Accomodation in Palau with diving AND beach

Hey guys,

We'll be staying in Palau for about 5 days in January. I'm planning to do some diving, my girlfriend is looking for a place with a nice beach. Obviously, PPR is too expensive. Do you know a hotel/resort with direct access to the beach and the opportunity to dive? I thought Dolphin Bay Resort on Peleliu to be one, but I read there's supposed to be no proper beach. Maybe CarpIsland Resort? Flipping through the former posts here I just couldn't find a hotel that has both - nice beach and diving.

Thanks a lot in advance for any advice,

Andreas

Hi Andreas,

I think Carp Island will make both you and your girlfriend happy. They offer daily dive trips and have some nice bungalows right on the beach. Rates are reasonable and they provide transportation from their dock in Koror.

Papa Mike

I don't know what your budget is but you could have a look at the Carolines Resort. They offer exchange privileges with the PPR so your girlfriend can hang out on their lovely beach while you head off to dive. The dive boats leave from the jetty on the beach. There is also great snorkeling off the beach as well.

Carolina Resort was going to be my suggestion, too. The snorkeling off Carp is not great and where it is decent, under the jetty, there are lion fish and stone fish. Carolinas is great and that allows you to hang out at the PPR. One of my favorite things is to snorkel there at about 7am- the water is often dead still, nobody is around, and if the motion is just right you get rainbow diamonds over the water- magical! There is also a pool, a pool side bar, a decent outdoor menu, and indoor space for the afternoon downpour.

Although you might also consider Sam's for diving. They'll pick you up, I think, or the taxi isn't a lot. The beaches on Peliliu are often runover by jelly fish, North Beach is great but no diving, and none of the other hotels in Koror have beaches. But dear girlfriend really must go out at least once snorkeling while you dive- on the day that you go to soft coral arch and jelly fish lake. She will regret forever if she misses the lake.

The Palau Royal Resort also has an artificial beach. http://www.palau-royal-resort.com/ (Dive operations will pick you up.)

Day passes are available to the PRR as well as the PPR, last I checked it was $20 and $25 respectively. I used one at the PPR, loved how they gave me two big fluffy towels.

I would recommend Peleliu only if you are interested in the battle or to have closer access to certain dive sites.

Have you seen the beach at the Royal?

No, you can see a photo via the link I posted. (Of course, in reality it could look nothing like that.)

Hey,

thanks a lot for all of your information. I just sent a requiry to Carolines to ask for rates and how access to PPR works nowadays. Still thinking about CarpIsland.
Also there's a new hotel I found right across from Palau Royal Ressort, Sea Passion Hotel - http://www.palauseapassion.com - with artificial beach, looks nice, and is not too expensive. Seems to be right in the Rock Islands, I would love to go kayaking there every day. Has anybody of you heard of that hotel before? Is Palau Royal Resort actually right in the Rock Islands?
Also, I just got an offer from SamsTours for a flight Manila-Koror-Manila (one person) and 2 days of diving for one person and the Rock Island Tour for 2 persons (including permits and stuff) for 1.062$, without accomodation. Does that sound good to you all? Would be a lot easier than finding your way around I guess. It's funny, that Palau trip seems to get the most organized one I've ever done, but still, I can't wait to get there, the more you read around the more you want to be there.

Thanks a lot to you all for your help,

Andreas

Good find on the artificial beach at Sea Passion. It is located just at the beginning of Malakal. Palau Royal Resort is in Malakal.

There are rock islands surrounding the main Koror area. However, neither is in the Rock Islands which generally refers to the area that you would take a boat out to. (Though some kayaking in the rock islands tours go to the rock islands that are accessible off Koror.) Palau Royal Resort is sort of surrounded by an industrial area though you have the nice view across the channel. I stayed nearby and didn't mind the area.

I would go to Tripadvisor and read the reviews of Sea Passion and Carp Island. My inclination, not having been to Carp Island but having spent about 10 days camping in the Rock Islands and 10 days based in Koror is to go with Carp. To be surrounded by nothing but water, horizon, and more rock islands is magnificent. Maybe split your time between resorts.

I would compare Sam's to doing it yourself. All you have to do is book a flight at Continental. Add $70 for Rock Island/Jellyfish Lake permits for two (you can buy them at any dive shop).

The Royals beach is on the harbor- it wasn't terribly appealing looking. Don't know about the Sea Passion- I would assume it was build in the old Peliliu Club area. The pictures look appealing but that means nothing. It is next to my favorite club but that means nothing either. It is in an area where I have seen a lot of kayakers launching. Koror is pretty small so finding your way around most places is not a problem.

As an idea- you might search around diving offers since at times in the past they have offered great packages which included the PPR- shockingly low prices. Worth a look anyway.

I'm truly thankful for all your information and just checking out all your advices

@ 5waldos: PPR-deals sound really good, I will go after that, that resort looks like a dream to me. And I will definitely get my girlfriend to do some snorkelling, as you said, in such a place like Palau it's a must. Where would you recommend going snorkelling apart from PPR? I saw some nice offers from Sams Tours, as Kayak Tours including snorkelling and of course the RockIslands.

Thanks and greetings,

Andreas

The other thing I like about the PPR is that they have a commitment to hire Palauans. It is the only hotel in Palau which has such a commitment.

It is all about the rockislands in Palau. As for snorkeling, the best is by boat, same trips as for diving. Jelly Fish Lake, Clam City, and Soft Coral Arch are all wonderful places for snorkeling. Almost any of the dive trips are great. If you are going diving multiple times, check with the group and ask them which is the best for snorkeling.

We did the Planet Blue Kayak tour to Mandarin Fish Lake and can highly recommend it. They take you out into the Rock Islands by boat and you kayak from there - seeing mandarin fish was a real highlight for me. We went for the snorkeling and were blown away by spots like the Big Drop Off, the German Channel (what a ride!) and the Cemetery. Almost anywhere we went was superior to anything we had done before. This was supposed to be our last big trip(oldies) but we are again looking into how we can get back to Palau! How I envy you!

Mandarin Fish Lake- that is a new one to me. I now have to go and look up Mandarin fish cause I've never heard of them.

Yikes- did you really see these Mandarin Fish? I lived in Micronesia for 4 years, snorkeled at least weekly, dived a fair amount, and have never seen such a thing. Was Mandarin Fish lake far from Koror?

5Waldos - I'm not sure where it is exactly, but we were taken by boat to Risong Bay and then kayaked there, stopping at Shark Bay(baby sharks hang out here), then Lee Marvin Beach, another lake like bay with the most beautiful, clear water I've seen and then finally Mandarin Fish Lake. I was able to get some photos of the beautiful mandarin fish. The boat picked us up here so we didn't paddle back - it didn't seem to take too long to get back to the dock. I first read about the lake in an article in Islands Magazine - definitely made me want to put it on my list of "must do's" in Palau. Apparently, you can also see these fish by the dock at Sam's. Now you have another reason to return!

Wow, that Mandarin Fish lake sounds great, I just googled an image, it just looks surreal. We will definitely do that KayakTour, thanks!
Well, as for our booking. We left the idea of actually having a nice place with beach and good diving opportunity for a decent price and as suggested, we will get a day pass to PPR (thanks 5Waldos) and have a nice hotel without beach, not too expensive, in Koror. Rose Garden Resort looks really nice, seems to have a great view and is 'only' 132$ a night, including breakfast. It has good reviews in TripAdvisor (in contrast to CarpIsland, which surprisingly doesn't get good ratings)
Does anybody of you know Rose Garden Resort?

Thanks,
Andreas

Hi Andreas,

I have viewed Rose Garden Resort and I can tell you that it is quite nice, authentic feel and native bamboo cottages. It was under construction when I visited but that was back in 2006. There is an onsite restaurant and is located near restaurants and stores on a hill just over the causeway from Koror on Ngerekebesang Island. I am sure you will enjoy the place.

Papa Mike

This is convincing me that I have to go back and see what is going on in Koror. All these new places! These must be "new" fish if they are around so much- I never heard of the things back in the day.