Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# From Koror downtown motels, is there a good public or pay beach or pools? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Palau
harpua007 13:57 UTC 11 Aug 2012 | Hi All, I am planning for a trip to Palau, based in Koror. I am considering a budget hotel/motel located in the city center that's close to the dive centers and restaurants. I figure I'll be spending most of my time in the water, so why splurge on accommodations. However, I am pretty sure that I will want to take some rest days from diving, where I am wondering if there are free or pay beaches and/or pools? I don't mind to pay an entrance fee. Of course I would want the beach or pool to be relaxing, clean, and well, beautiful. Also, I'd appreciate any recommendations on budget hotels/motels in Koror. I am checking out trip advisor and the old threads on thorn tree, but would appreciate your pointed advice. Many thanks! |
newfie43 23:35 UTC 11 Aug 2012 | When we were in Palau in 2009 you could get a day pass at the Palau Pacific Resort for US$25 per person. The beach there(only a very few in the area) was very nice with very good snorkeling offshore(supposed to be mandarin fish near the rocky area but we had no luck finding them). They have a lovely pool as well and the restaurant had good food, but a bit pricey. If you want relaxing, clean and beautiful this is the place to go. There is also a beach(not the greatest) where the Riptide Bar & Grill is on Malakal Island where you could hang out and snorkel -they charged a fee of US$5 but it is waived if you eat at the Grill. We stayed at Lehn's Motel(I posted a review on tripadvisor) - a basic but clean place. We had a studio room with a small kitchen area(sparse supplies but adequate) and great A/C. The area is residential, fairly quiet and about 5-10 minutes walk to the main area of town. Management was quick to reply to e-mails and offered great service. You can probably find a place a bit cheaper but we liked the self catering feature, although we found eating out was fairly inexpensive. We are snorkelers only and did a couple of tours with Sam`s - very expensive but the best snorkeling we had done up to then. As budget travelers we really splurged out on this trip but it was well worth it!! | 1
newfie43 23:44 UTC 11 Aug 2012 | I just had another thought - you might try posting this on the diving and snorkeling forum - maybe some of the divers who have been to Palau can give you some feedback. | 2
twocats 05:09 UTC 24 Aug 2012 | Newfie is right, the only nice beach is the one at the PPR. And remember that "nice" is a relative description. Personally, I didn't think it was anything special. I went there in January of this year. Simply drove up in my rental, parked and walked in. Didn't pay anything. Nobody asked me to pay anything either. I did get a drink from the beach bar. That's it. | 3
kenko 01:40 UTC 29 Aug 2012 | Three good-value budget places are: Lehns's Motel (from $45); The Guest Lodge; and the Antelope Marine Club which has single rooms called "Clubhouse Singles" from $25 ( also has good reviews) Cheers! | 4
melbdiver 03:26 UTC 30 Aug 2012 | I went there for a dive trip in April and stayed at Sea Passion as it was close to Sam's Tours who I did my diving with. Sea Passions was nice but doesn't really fall into a budget category I did it as a package 7 nights 10 dives $1300 USD. The resort does have a pool and a small beach but you wouldn't go to either if you weren't staying there. Sam's was good to dive with and apart from our poorly planned night dive all the other dives were excellent. The dive guides we mostly had were great and really knew the dive sites well. The diving is fantastic. I don't know about you but I didn't want any rest days, after my first dive I just wanted back in the water. Jellyfish lake makes a good non diving day as it is a snorkel only lake full of non stinging jellyfish. The pace of things at Sam's is fairly relaxed so you don't feel too tired after a full day of dives. The only rest day I had was the day before a flew home. Edited by: melbdiver | 5