Palau - North Beach cottages and Kayangel

We are going to Palau next year for 3 weeks in March/April. We wanted to go to the North Beach Cottages - but have had no response from them. Does anyone know if they are still up and running?
We also think a trip to Kayangel sounds fun - however we read Papamike's description of his boat ride and homestay and wondered (1) can you get a speed boat there (and who might arrange that) and (2) is there any accommodation other than homestays? Thanks in advance.

Here are the phone numbers for North Beach Cottages (680) 488-8234 reservations and (680) 824-4444 for the facility, would assume they are operating.

For the trip to Kayangel, contact the Kayangel State office in Koror at (680) 488-2766 to find out the boat schedule. Nothing in the way of lodgings unless they were completed in the last three years since my visit. Ask at the state office for the names of locals for lodging, they should be able to help you or you can ask for permission to camp on the island.

Have a great trip

Papa Mike

We tried to contact North Beach Cottages earlier this year and also had no response from them by e-mail. We decided to wait until we got there to contact them. We dropped in to have a look at the cottages and decided not to stay there as it was a bit remote for us but they were still operational in February.

Kayangel only has one place to stay as far as I know - Medu'l Bai Lodge - you can find information on it at the Palau Tourism site. We were also interested in visiting Kayanel but with only 12 nights to work with we felt we would not be able to work out the logistics. You might like to have a look at www.kayakingpalau.blogspot.com/ - this blog has information on Kayangel as well as information for Palau in general. 5waldos (frequent poster here) lived on Palau for a number of years - he might be able to help with the transportation to Kayangel question. Good luck with your planning -Palau is a great place to visit!

You can also camp in Kayangel. We have a friend who has a speed boat and can be hired. He is delightful and I have steered several people towards him and gotten nothing but good reports. IM me if you are interested and I will give you his name and number. He is great for trips out to the rock islands too- I love the freedom to go where we want at our own speed without piles of people. He is Palauan and knows a great deal about what to see. As far a North Beach- have ou tried calling? They speak English and often it is the easiest way to do business. The internet may be down. And we stayed for a couple of night up there because it is so isolated- my son and I were the only people there which suited us fine since we needed to get away from everyone knowing us and being related to him. It was a great escape.

I was in Kayangel last summer (2008). Stayed in the little motel there (that Newfie mentioned), AC, fridge, cooking facilities, DVD player. You can find the contact info on the Palau tourism site.

Took the payday Friday speedboat, returned on Sunday. Easy as pie. Check with the tourist office when payday Friday falls and make reservations on the boat and get the name of the person who took your reservation.

You can also camp there - http://kayangelpalau.blogspot.com/

There is a MOTEL on Kayangel? Good lord how life in Palau is modernizing. Did you bury a note in the sand for us to retrieve should we get there again?