Palau Islands permits and fees: USD 200 payable onboard only

Embarkation: Sam’s Tours, Koror at 18:00
Disembarkation: Sam’s Tours, Koror at 10:00

Day 1 – Embarkation Day:

Embarkation from Sam’s Tours at 18:00 followed by introductions, boat and safety briefings and dinner. There is no diving on embarkation day.

Day 2:

Departure from Malakal Harbour after breakfast followed by a check dive, and up to 3 subsequent dives, as outlined below.

Days 3-6:

Your Cruise Director will schedule up to 4 dives per day; 3 day dives and either a sunset or a night dive. A typical diving day is scheduled as follows:

Light Breakfast followed by a briefing & Dive 1

Full Breakfast, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 2

Lunch, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 3

Snack

Briefing for Sunset or Night dive

Dinner *Spawning dives are scheduled to coincide with sunrise to ensure guests have the best chance of witnessing the event.

Day 7:

For your last full day on board, we are able to schedule up to 3 dives before the boat cruises back to Malakal Harbour, where it will remain at anchor overnight.

Day 8 – Disembarkation Day:

Following breakfast on board, disembarkation is scheduled for 10:00

Full Moon itineraries

When diving at Full Moon, you will experience tens of thousands of Red Snappers rise up from the deep and aggregate to start their mating maneuvers in a spectacle full of energy and excitement while they change their colors from red to white. Not surprisingly, these huge aggregations also attract the biggest predators in Palau such as Bull Sharks and Oceanic Blacktip Sharks. Watch how they hunt actively within the large school of spawning Red Snappers. It is something only a select few people ever get to witness and you can now be one of them!

New Moon itineraries

During the New Moon dives, you will witness hundreds of bumphead parrotfish aggregating to start their noisy climatic mating dance. With loud bangs, the males bump their heads together like buffaloes to gain superiority over females with color changes taking place as the fish prepare to spawn – it is not a surprise they have oversized foreheads! From the deep, rising from the sandy bottom to the surface like a firework display, the fish release their gametes into the water column over and over again; a truly unique spectacle!

Blackwater diving: something very special for Night Dive lovers

After the sun has disappeared, imagine rolling off the boat in the pitch black of night, sometimes many miles away from the shallow water of the reefs, to watch one of the largest migrations on earth as all manner of weird and wonderful creatures from the depths head closer to the surface to feed. From post-larval fish to Cephalopods, much smaller than your fingernail, these amazing dives present some of the weirdest creatures you are ever likely to see without a submarine.

During the spawning itineraries, the Cruise Director will give a number of presentations in English about the unique spawning and black-water dives. These informative talks will cover everything from the ecology of these events to the best way to photograph them.

For the spawning and blackwater dives, guests will be split into two teams of up to eight divers to witness these spectacular events, thereby maximizing the experience and ensuring that we only observe, not interfere with, this spectacular behavior.

Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake Tour

During the cruise guests can take a speedboat tour through the Rock Islands, stopping at the world-famous Jellyfish Lake and “The Arch” for a classic photo opportunity. You can also see islands shaped like an elephant or whales or just relax and enjoy the beauty of these Palauan islands. The cost of this tour is included in your cruise price.

Route Highlights:

ULONG ISLAND

Ulong Channel

Often considered the best dive in Palau! This exhilarating drift dive has it all; hard & soft coral-encrusted walls, schools of sharks and other pelagic action, a beautiful stand of lettuce coral as you drift through the channel, and plenty of groupers just to name a few. Keep your eyes open, seeing just about anything is possible on this dive!

Siaes Corner

Schools of grey reef sharks, jacks, and barracuda can be seen off the corner’s edge while butterflyfish, moorish idols, anthias, and fusiliers are abundant throughout the reef. Hawksbill and green sea turtles are also among the usual suspects.

Siaes Tunnel

Siaes Tunnel offers divers an awesome experience as they dive through a naturally lit tunnel with several windows where they can experience endemic species only normally seen in deeper water. Cup corals, soft corals, reef fish, and invertebrates inhabit the walls and ceilings of the tunnel. Near the bottom, dartfish, long nose hawk fish, and gobies can be found. White tip reef sharks sleep on the bottom near the tunnel’s exit, while bigeye trevally circle around.

Shark City

Southwest of Ulong Island, a wall dive where currents attract many large pelagic fish from grey reef sharks to the occasional sighting of a bull shark or hammerhead. The wall drops to 50m (150ft) and is dotted with gorgonian fans. Shallower, huge lettuce corals host colorful anthias and moorish idols. Bumphead parrotfish are regularly seen here and you might see eagle rays cruising the reef wall.

Sand Bar

This shallow sloping reef featuring garden eels and stingrays is also the place where hundreds of thousands of bumphead parrotfish are known to congregate for spawning; this stunning spectacle may only be witnessed at certain times of the month during the right moon phase. Night dives on this site reveal many interesting species including pleurobranchs.

MALAKAL HARBOUR

Chandelier Cave

A gorgeous cave system, containing four separate chambers with stalactites and stalagmites thus creating a ‘chandelier’ effect. The opening to the cave is wide and provides plenty of natural light; however, the inner section is quite dark and a torch is necessary. Keep an eye on your buddy and stay near your dive guide.

Teshio Maru

On her way to seek refuge from the American attacks, the Teshio Maru was bombed and strafed by a passing US fighter north of the Malakal harbor, during “Operation Desecrate One” on March 30th, 1944. This Japanese army cargo ship now rests in 24m (80ft) of water on her starboard side. She measures 100m (330ft) in length and is one of the best dive wrecks in Palau.

Iro Maru

This Japanese oil supply ship, sunk during ‘Operation Desecrate’, lays upright in 20m (75ft) of clear blue water. Descend via the mooring line to the bow and the 5 ½ gun mount, which is covered in black coral trees; then explore this coral-encrusted wreckage. Schools of batfish and large groupers hover above the wreck.

Chuyo Maru

Located just west of Malakal Island, this is a medium-sized Japanese coastal freighter that was also sunk during World War II. She lies upright on the seabed at a depth of 40m (120ft) with her deck at 30m (90ft). The guns on her stern deck are clearly visible and inside the bridge you can see the remains of the ship’s brass compass and telegraph. The Chuyo is also host to a variety of crustaceans, mollusks, lionfish, and well-camouflaged stone fish.

Jake Seaplane

Jake was a reconnaissance floatplane that is believed to have crashed during take-off. The plane is still in one piece and makes for amazing photographs. There is little current and visibility is usually very good. Numerous mollusks have made their home here and we frequently see octopus, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs, whilst the surrounding patch reef provides shelter for many juvenile reef fish.

NGEMELIS ISLAND & THE GERMAN CHANNEL

Blue Corner

The most famous dive site in Palau, World-class diving does not get much better than Blue Corner! Known for its strong currents, as well as consistent and abundant shark action, each dive is action-packed where anything can happen. Schools of snapper, barracuda & jacks are regularly spotted and Napoleon wrasses are sometimes very inquisitive; coming close to divers for a perfect photo opportunity. Reef hooks are needed for this dive. Smaller creatures including pipefish & leaf fish can be found in the channels.

Blue Holes

Just along the reef from Blue Corner, is a large cavern with four “blue holes” at the top allowing natural light to enter from above. These rays of light make diving in the cavern a unique and amazing experience. White tip reef sharks can be seen on the sandy bottom and there are numerous critters, including dart fish and the flaming scallop, lining the cavern walls.

New Drop Off

Located south of Blue Corner on a shallow plateau. The walls are filled with a medley of colorful reef fish including butterfly fish, angel fish, wrasse, and triggers. Soft corals, large anemones, and sea fans cover the wall while grey reef sharks cruise the blue water. Large Spanish mackerel commonly cruise on by with the sharks, whereas turtles amble about feeding on the soft corals.

Big Drop Off

Another one of Palau’s famous wall dives. This vertical wall is covered with colorful soft corals, sponges, smaller reef fish, and sea fans. Sharks patrol along the reef edge, but this is also a fantastic site to see filefish, longnose hawkfish, fairy basslets, and schools of surgeonfish, parrotfish, and angelfish. Turtles are often found feeding along the wall as well. You can also see WWII remnants here, don’t forget to ask your guide to show you Barnum’s Ball.

German Channel

This artificial channel was created during the German occupation (1899 – 1914) to enable easier transportation of the phosphates they were mining. Today, the mouth of the channel is best known for encounters with manta rays which feed on plankton and visit the cleaning stations. White-tip & black-tip reef sharks can also be seen along with schools of snapper. We will visit this site several times during your trip.

Virgin Blue Holes

Just south of Blue Corner, this site offers divers swim throughs and caverns to explore, before exiting onto the reef wall.

Dexter’s Wall

A wonderful wall dive filled with soft corals, sea fans, nudibranchs, anemones, and sea turtles. The area is well known for leopard shark sightings but also teeming with groupers, snappers, sweetlips, and other reef fish.

PELELIU ISLAND

Peleliu Cut

A site where we can experience some of the strongest currents of our trip due to converging ocean currents that flow around the archipelago. The cut is full of life; we will see plenty of pelagic species, such as sharks, jacks, barracuda, rainbow runners, snappers, tuna, and sweetlips. Reef hooks are a must for this dive!

Turtle Cove

The dive begins by plunging into a small blue hole on top of the shallow reef. Upon exiting at the bottom divers drift through schools of surgeonfish, butterfly fish, and red-tooth triggerfish. Large schools of black snapper enjoy coming right up to divers along the wall. The plateau near the end of the dive is filled with beautiful anemones, reef fish, sharks, and turtles to finish off the dive. Occasionally, a leopard shark or ray will make an appearance.

Yellow Wall

Named after the golden yellow cup corals (Tubastraea faulkneri) that cover the wall along this area of the reef, Yellow Wall is located northeast of Peleliu Express. The top of the reef features many crevices, cutbacks, and arches, where sweetlips, emperors, eels, and turtles can be found. Along the wall, when the current is running, look for sharks, wahoo, dogtooth tuna, and other large pelagics. During March and April, approaching the new moon, large schools of blue-lined sea bream arrive for their annual spawning event. The school can number up to 100,000 and they will aggregate on this site after spawning in the early morning.

Peleliu Express

Located at the southernmost tip of Peleliu Island, the open ocean currents converge bringing in large schools of pelagic fish. Sharks, giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, and many varieties of barracuda, to name a few. Along the wall, hawksbill turtles, schooling snapper, and bumphead parrotfish are all commonly found, with large groupers, palette surgeonfish (Dory!), and many others on the shallow reef top. The currents here can be extremely strong at times, most notably around the new and full moon phases, with speeds of 4 knots not uncommon. They are also known to pick up and change direction with little to no warning. When the current is running the Peleliu Express is considered one of the ultimate drift dives, however, it is not for the faint-hearted.

Barnum’s Wall

A favorite spot for a night dive. Turtles, groupers, sweetlips, and a variety of sharks can all be seen here, as well as a myriad of nudibranchs, flatworms, sea whips, and crinoids.

Peleliu Wall

Covered with black corals & large sea fans, this huge wall allows for an easy drift dive whilst observing reef sharks, jacks & barracuda. On occasion bull sharks and tiger sharks have been seen here.

Orange Beach

A soft drift dive along a colorful coral garden. Among the boulders, divers can encounter nurse sharks, turtles, scorpion fish, crocodile fish, and nudibranchs. Divers may also come across WWII remains, such as bullets and shells.

South Dock

A beautiful reef wall where divers can find parrotfish, surgeonfish as well as whitetip reef sharks cruising.

Palau Islands permits and fees: USD 270 payable onboard only

Embarkation: Sam’s Tours, Koror at 18:00
Disembarkation: Sam’s Tours, Koror at 10:00

Day 1 – Embarkation Day:

Embarkation from Sam’s Tours at 18:00 followed by introductions, boat and safety briefings and dinner. There is no diving on embarkation day.

Day 2:

Departure from Malakal Harbour after breakfast followed by a check dive, and up to 3 subsequent dives, as outlined below.

Days 3-9:

Your Cruise Director will schedule up to 4 dives per day; 3 day dives and either a sunset or a night dive. A typical diving day is scheduled as follows:

Light Breakfast followed by a briefing & Dive 1

Full Breakfast, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 2

Lunch, relaxation followed by briefing & Dive 3

Snack

Briefing for Sunset or Night dive

Dinner *Spawning dives are scheduled to coincide with sunrise to ensure guests have the best chance of witnessing the event.

Day 10:

For your last full day on board, we are able to schedule up to 3 dives before the boat cruises back to Malakal Harbour, where it will remain at anchor overnight.

Day 11 – Disembarkation Day:

Following breakfast on board, disembarkation is scheduled for 10:00

Full Moon itineraries

When diving at Full Moon, you will experience tens of thousands of Red Snappers rise up from the deep and aggregate to start their mating maneuvers in a spectacle full of energy and excitement while they change their colors from red to white. Not surprisingly, these huge aggregations also attract the biggest predators in Palau such as Bull Sharks and Oceanic Blacktip Sharks. Watch how they hunt actively within the large school of spawning Red Snappers. It is something only a select few people ever get to witness and you can now be one of them!

New Moon itineraries

During the New Moon dives, you will witness hundreds of bumphead parrotfish aggregating to start their noisy climatic mating dance. With loud bangs, the males bump their heads together like buffaloes to gain superiority over females with color changes taking place as the fish prepare to spawn – it is not a surprise they have oversized foreheads! From the deep, rising from the sandy bottom to the surface like a firework display, the fish release their gametes into the water column over and over again; a truly unique spectacle!

Blackwater diving: something very special for Night Dive lovers

After the sun has disappeared, imagine rolling off the boat in the pitch black of night, sometimes many miles away from the shallow water of the reefs, to watch one of the largest migrations on earth as all manner of weird and wonderful creatures from the depths head closer to the surface to feed. From post-larval fish to Cephalopods, much smaller than your fingernail, these amazing dives present some of the weirdest creatures you are ever likely to see without a submarine.

During the spawning itineraries, the Cruise Director will give a number of presentations in English about the unique spawning and black-water dives. These informative talks will cover everything from the ecology of these events to the best way to photograph them.

For the spawning and blackwater dives, guests will be split into two teams of up to eight divers to witness these spectacular events, thereby maximizing the experience and ensuring that we only observe, not interfere with, this spectacular behavior.

Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake Tour

During the cruise guests can take a speedboat tour through the Rock Islands, stopping at the world-famous Jellyfish Lake and “The Arch” for a classic photo opportunity. You can also see islands shaped like an elephant or whales or just relax and enjoy the beauty of these Palauan islands. The cost of this tour is included in your cruise price.

Route Highlights:

ULONG ISLAND

Ulong Channel

Often considered the best dive in Palau! This exhilarating drift dive has it all; hard & soft coral-encrusted walls, schools of sharks and other pelagic action, a beautiful stand of lettuce coral as you drift through the channel, and plenty of groupers just to name a few. Keep your eyes open, seeing just about anything is possible on this dive!

Siaes Corner

Schools of grey reef sharks, jacks, and barracuda can be seen off the corner’s edge while butterflyfish, moorish idols, anthias, and fusiliers are abundant throughout the reef. Hawksbill and green sea turtles are also among the usual suspects.

Siaes Tunnel

Siaes Tunnel offers divers an awesome experience as they dive through a naturally lit tunnel with several windows where they can experience endemic species only normally seen in deeper water. Cup corals, soft corals, reef fish, and invertebrates inhabit the walls and ceilings of the tunnel. Near the bottom, dartfish, long nose hawk fish, and gobies can be found. White tip reef sharks sleep on the bottom near the tunnel’s exit, while bigeye trevally circle around.

Shark City

Southwest of Ulong Island, a wall dive where currents attract many large pelagic fish from grey reef sharks to the occasional sighting of a bull shark or hammerhead. The wall drops to 50m (150ft) and is dotted with gorgonian fans. Shallower, huge lettuce corals host colorful anthias and moorish idols. Bumphead parrotfish are regularly seen here and you might see eagle rays cruising the reef wall.

Sand Bar

This shallow sloping reef featuring garden eels and stingrays is also the place where hundreds of thousands of bumphead parrotfish are known to congregate for spawning; this stunning spectacle may only be witnessed at certain times of the month during the right moon phase. Night dives on this site reveal many interesting species including pleurobranchs.

MALAKAL HARBOUR

Chandelier Cave

A gorgeous cave system, containing four separate chambers with stalactites and stalagmites thus creating a ‘chandelier’ effect. The opening to the cave is wide and provides plenty of natural light; however, the inner section is quite dark and a torch is necessary. Keep an eye on your buddy and stay near your dive guide.

Teshio Maru

On her way to seek refuge from the American attacks, the Teshio Maru was bombed and strafed by a passing US fighter north of the Malakal harbor, during “Operation Desecrate One” on March 30th, 1944. This Japanese army cargo ship now rests in 24m (80ft) of water on her starboard side. She measures 100m (330ft) in length and is one of the best dive wrecks in Palau.

Iro Maru

This Japanese oil supply ship, sunk during ‘Operation Desecrate’, lays upright in 20m (75ft) of clear blue water. Descend via the mooring line to the bow and the 5 ½ gun mount, which is covered in black coral trees; then explore this coral-encrusted wreckage. Schools of batfish and large groupers hover above the wreck.

Chuyo Maru

Located just west of Malakal Island, this is a medium-sized Japanese coastal freighter that was also sunk during World War II. She lies upright on the seabed at a depth of 40m (120ft) with her deck at 30m (90ft). The guns on her stern deck are clearly visible and inside the bridge you can see the remains of the ship’s brass compass and telegraph. The Chuyo is also host to a variety of crustaceans, mollusks, lionfish, and well-camouflaged stone fish.

Jake Seaplane

Jake was a reconnaissance floatplane that is believed to have crashed during take-off. The plane is still in one piece and makes for amazing photographs. There is little current and visibility is usually very good. Numerous mollusks have made their home here and we frequently see octopus, cuttlefish, and nudibranchs, whilst the surrounding patch reef provides shelter for many juvenile reef fish.

NGEMELIS ISLAND & THE GERMAN CHANNEL

Blue Corner

The most famous dive site in Palau, World-class diving does not get much better than Blue Corner! Known for its strong currents, as well as consistent and abundant shark action, each dive is action-packed where anything can happen. Schools of snapper, barracuda & jacks are regularly spotted and Napoleon wrasses are sometimes very inquisitive; coming close to divers for a perfect photo opportunity. Reef hooks are needed for this dive. Smaller creatures including pipefish & leaf fish can be found in the channels.

Blue Holes

Just along the reef from Blue Corner, is a large cavern with four “blue holes” at the top allowing natural light to enter from above. These rays of light make diving in the cavern a unique and amazing experience. White tip reef sharks can be seen on the sandy bottom and there are numerous critters, including dart fish and the flaming scallop, lining the cavern walls.

New Drop Off

Located south of Blue Corner on a shallow plateau. The walls are filled with a medley of colorful reef fish including butterfly fish, angel fish, wrasse, and triggers. Soft corals, large anemones, and sea fans cover the wall while grey reef sharks cruise the blue water. Large Spanish mackerel commonly cruise on by with the sharks, whereas turtles amble about feeding on the soft corals.

Big Drop Off

Another one of Palau’s famous wall dives. This vertical wall is covered with colorful soft corals, sponges, smaller reef fish, and sea fans. Sharks patrol along the reef edge, but this is also a fantastic site to see filefish, longnose hawkfish, fairy basslets, and schools of surgeonfish, parrotfish, and angelfish. Turtles are often found feeding along the wall as well. You can also see WWII remnants here, don’t forget to ask your guide to show you Barnum’s Ball.

German Channel

This artificial channel was created during the German occupation (1899 – 1914) to enable easier transportation of the phosphates they were mining. Today, the mouth of the channel is best known for encounters with manta rays which feed on plankton and visit the cleaning stations. White-tip & black-tip reef sharks can also be seen along with schools of snapper. We will visit this site several times during your trip.

Virgin Blue Holes

Just south of Blue Corner, this site offers divers swim throughs and caverns to explore, before exiting onto the reef wall.

Dexter’s Wall

A wonderful wall dive filled with soft corals, sea fans, nudibranchs, anemones, and sea turtles. The area is well known for leopard shark sightings but also teeming with groupers, snappers, sweetlips, and other reef fish.

PELELIU ISLAND

Peleliu Cut

A site where we can experience some of the strongest currents of our trip due to converging ocean currents that flow around the archipelago. The cut is full of life; we will see plenty of pelagic species, such as sharks, jacks, barracuda, rainbow runners, snappers, tuna, and sweetlips. Reef hooks are a must for this dive!

Turtle Cove

The dive begins by plunging into a small blue hole on top of the shallow reef. Upon exiting at the bottom divers drift through schools of surgeonfish, butterfly fish, and red-tooth triggerfish. Large schools of black snapper enjoy coming right up to divers along the wall. The plateau near the end of the dive is filled with beautiful anemones, reef fish, sharks, and turtles to finish off the dive. Occasionally, a leopard shark or ray will make an appearance.

Yellow Wall

Named after the golden yellow cup corals (Tubastraea faulkneri) that cover the wall along this area of the reef, Yellow Wall is located northeast of Peleliu Express. The top of the reef features many crevices, cutbacks, and arches, where sweetlips, emperors, eels, and turtles can be found. Along the wall, when the current is running, look for sharks, wahoo, dogtooth tuna, and other large pelagics. During March and April, approaching the new moon, large schools of blue-lined sea bream arrive for their annual spawning event. The school can number up to 100,000 and they will aggregate on this site after spawning in the early morning.

Peleliu Express

Located at the southernmost tip of Peleliu Island, the open ocean currents converge bringing in large schools of pelagic fish. Sharks, giant trevally, dogtooth tuna, and many varieties of barracuda, to name a few. Along the wall, hawksbill turtles, schooling snapper, and bumphead parrotfish are all commonly found, with large groupers, palette surgeonfish (Dory!), and many others on the shallow reef top. The currents here can be extremely strong at times, most notably around the new and full moon phases, with speeds of 4 knots not uncommon. They are also known to pick up and change direction with little to no warning. When the current is running the Peleliu Express is considered one of the ultimate drift dives, however, it is not for the faint-hearted.

Barnum’s Wall

A favorite spot for a night dive. Turtles, groupers, sweetlips, and a variety of sharks can all be seen here, as well as a myriad of nudibranchs, flatworms, sea whips, and crinoids.

Peleliu Wall

Covered with black corals & large sea fans, this huge wall allows for an easy drift dive whilst observing reef sharks, jacks & barracuda. On occasion bull sharks and tiger sharks have been seen here.

Orange Beach

A soft drift dive along a colorful coral garden. Among the boulders, divers can encounter nurse sharks, turtles, scorpion fish, crocodile fish, and nudibranchs. Divers may also come across WWII remains, such as bullets and shells.

South Dock

A beautiful reef wall where divers can find parrotfish, surgeonfish as well as whitetip reef sharks cruising.