was great. You get picked up from your hotel to the shop were you setup your gear. The speedboat will take between 30 to 60 minutes depending in which dive sites you go for. We normally had 10 to 11 divers with 2 guides on each trip. We were initially apprehensive with the size but things went well as we did our first dive and did not cause any issues for us. Lunch is at an isolated beach before going back to the shop or before an optional 3rd dive. Some users on this forum prefer liveaboards when diving in Palau due to the distance to the divesites but in our experience we found this not to be a problem at all. The trip to the dive sites is very scenic, through the beautiful rock islands, and being able to rest and sleep in a proper bed at the end of the day is priceless.
Palau would definitely be on the top of my list if I were to do a dive over again. We did Sipadan last November and absolutely loved it but we found that Palau has it all, reef life, schools of jacks/snappers to sharks, turtles and mantas. I may have put in more detail in this report than I originally intended to but I wrote this while we were sitting at the hotel waiting for our flight out of Koror. Anyway, I have to end this here as we head out to Manila for a couple of days to see friends and family before going home to Australia. Can't say I'm excited to fly into NAIA which is a bombed-out ruin compared to modern airports (I am from the PI so I get to call it a bombed-out ruin as many times as I want) but then I can't wait to get to Manila and gorge on ripe yellow mangoes which should still be in season.
