Live Aboard v. Land Based Diving in Palau

[spongemomsquaredance]

I am going diving in Palau in December 2009 and am trying to decide Ocean Hunter III or land based diving. Does anyone have any guidance?

[DiverLS]

It depends on how much you want to dive. It also depends on a S/O. If you are by yourself and want to dive, dive, dive and then more diving, I'd do the boat. If you want to see something besides a boat for 7 days or so, then the land based diving will do.

[robint]

ditto......... liveaboard is the way to go if you are there to dive dive dive. Other than diving, you just hang out topside on the boat talking about diving. :D It is very relaxing and waking up with a view of the Rock Islands....... ahhh, doesn't get much better than that! Plus we had the ocean breeze constantly so it was nice. We spent the one day on Koror after our liveaboard and it was dusty and muggy and hot. No breeze and no view.

With land-based you are going to only get in 2 dives per day, 9am-3pm or so (since boat rides out to dive sites is so far). The the rest of day is free. Not all that much to do topside in Koror though IMHO. There are a few little shops, a few restaurants, but that is about it. Friends who were on the liveaboard with us stayed on Koror for a few days afterwards and did rent a car and drive up to some waterfalls and such on another island and it was quite an adventure! They had fun doing it but that was it.

So my vote is definitely the liveaboard!

[spongemomsquaredance]

Thanks! You were definitely helpful! Live Aboard was my inclination but I ran across an article where the author was arguing that the live aboard didn't take you anywhere you couldn't go landbased so why pay the extra money. Sounds like live aboard is the way to go! Thanks for your help.

[djanni]

Thanks! You were definitely helpful! Live Aboard was my inclination but I ran across an article where the author was arguing that the live aboard didn't take you anywhere you couldn't go landbased so why pay the extra money. Sounds like live aboard is the way to go! Thanks for your help.

Never been to Palau so can't specifically say, but we have done several live-aboards and they typically take you places where the day boats seldom, if ever, go. I've been on live-abard trips where you never see a day boat.

On live-aboards, the dives per day range from 4 to 6 but you dive when you want to dive. Sometimes an inland outing is included for those who want it but as the others have said, live-aboards are all about diving, eating and then resting.

[mjh]

We dove with Ocean Hunter folks and had a great time. Without a doubt we will go again in the next couple of yrs. This time we want to try their smallest boat, the one that only takes 6. There is a trip report, gallery and MultiMedia show at our site.

[Scared Silly]

In many cases (not just in Palau), the live-a-boards do not go anywhere different than the land based dive ops. The difference is when the live-a-board goes and when the land-based ops go. Also how long of a ride it is to the dive site.

As such, you can get in more dives on a particular site or go to a site rarely visited land based ops because of the distance.

[Kevrumbo]

On a Palau liveaboard, you're usually the first ones at the prime dive sites like Blue Corner, Big Drop-off, Peleliu Wall etc @ 8am; the land based boats don't start arriving until 9-10am. . .

[vladimir]

It is very relaxing and waking up with a view of the Rock Islands....... ahhh, doesn't get much better than that! Plus we had the ocean breeze constantly so it was nice.Yes, one thing the land-based dive operator can't give you is that sense of solitude and separation from civilization. Not counting the other 20 divers, of course.
We spent the one day on Koror after our liveaboard and it was dusty and muggy and hot. No breeze and no view.There is a hammock stretched between two palm trees at the shore of the Palau Pacific resort that has a lovely view and a lovely breeze.


So my vote is definitely the liveaboard!Agree. And the Palau Pacific for any dead time before or afterward.

[BigBothersom]

I love liveaboards. Last year I spent a week on the Odyssey diving Chuuk (Truk Lagoon) and it was amazing.
A couple of weeks ago my wife and I went to Palau and stayed at PPR (Palau Pacific Resort) as she is not a diver.
I'd do it again. I did all my diving with Neco Marine. They were fantastic. There were several days when we did 3 dives per day, so suggesting its just a 2 dive day is wrong.
Three dives in Palau fighting the currents is plenty. All my dives in Chuuk were off the back of the actual liveaboard. All the divers on Palau liveaboards seemed to be diving from smaller boats/tenders. My longest trip from the dock was 45 minutes. The covered boat had two 200HP outboards and was very fast. They always provided an amazing lunch. Try the bento boxes. They are great.
I'm not sure I could do 5 dives a day in Palau on my favorite spots like Blue Corner and German Chanel. Even with a reef hook its fairly physical diving compared to some places.
In short, when I go back to Palau I'll stay at the PPR again. In Chuck I'll do the liveaboard.
And for you divers who want to make you displeased non-diver wives happy, the PPR is great, and they have a spa.

[Tim Ingersoll]

If you are looking to combine the liveaboard experience with a more personalized approach I can highly reccommend the Eclipse. Best dive/tour experience I have ever had. Sam's Tours: Palau Diving Micronesia Island Hopping (http://www.samstours.com/liveaboards.html)

[farsidefan1]

Some friends pf mine just got back from a trip on the Ocean Hunter III. They had a spectacular time. Not crowded at all. There were 6 of them. Made me want to cry that I didn't join them.

[jdfmail]

Looking into a few of these boats I see that they are way over my budget. $3000+ for 7 days. I'm sure that they are worthy, but, are there any budget option when diving in Palau? Also see landbased for $150 for 2 dives. WOW that's expensive coming from SEA where 2 dives are less than half of that maybe even 30%.

I really would love to dive here next year, how can I do it on a budget? Thanks for any help!

[Bubble Junky]

The day boats all seem to head to the same sites at the same time. On a liveaboard you get to do a pre-breakfast wake up dive at Blue Corner with no other boat around, then later, when you go out for your second dive of the day to a different site, you can see the masses gathering at Blue Corner and you'll be glad you did the liveaboard.


I really would love to dive here next year, how can I do it on a budget? Thanks for any help!

The Expedition fleet liveabords are a bit cheaper than the rest, I believe.

[robint]

Looking into a few of these boats I see that they are way over my budget. $3000+ for 7 days. I'm sure that they are worthy, but, are there any budget option when diving in Palau? Also see landbased for $150 for 2 dives. WOW that's expensive coming from SEA where 2 dives are less than half of that maybe even 30%.

I really would love to dive here next year, how can I do it on a budget? Thanks for any help!

I agree with you......... HOWEVER, Palau diving is worth it. I would NOT do land-based because of the cost. When you can do a liveaboard with 4-5 dives per day for 6 days, the cost per dive is much less! And much more relaxing, too, as you aren't spending half your day on those long boat rides!
If you do land-based you have to add in cost of food and transportation (taxis) so it really isn't that much cheaper than a liveaboard regardless.
The Expedition Fleet boat, Big Blue Explorer, is less expensive than the Aggressor or Ocean Hunter boats. Check into it and see if you can afford it. If you want to go to Palau, this is the way to do it!

jdfmail, if you are living and diving in SE Asia already, Palau may not be as big a deal to you as it is for us back in US. I am sure you would love it, but you may not see anything you don't already see at other SEA locations. The big thing for us is that in Palau we can see tons of sharks and also see mantas and tons of tropicals and dramatic walls and small creatures and WWII wrecks - all in one week. Back in Caribbean, we either see lots of big stuff or lots of small stuff or wrecks, but rarely ALL of them in the same dive location. Palau has all the best of the Pacific....so we are able to see more in one week.

robin:D

[Riger]

All the above points are valid. I am in favour of Liveaboards for another reason too and that is the people you meet and make friends with. We (wifey & I) have made very good friends on both of our liveaboards. I don't think the resort atmosphere quite lends itself to that in the same way.

Best Regards
Richard