What about Palau ?

Hi there,

I am seriously thinking to add Palau to my list. However I am not sure for how many days.

I am not an underwater person to do swimming, diving, snorkeling etc etc. Except spending some time on beaches I am a NON-sea person. I work above the sea for most of the time and that is one of the reason behind it.

Since there is no LP guidebook covering Palau I checked [http://www.visit-palau.com/] which is very helpful as far as accommodations are concerned. But apart from that I would like to get information about other things.

Is Palau good for 3 weeks considering my interests ?
How about transportation between islands ?
What are tour costs ?

thanx in advance.

Edited by: jayanraj

thanx gq_dq for LP thread and other info.

Nice to know that you could spend 3 days in Palau, however I would like to spend more than that.

Definitely visit to Jellyfish lake is on the card. But I would love to spend 3/4 days (each) in few nearby islands if any boat transportation service is available and affordable. Basically I am a slow traveller and can easily spend 3/4 days in one place doing local exploration myself :)

So shall I say budget of US $ 200 per day will be enough ?

Also are bicycles available on rental ? I love it.

3 weeks a is LONG time to spend as a tourist in Palau. There are three islands that you can stay on (not including a camping trip in the rock islands). These are Kayangal (North) and Anguar and Peleliu (South). All three have state boats that go out, although Kayangal isn't always the most reliable. Peleliu goes both directions at least once a week - sometimes twice. There isn't much to do on these small islands. I spent a weekend on Anguar once, and really all there was to do was bike around trying to find monkeys. This got old pretty fast. 2 days (friday afternoon to sunday noon) was plenty. Same goes for Peleliu - not much happening there unless you area serious WWII buff. You can find a bike on both of these islands usually from whoever you are renting a room from.
In Koror - bikes are available from some of the dive shops, as well as the bike shop downtown. Its not cheap. Helicopter rides no longer run as gq_dq mentioned, and the island flights are on hold as far as I know since the recent crash.
You can do a kayak camping trip to the rock islands through Planet Blue (Sam's tours), a lot of people really enjoy that. Look at about 150/day for tours (maybe a little less). Accommodations will run you between 60-200US/night.

Email the tourist authority for the state boat schedules to the outer islands, very affordable. Tours to the Rick Islands are pricey. $200 a day is more than enough. I was under $100.

If you don't like swimming, diving, snorkeling and other water activities I don't think Palau is a good choice for you.

3 weeks is far too long if you are not interested in water sports. I would say 7-10 days at most. You can take the public ferry from the main island to Pelelieu but I think it only goes once or twice a week. Bottom line I really think Palau is best avoided for people who are not interested in diving/snorkelling.

Thnx again to all of you.

I have decided to spend @ 10 days in Palau. I don't want to de-list Palau since it seems so beautiful even without entering water :)

Plus jellyfish lake looks so amazing. One of a kind.

10 days is better but personally I get bored there after 7 days, and I'm a diver. Be aware that you will have to get into the water and don mask/snorkel/fins to experience jellyfish lake.

Be aware that you will have to get into the water and don mask/snorkel/fins to experience jellyfish lake.

It seems I need to get some diving lessons soon :)

thnx anyway

Hi ,
Just wondering if anyone knows if I can get back to back camping/kayaking permits for Palau ? Was looking to camp longer than 10 days ;

Thanks,

Steven

Wait, why would you need diving lessons to go snorkeling in Jellyfish Lake?

Mask/snorkel/fins does not equal diving

Dogga, Yes you can. But you will be required to buy multiple Rock Island Permits. Each permit is good for 10 days. And 10 days of camping may have you running back to comfort of a hotel. On windless nights, tiny biting midges may keep you inside a tent--seems especially so during new moon, and not always. No fresh water on the islands, so plan on salt water "bathing". And most islands are visited by tourists every day--at least for a beach lunch between dives. But still some die-hards do it by traveling from one island to the next with a resupply by their kayak company. You can easily paddle the entire Southern Lagoon this way in 10 days--weather cooperating, of course. Check out Blue Planet Kayak Tours for the best in Palau. Best of luck to you!