Palau is an island country situated in the western Pacific Ocean. The archipelago is comprised of 340 islands and, along with parts of the Federated States of Micronesia, forms the western part of the Caroline Islands chain. Palau is 180 square miles in area. Its capital is Ngerulmund on the island of Babeldaob, the largest island formed by a volcano. Koror is its most populous island.
Palau was once part of the United States governed Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, but it gained full sovereignty in 1994.
The country shares maritime borders with Micronesia to the east, the Philippines to the west and Indonesia to the south. To its north are international waters.
Some of the best scuba diving in the world can be found among Palau’s 16 states. Diving opportunities include the Southwest Islands, the outer atoll and limestone islands, and the Southern Lagoon. This diversity attracts a wide variety of marine life, making for some spectacular dive travel.

Palau is a major destination for scuba diving vacations. In fact, Palau scuba diving is ranked among the top five in the world. Palau diving features diverse terrain, like the oceanic island of Angaur, the coral atoll of Kayangel, the uninhabited, mushroom-shaped Rock Islands, and the barrier reef shared by the islands of Koror, Babeldaob and Peleliu. Palau scuba diving is renowned for its wide variety of coral and marine life. This is due to the three ocean currents that converge into its waters. Palau is home to 1,500 fish species and 700 species of coral. Common sightings when scuba diving in Palau include whale sharks, snappers, Napoleon wrasse, parrotfish, tuna, octopi, eagle rays, barracudas, jackfish, lionfish, frogfish, turtles and many reef sharks.
Sightings also may include saltwater crocodiles, which are indigenous to the country. Palau is also known for its mandarin fish dives, particularly at dusk.
Palau diving is renowned for its many hidden caves and tunnels, numerous wartime shipwrecks and varied topography that features lots of vertical drop-offs, walls, plateaus and colorful coral reefs. Access to most of the country’s island dive spots is by a liveaboard trip. Over 30 intriguing dive sites await when liveaboard diving in Palau. Diving the outer islands of Peleliu and Angaur, as well as Kayangel, can only be done on a live aboard.

Must-Dive Palau Sites
The German Channel, the Blue Corner Palau and the Blue Holes dive sites are considered to have the best scuba diving in the world. They are among the destinations offered on a Palau liveaboard cruise. The German Channel, so named because it was created in the early 1900s by the Germans to transport phosphorous from the lagoon to the ocean, is the spot for diving with manta rays. Blue Corner Palau, on the southwest corner of Rock Islands, offers drift diving with large schools of fish, including humphead wrasse. The site has been recognized as one of the best in the world. Its strong currents require divers to use reef hooks to remain stationary while viewing sharks and other big fish.
The Blue Holes is a massive cavern that is entered from the top of a reef northwest of Koror. Whip corals adorn the cavern’s walls, as various schools of fish swim about. The descent is about 120 feet, where sightings of shark, tuna, anthias and barracudas are common. Noteworthy about diving the Blue Holes is that divers can enter into the Blue Holes and follow the reef walls, eventually ending up at Blue Corner.

Other famous spots to visit when scuba diving in Palau are:
on the island of Eil Malk, which is so named because the lake contains nearly 2 million jellyfish without stingers! Other marine life are blocked from entering the lake by the salt water in the ocean that seeps through fissures in the limestone into the lake.
Ulong Channel resembles a river, but is actually a natural underwater channel. With its strong currents, it offers some exceptional drift diving. Sightings include schools of bigeye trevally and fusilier.
Chandelier Cave, which consists of five separate connecting caves, is accented with stalagmites and stalactites that sparkle like a chandelier.
For shipwreck diving in Palau, a liveaboard trip can take divers to the famous Iro Maru wreck. This Japanese ship, which sunk in 1944, is covered with coral that attracts a wide range of fish, including scorpionfish, nudibranchs, pipefish and shrimp species.Other wrecks that can be visited during Palau liveaboard diving cruises include World War II transport vessels, destroyers, cargo ships, the famous Jake Seaplane and Japanese Zero planes.

The Palau Shark Sanctuary
Palau sharks are considered amazing creatures and a natural treasure by Palauans. To preserve them, the country banned commercial shark fishing in 2009. It also built the world’s first shark sanctuary. There are 17 species of Palau sharks that live and reproduce in the 237,000 square miles of ocean that make up the shark sanctuary. Palau liveaboard diving cruises visit the sanctuary to give divers the opportunity to view the various protected species.

Since Palau has a tropical rainforest climate, scuba diving vacations can be planned year round. The average temperature is 28 degrees C or 82° F. Average humidity is about 82% The dry season is from November to May, making dive travel during those months quite popular. The weather is less humid and the seas calm. The rainy season is from May to November, but there is still plenty of sunshine throughout the day. The average water temperature ranges from 27 to 29° C or 80 to 84° F. Visibility ranges between 32 and 100 feet. When liveaboard diving in Palau, various times of the year are best for spotting certain marine life during their mating season. From February to April, grey reef sharks are abundant. In July, groupers are plentiful, while in December, it’s time for manta rays. Coral spawning takes place in May.

Palau has one international airport, Roman Tmetuchl International Airport. Also known as Palau International Airport, is it located in Koror on the Babeldaob Island. Most live aboard cruises depart from Malakal Harbour in Koror. Typically, Palau liveaboard trips include transfer arrangements from the airport to the boat.

Visas are not required for visits of 30 days or less. Instead, visitors will receive a tourist visa upon arrival. To qualify for a tourist visa, visitors must have a valid passport that does not expire within the next six months and show proof of return home arrangements.

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The two official languages in Palau are Palauan and English. However, the majority of Palauans speak English. The Filipino language is also widely spoken among Palauans. Regional languages include Japanese, Tobian and Sonsorolese.