Maldives or Palau ?

I want to take my girlfriend on a holiday for 2 weeks and I am undecided whether for us to go to the Maldives or Palau. This trip is more for her than me.

The things we are looking for is great snorkelling (she is scared of scuba diving) and other water activities, beautiful beaches to relax on (preferably things available on the beach like massage, alcoholic beverages and food), easy access to marine wildlife, hassle free transportation to the sights and good quality food.

If anyone has been to both places or is quite knowledgable about what both places have to offer, please give me recommendations. We both would be departing from Thailand.

Thanks,
Michael and Noi

While I myself would definitely find Palau both more interesting and more scenic, it sounds like the Maldives would definitely be the perfect choice for you, as they specialize in offering the very things you want: nice resorts, watersports and lots of relaxing on beautiful beaches.

Just hope you have the right budget - neither country is cheap, but Maldives resorts can get really pricey.

I have to say Laszio is absolutely right. Palau is amazing but it seems that your gf would enjoy maldives more.

But if you are still thinking about Palau, you can look into Palau Pacific Resort and Carp Island Resort. You will find massages on the beach at Carp and alcoholic beverages served on the beach at PPR. Neither are very posh like the Maldives resorts though. Snorkeling around Carp is really nice and they both have beaches but the PPR one is artificial and the Carp one shrinks when the tide is high. Not sure what type of food you are looking for...western or japanese, Palau definitely has better Japanese food. You can find lobster and barracuda sashimi. Also if you've not eaten a coconut crab, it's worth a trip to Palau!

If money is no object, then maybe you'd be interested in Soneva Fushi in Maldives. Think your gf will love it, especially the spa!

I have to agree with Lazslo on what might be the most appropriate for you, but I would add something else: depending on your choice on the Maldives you could end up in a resort filled with couples who are supposed to be happy but feel a bit not so much. Moreover, most of the resorts are oriented to clients from specific country so you might end up surrounded by only, let's say Germans.

Moreover, the great snorkeling sites in the Maldives are in the South, or at least we were told so, and getting there is a bit expensive and time consuming. And we found them a bit boring - you immediately remember all creatures that might be seen. Still, it is very beautiful. But if you are really into the marine diversity, I think Palau is better.

All in all, both places are amazing and I wish anyone to visit them.

I've just returned from both places. Both have pro's and con's, I think it depends what the most important thing you want to get out of your trip is, any questions just ask :-)