Palau Yap in August with 2 kids 9-11. Any tips?

Any tips on sites to visit, accomodation, restaurants etc.?

What about Guam? is it worth it stopping over on a nice beach (no high rise crowed resorts, please) after a long flight from Europe or we should skip it? In this case what about a decent airport hotel?

I still have (a precious) copy of the LP's micronesia guidebook, is there anything else available?

Thanks

First, check out my two posts on travel in general in Yap and Palau: http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931231 and http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931212.

For Yap, even the nice lower-end hotels such as Pathways (where I stayed) do not have televisions or other entertainment for kids. Manta Ray Bay hotel will be your best bet--they have a small saltwater swimming pool and more modern amenities. Whether or not you stay there, you can book excursions through Manta Ray for kayaking (they have 2-person kayaks available) and cultural tours. Most the tourists with kids were families of divers. In fact, almost all the tourists were divers period. But it is a lovely place that is worth a visit, you'll just have to work harder to entertain your kids.

Don't miss the tasty Marina Restaurant in Yap! It's down the dirt road from the YCA. Also, bear in mind that Yap is a very small, traditional island. Your kids will see topless women walking in woven lava-lava, beginning with when they arrive at the Yap aiport. Female tourists should wear shorts or skirts that cover the thighs, to maintain modesty. Sadly, most of the divers blatantly disregarded this. The Yapese are very warm people, and you might find yourself in wonderful long conversations with strangers.

For Palau, you have many more options. Stay in Koror for at least a few days, so you can use it as a base for taking snorkeling trips to Jellyfish Lake (don't forget to skip the sunblock and bug spray to avoid damaging their habitat and do wear sturdy shoes because the limestone rocks are slippery and steep) and the beautiful coral reefs. The rock islands would be great for your kids, because there are shallow beaches. You can't stay on the rock islands (unless you count Carp Island), but there are plenty of boat trips from Koror.

With regard to accommodation & restaurants, no one will be able to make good recommendations without knowing your budget, as there are many options.

Do resist the temptation to go on the Jungleboat cruise, for the reasons I noted in my Palau post.

From Koror, you can take a speedboat or slow boat out to one of the other islands (Peliliu for WW2 wreckage and historical battlesites, Kayangel for raw beauty), but if your kids get sea sick, be sure to take appropriate medicine along, as the water can sometimes be rough.

As for books, the Moon guide for Micronesia is more recent (2003) then LP's guide, but for Yap that won't make much of a difference, given how small it is. I would buy Papa Mike's guide to Palau. It is from 2006 and is the only guide book with remotely recent information and is well-written. Papa Mike is a frequent visitor to this forum and has in-depth knowledge of the region.

Edited by: tilos

I would skip Guam- although it is a long flight from Europe. And alert the kids to the topless outer islanders in Yap if they are apt to be surprised. In Palau, North Beach Resort on balbedoab can be great for kids for a couple of days because the beach is inside the reef and they have keyaks to use. The museum and the aquarium are great for an hour or two. And I second the jellyfish lake trip- it takes some courage for the kids but it is something they will never forget. Yap is a couple of days mostly touring- the villages are amazing. Swimming and snorkeling not so great. And if you are going to need to do laundry, many places you can drop it off and pick it up a couple of hours later clean and nicely folded. If you do it through a hotel it will cost a lot. Drop it yourself and it is very inexpensive. And we never had problems. I hate sitting around laundromates.

You can camp on the rock islands of Palau which would be an awesome experience with kids.

If you are an active family you can do the Tamilyog (cross-island) trail on Yap. Part of the walk is on ancient stone paths ending up in a village full of stone money. The highlight for me was seeing a 3 foot (1 meter) long monitor lizard on the trail. Too bad that it scurried away before I could take a photo. Pack a picnic lunch and take plenty of water.

My little motel in Colonia (the Hiltop[sic]) had a TV/DVD player in the room. DVD rentals are available from a number of shops.