Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020 |

# Palau, Indo, Australia, Hawaii??? Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea
sjukich 19:28 UTC 07 Jun 2014 | I've got a lot of great information out of here that have helped me plan 3 or 4 great trips so I'm back again for more help.Hey everyone. First off here's a little background on myself and my wife so you guys can better help us decide. I'm 28, she's 27 and we have done our fair share of traveling in the past few years, Mexico, Hawaii, Belize, Fiji, Costa Rica and parts of the US. We did 3 weeks in Belize in 2012 and it was amazing. We love to scuba dive, eat good food, hike, and do pretty much anything outdoors. We found Belize great because it wasn't too touristy, there were lots of things to do off the beaten path, we got to explore lots of different parts of the country and there was awesome culture.....oh yeah and great diving!!! We did a trip to Fiji and the rainbow reef last year and were blown away by the reefs and sharks there. Hands down the best diving I have ever done. Then there was the trip to Costa Rica this year. We had big plans while we were there.....but they were cut short when I broke my ankle while rafting and had to fly home early for surgery. In fact I write this with the cast still on my ankle. So I'm allowing myself a redo for this years big trip. We will most likely be traveling with another couple and are looking to go in late August. We are trying to decide between Palau, Indo, Australia and a trip back to Oahu/Kauai. This trip might be a bit shorter than some of the others but will still be 10-14 days. We like places that aren't too touristy but do like to stay in nice hotels with great amenities. Outdoor activities and things to do are key, we do like to lounge but not all day. I have my reservations about each of the places on that list above. First off is the cost, 3/4 will cost us about $4000-$5000 just to get there, while Hawaii would be about $1500. I mentioned earlier that I like to have other activities to do besides dive. We love a good dive but I'm not totally sold on going to a place to dive 100% and not do anything else. I know Hawaii is touristy but we have been there numerous times and there are things to do outside diving like hiking and try different eateries and bars. My concern is that if I go to Palau or Indo is that I may miss out on great dives if I don't do a livaboard but if I do a livaboard then I may miss out on other things. Australia sounds cool but it's a huge country and I'm not sure we could swing it in a 10-14 trip. I just want to get this damn cast off and get into some board shorts and swim! Any help would be appreciated, thanks. |
Laszlo 14:34 UTC 08 Jun 2014 | You can easily do great dives in Indonesia without being on a liveaboard. And the best diving there could easily beat diving elsewhere. There is also a lot to do on land. However, Indonesia is also a huge country, quite possibly more time-consuming to get around than AU, so careful planning would be needed to get much out of so little time. | 1
tilos 21:52 UTC 11 Jun 2014 | You don't need to stay on a liveaboard to do fantastic diving in Palau. You just need to base yourself in Koror and choose one of the dive companies. I found diving costs to be very high there (in 2010, we paid $160 for a two-tank dive with equipment rental, using our own dive computers), but the quality was amazing. Do ask how many divers there are to dive masters, we sometimes found only one divemaster to 10 of us, which is a bit crazy given we were beginner divers. Other things to do besides dive in Palau: Kayak the rock islands, take the state boat to Kayangel for relaxation on the pretty lagoon, explore the WWII wreckage on Peleliu (reachable by ferry). Peleliu used to have some dive companies that could access nearby advanced dive spots. You might want to add Cook Islands to your list of places to consider. We just had an incredible trip with snorkeling (on Aitutaki), exploring caves (on Atiu), kayaking (Aitutaki and Rarotonga), and the like. We didn't dive, but I've heard the quality is supposed to be high. | 2