nwflyboy
Contributor
So...you may have finalized your plans, but I just got back from a trip to Palau a few days ago, so my impressions are quite fresh, and I'd be happy to share any info you need.
We did a week on the Ocean Hunter III and it was great. Very nice accommodations, great food, very helpful/professional staff. 5 dives a day. Glad we did the live aboard - the difference is it takes no more than 5-10 minutes max to get to the dive sites (or back to the boat). I think the trip out for land-based boats could be up to an hour (granted, usually a scenic hour, but probably windy, and no bathroom facilities...). The diving was great, although the viz was not what I had expected (don't know if that's how it always is or just our luck). No real complaints at all about the trip (and we're picky, very spoiled, and prone to complaining). One afternoon we had the option of either yet another dive or a land-trip to Pelilu, which we did (it was optional, most did it but a couple just stayed on the boat and got in one more dive). Vey interesting and worthwhile IMHO. Another day we all skipped a dive and did the Jellyfish Lake snorkel trip (we got there first thing in the morning, first ones there, but at the same time as people from the Aggressor - they were just as aggressive as I would have expected...).
We had the better part of a day to kill on Palau after we got off the boat (waiting for our 2 am departure to Guam). We walked around a bit but to be honest, I didn't find much there that struck me as very compelling (no offense intended - it's a developing country, not a luxury vacation paradise). We just grabbed a relatively cheap motel (the Yoho or some such) which was adequate for our needs (air con, quiet, a shower and a nap) but certainly not posh at all. We had planned to do a day trip to kayak the Rock Islands on our last day (after getting off the boat) but ultimately decided to skip it - we were tired and more in need of a nap and a shower (before our flights out - to Guam then Tokyo overnight). The sea kayak trip was surprisingly spendy ($125 IIRC), and frankly ALL the islands we motored through looked like the "Rock Islands" (we we're told the famous ones in all the aerial photos were off limits to casual tourists - the kayak tours were to more local places). I briefly flirted with the idea of a helicopter tour, but came to my senses even before we asked the price).
I would certainly recommend the Ocean Hunter III to anyone who wanted to dive a lot. 5 dives a day for a week is a lot (I only missed dives when we went to Pelilu and Jellyfish Lake). For a lukewarm diver, of course there's not a whole lot to do on the boat other than dive, eat and relax (well, they do have 2 tiny jacuzzis on the top deck - never saw anyone use them though - we were all wet most of the time so it seemed excessive). Definitely a top quality boat and crew. The diving was pretty amazing, too, of course. We saw pretty much everything on our list. The reef hook experience is, um...interesting.
I'm glad we went now. My sense is that Palau is changing quickly - mass tourism fueled by Chinese visitors seems very much in evidence. The marine environment is clearly still in good shape (soooo many sharks....) but there were some areas where the coral looked wiped out - not sure if that was from a storm or human-caused. But the ocean there is very much a "soup" filled with living things - go while it's still thriving.
Hope some of that helps.
We did a week on the Ocean Hunter III and it was great. Very nice accommodations, great food, very helpful/professional staff. 5 dives a day. Glad we did the live aboard - the difference is it takes no more than 5-10 minutes max to get to the dive sites (or back to the boat). I think the trip out for land-based boats could be up to an hour (granted, usually a scenic hour, but probably windy, and no bathroom facilities...). The diving was great, although the viz was not what I had expected (don't know if that's how it always is or just our luck). No real complaints at all about the trip (and we're picky, very spoiled, and prone to complaining). One afternoon we had the option of either yet another dive or a land-trip to Pelilu, which we did (it was optional, most did it but a couple just stayed on the boat and got in one more dive). Vey interesting and worthwhile IMHO. Another day we all skipped a dive and did the Jellyfish Lake snorkel trip (we got there first thing in the morning, first ones there, but at the same time as people from the Aggressor - they were just as aggressive as I would have expected...).
We had the better part of a day to kill on Palau after we got off the boat (waiting for our 2 am departure to Guam). We walked around a bit but to be honest, I didn't find much there that struck me as very compelling (no offense intended - it's a developing country, not a luxury vacation paradise). We just grabbed a relatively cheap motel (the Yoho or some such) which was adequate for our needs (air con, quiet, a shower and a nap) but certainly not posh at all. We had planned to do a day trip to kayak the Rock Islands on our last day (after getting off the boat) but ultimately decided to skip it - we were tired and more in need of a nap and a shower (before our flights out - to Guam then Tokyo overnight). The sea kayak trip was surprisingly spendy ($125 IIRC), and frankly ALL the islands we motored through looked like the "Rock Islands" (we we're told the famous ones in all the aerial photos were off limits to casual tourists - the kayak tours were to more local places). I briefly flirted with the idea of a helicopter tour, but came to my senses even before we asked the price).
I would certainly recommend the Ocean Hunter III to anyone who wanted to dive a lot. 5 dives a day for a week is a lot (I only missed dives when we went to Pelilu and Jellyfish Lake). For a lukewarm diver, of course there's not a whole lot to do on the boat other than dive, eat and relax (well, they do have 2 tiny jacuzzis on the top deck - never saw anyone use them though - we were all wet most of the time so it seemed excessive). Definitely a top quality boat and crew. The diving was pretty amazing, too, of course. We saw pretty much everything on our list. The reef hook experience is, um...interesting.
I'm glad we went now. My sense is that Palau is changing quickly - mass tourism fueled by Chinese visitors seems very much in evidence. The marine environment is clearly still in good shape (soooo many sharks....) but there were some areas where the coral looked wiped out - not sure if that was from a storm or human-caused. But the ocean there is very much a "soup" filled with living things - go while it's still thriving.
Hope some of that helps.