Trip report only - Palau April 2011

I’ll preface this by saying that I have never read any guidebook on Palau, only what I have read on TT.

I took the Continental flight from Manila, departing 9.55pm and arriving to Koror at 1.30am. At Manila airport, they go through your hand luggage with a “finetooth comb” This is in the preboarding area, not the general XRay area. Probably because it is a US airline.

I arrived with no prebooked accommodation, but there are some hotels that meet guests on arrival so I went with the guy from the Penthouse Hotel. Turned out to be an excellent choice. They charge $10 for the transfer and have a large modern van. The hotel is very well situated in the centre of Koror and just off the main road. The WCTC shopping mall is just across the main road. The room was excellent. Nicely furnished, very quiet aircon, bath, kitchen sink, hair dryer, cable TV. Cost $67 plus $10 tax. $50 late checkout if you are catching the 2.35am flight to Guam. The reviews on Trip Advisor are all true. They even have a small weights room and treadmill. The restaurant downstairs is good and serves exotics such as taro leaf soup, coconut crab, and fruit bat. If the Penthouse is above your budget then The Palau Hotel is right in front. I got the feeling that the hotels in Palau are all pretty much of a fairly high standard. Places like Lehns are a bit of a walk (maybe 10 minutes) to the centre.

At the airport there is an ATM. It dispenses denominations of $20. I got $1000USD out no problem. There are also ATMs in town ($20 denominations dispensed). For flight departures you pay $20 for departure tax and $15 environmental fee.

For eating I tried Suryothai and The Taj. Both are good. Suryothai is budget priced. Chicken curry costs about $8.95. They do a great ice coffee for $2.50. The Taj is about twice the price. The Lassi is $5. Food is excellent, and there are a lot of customers there. Both restaurants are very close to each other and on the main road.

I did 2 day trips out of Koror. The first to the Rock Islands which included Milky Way, Jellyfish Lake, the Natural Arch, and several snorkelling locations, one of which was the Giant Clams. Cost $120 with Sam’s Tours, and $35 permit for Jellyfish Lake. It was a great day trip. Lunch is provided and they pickup and return you to your hotel. Bring sunscreen for the sea snorkelling.

The second day trip was to Peleliu island with The Rock Island Trip Company. A fast speedboat ride of 45 minutes to the island and a tour in a van visiting all of the war sites on the island. It is a good way to see the place without having to overnight. Cost $120, lunch included.

There are no longer any planes flying to Peleliu or Angaur. The State boat still runs, though I never took it. It leaves Koror to Peleliu on Mon(12pm), Wed(12pm), Fri(2pm), Sunday(2pm). Returning from Peleliu on Wed (7.30am), Thurs (10am), and Sun (2pm). Takes 3 hours. To Kayangel the State Boat departs Fri (9am) and Sun (9am). Return trips are the same day at 1pm. Takes 3 hours. Trips only run during the Government Payday Week. To Angaur, the boat departs Koror at 12pm Fri. And returns 10am Thurs and 12pm Sun. Takes 3 hours.

To see Babeldaob, I hired a car. The reception at the Penthouse Hotel called up CMC Rentals and a car was delivered to the hotel within half an hour. Cost $35 plus $10 insurance. You keep the car for 24 hours. Traffic around the island is extremely light, and the road is good. Not much to see but in the north are the Badrulchau Stone Monoliths, and there is the Congress building in the west. Fuel cost me $22 at $4.69 per gallon, for a 180km trip.

In total I spent 6 days in Palau, which included 2 days when I didn’t do any tour or sightseeing. Unless you are diving you don’t need long to see all the sights. 4 days is enough to see the Rock Islands, Peleliu, the Museum, and Babeldaob. Longer if you want to go to Kayangel or Angaur. Overall I spent $1060USD for my 6 days in Palau, not including flights in and out.

4 days. My. I spent 3 years and there are things I didn't see. Glad you enjoyed your trip however and I had forgotten that the planes were down. You definitely didn't settle into island time.

Edited by: 5Waldos

Wow, I stayed for two weeks and felt like I scarcely scratched the surface. Then again, after paying $2000 for the ticket, I felt like I needed to get as much out of Palau as possible! I do have to say you missed out by not staying on Peleliu. The locals are so friendly there, and we enjoyed watching the community basketball games (the Over 40 + obese kids league), playing with the kids, and chatting with locals. And lazy days on Kayangel with the beautiful beaches to yourself, and friendly residents offering bananas and drinking coconuts. But it is good to know that Peleliu day trip tours are available.

You did well by finding Penthouse--that is where the best local food is in Koror. But nothing beat the delicious meals that Mayumi cooked up in Peliliu. Her crab dishes are amazing.

Now I want to go back!