Lonely Planet™ · Thorn Tree Forum · 2020

Driving to the North of Babeldaob

Country forums / Pacific Islands & Papua New Guinea / Palau

Hi there,
My husband and I are travelling to Palau next January and we have 2 and a half days to explore the land after the liveaboard diving from Koror.
We'd like to hire a car and drive to the Northern tip of Babeldaob. But is that possible? I read in a holiday blog from a few years ago that the road to the north shore of Babeldaob is/was blocked somewhere? We'd like to know for sure as we would like to stay overnight in the North then and would like to book some accomodation there.
Considering bad road conditions, if possible to get there, how long does the drive take to get to the North shore from downtown Koror?
And is there a rental car office that rents out small jeeps or 4x4?

Thanks heaps in advance for all your advice!
Warm regards,
Katrien Vandevelde
Belgium

If you don't get a response, let me know and I'll ask a friend on facebook who lives in Koror.

One question--if you have such a short time on land, why spend it on Babeldaob? Why not head to Peliliu instead and see the WWII wreckage? Or if you prefer beaches, head to Carp for beach lounging (given there isn't enough time for Kayangel).

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Hi Tilos,
Thanks!
I got a reply on Tripadvisor and it seems the road is clear and we can get all the way to the north by car. But so now I'm actually looking for a cheap but reliable car hire company in Koror...?

I guess we prefer Babeldaob as we like to explore the nature like the waterfalls, and then relax at one of the beach-guesthouses. We will have been on a liveaboard for 10 days then, so we think it would be nice to go look around on the "mainland" after that. It would also be quicker and more convenient than to take a boat again (with all our luggage and diving gear) to spend one night on one of the islands, as the third evening (night) our flight is waiting for us.
Warm regards,
Katrien

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It sounds like you have a good plan then! Unfortunately, I didn't rent a car during my trip, so I don't have any recommendations.

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Hi tilos,

Do you think your facebook friend who lives in Koror could recommend a (cheap but reliable) rental car company?
When I'm sure of the rental car booking, I can also make reservations for the accommodation up North.
Warm regards,
Katrien

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I sent her a message and will let you know if I hear back.

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Excellent, thanks!

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Okay, Adora says to first check National Rent-a-car. There is one other place that she is going to get the name of--Pacific something.

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Super! Do these companies have a contact e-mail address or website ?

Warm regards,
Katrien

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It looks like National and Pacific are one and the same. Here is the facebook page for National/Pacific car rental: https://www.facebook.com/PacificCarRentalNationalCarRental

Here is the bare-bones website: http://www.nationalcarpacific.com/Pages/Palau.aspx?pageImageId=33&pid=28

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Thank you so much for this! Will be contacting them right away!

Warm regards,
Katrien

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I have numbers for two places my friend recommends:

Pacific car rental: (680) 488-6286
IA Rent-a-Car: (680) 488-1113 or 488-4182.

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Thanks so much! Couldn't ask for more. I'll contact the with Skype.
Warm regards,
Katrien

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