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Island of Palau, Micronesia - Entry Requirements

Island of Palau, Micronesia

New Entry Requirements

As of July 17, 2021



Effective Immediately, a commercial airline traveler needs only to present required documentation to the airline/airline representative for entry into the Republic of Palau.

    • Pursuant to Republic of Palau Rules and Regulations for Isolation & Quarantine of Contagious Diseases and current Ministry of Health (MOH) Directives regarding COVID-19 measures, all international travelers entering the Republic of Palau are subject to the entry requirements listed below.
    • All travelers must provide valid proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, with final dose received at least 14 days prior to arrival in Palau. Vaccine record must clearly show date(s) and number of dose(s) received as well as vaccine brand that is either US FDA or WHO-approved or authorized for COVID-19.
    • Unvaccinated travelers under twelve (12) years of age may enter Palau and shall undergo the same requirements for vaccinated travelers.
    • Requests for vaccination requirement exemptions for age group 12-17 will be considered on a case by case basis. Requests must be emailed to shunrang.chin@palauhealth.org. Requests must be received 5 days prior to arrival to Palau.
    • All travelers are also required to provide valid negative PCR COVID-19 test results taken within three (3) days of departure to Palau or proof of COVID-19 recovery if previously infected with COVID-19. Children under three (3) years old are exempt from entry testing requirement.
    • All travelers must provide valid address and contact information in Palau.
    • All travelers must wear a face mask during their first five(5) days upon arrival and undergo mandatory COVID-19 testing on the fifth(5th) day after arrival.
    • Violation of any stated requirement shall be subject to a criminal fine of $500.00, up to one (1) year imprisonment in accordance with 34 PNC § 104, and subject to further quarantine or isolation conditions.
    • Visitors and non-residents must stay at a Pandemic Certified establishment during their first five(5) days upon arrival.
    • Note: Flights and ships carrying unvaccinated travelers may be considered for entry on a case-by-case basis by the Ministry of Health.
                                                                                   

Awesome Drift Dive Destinations

Awesome Drift Dive Destinations

                                     

 

For many of our fellow dive buddies, there’s nothing like a dive with wild current. Coral heads flying by, schools of fish and critters all doing their best to fight the flow and find shelter from the current in a coral head. Drift diving is one of the most exhilarating types of diving in the underwater world and there are some great dive destinations where you can jump in and enjoy the ride. No matter where you decide to experience drift dives, remember, Dive Safe! Whether you are an expert or a novice drift diver, safety comes first. Here are some rules to follow for a safe and fun drift dive:
– make sure you carry and use an SMB;
– streamline your gear to avoid damaging the reef;
– be properly weighted and neutrally buoyant;
– concentrate on your surroundings and changing conditions;
– do not fight current, work with it not against it.

 

Cozumel, Mexico

 

When planning a dive trip to Cozumel, you should prepare yourself for some great drift dives. Cozumel is a renowned destination for divers with a whole lot to offer. Cozumel is known for drift diving as well as other amazing reef dive sites. With its combination of great visibility, generally calm surface conditions, and strong currents, divers can experience drift diving at its best. Whether you’re an experienced diver, a beginner, looking to add drift diving to your skill set. Some amazing drift dives to try when diving Cozumel include Santa Rosa Wall, Pun ta Tunich, Palancar Reef, and Columbia Wall.

Santa Rosa Wall - Divers come back from Cozumel unable to stop talking about the Santa Rosa Wall, and for good reason. It is one of the deeper dive sites you will do when diving Cozumel, it is worth getting down there to see the fantastic coral formations, barrel sponges, and the incredible marine life. You can see sea turtles, huge groupers, and majestic eagle rays gliding through the waters here.

Punta Tunich is another great site. With coral ridges rising up from the sandy base at 70 feet, you’ll see schools of grunt and snapper, as well as large sea fans, bright, beautiful sponges and intricate corals. 

Planacar Reef offers three miles of reef and is suitable even for the beginning scuba diver. If you are diving Cozumel as a newly qualified diver and want an experience that lets you use the skills you learned, Palancar reef is easy and rewarding, with its hugely diverse sea life population and coral formations. The gentle currents and temperate water allow you to drift comfortably as you enjoy the surrounding world of colourful fish, sponges, coral and sea fans. This is also a really good dive site if you are an underwater photographer.

                                    

Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

The Galapagos Islands are considered one of the best dive experiences in the world, thanks to the large marine critters and unique wildlife found at these special islands. There is no shortage of currents at the Galapagos Islands, which attract pelagic species to top sites such as Wolf and Darwin Islands. Jump in, go with the flow and enjoy the schools of hammerheads and rays that pass you by.

 

The Cabo Douglas dive site is located on the North West side of Fernandina Island. One of the central Galapagos islands, Fernandina has an active shield volcano 'La Cumbre', which has been subject to eruptions within the last ten years. Fernandina is one of the most unspoiled environments in the world and one of the few places in the Galapagos which has never suffered any kind of invasive species. Many of the animals on Fernandina exist only on the Galapagos Islands. Marine iguanas have also evolved to survive on these islands making them completely distinctive to the region. The island is also home to a great number of sea lions, turtles, pelicans and Galapagos penguins. The dive sites at Cabo Douglas don’t cover a very large area but offer the opportunity to see so many rare species that it is thrilling diving.

Red Sea, Egypt

Elphinstone Reef in Southern Egypt is a long sausage-shaped reef that sits in the open ocean and is perfect for drift diving. The walls of the reef drop thousands of meters to the inky depths and are covered in hard and soft corals and filled with marine critters. The currents will take you along the walls at ripping speeds of up to 2 knots, with no diving effort needed at all on the right day. Diving Elphinstone is definitely one to add to the bucket list for experienced divers looking for adventurous dives. The ‘Simply the Best’ itinerary offered by Emperor Divers includes the Elphinstone Reef. This cruise offers some of the best Red Sea drift diving sites, including Elphinstone Reef, Daedalus and the Brothers. Divers enjoy the colourful corals and critters and the occasional passing oceanic whitetip shark.


                                      

Palau, Micronesia

Drift diving in Palau is often compared to hang gliding. Instead of riding winds, you are riding the marine currents maintaining neutral buoyancy and perfect trim. Many of the techniques of drift diving were developed in Palau, including the reef hook. Using a reef hook is the bit different than a typical drift dive. The waters of Micronesia are known for the abundant marine life and amazing currents. The dive spots of Palau, like German Channel, Ulong Channel and Blue Corner will wow you and have you flying through the sites full of colorful soft corals, turtles, sharks, manta rays, and tons of other fish.



                                   

Maldives, Indian Ocean

 

The Maldives offers plenty of drift dives to those lucky enough to visit. Teeming with life, many species of sharks are commonly seen as well as sea turtles, schools of fish, manta rays, and whale sharks. Add Lhaviyani Atoll, Noonoo Atoll, and South Ari Atoll to the top of your dive list here. Most of the liveaboards in the Maldives offers itineraries that include some fantastic drift diving.

Palau Dive Adventures & China Airlines

Palau Dive Adventures & China Airlines
Get a Deal to Micronesia & Dive Amazing Palau

Our buddies Chris and Jason with Palau Dive Adventures have some smoking' deals right now. And China Airlines can make the deal even sweeter. We are getting some discounted airfares out of LAX to Palau via Taipei and that makes Micronesia a great choice. Scratch this destination off your bucket list in 2015.

Dive with Palau Dive Adventures, stay at Palau Pacific Resort (PPR), fly China Airlines. Yea!

7-nights Garden View accommodations at PPR, 5 dive days $1880 per person double occupancy.
 
Valid travel dates are April 1-24, 2015; May 7-July 15, 2015; Oct 1-Dec 15, 2015. Opt for the upgrade to Ocean View room for $135 per person.
 
Let's blow some bubbles! Prices quoted do NOT include airfare (add approximately $1020 per person depending upon travel dates - purchase by 31 Dec 2014 for travel to 30 Nov 2015).

Odyssey Liveaboard - Chuuk (Truk) Lagoon

 

For the best wreck diving on the planet, nothing comapres to Chuuk Lagoon. Also known as Truk, but was changed to it’s original name in 1986 when the Compact of Free Association went into effect. The compact is a 15-year political relationship with the United States that started in October, 1986. Chuuk state consists of seven major island groups lying within the Eastern Caroline Islands, about 617 miles (1028 km) southeast of Guam and 3,262 miles (5,436 km) southwest of Hawaii. The total land mass of Chuuk state, including the outer islands, is approximately 77 square miles (128 km).

We are now offering charters on the Odyssey, Truk's finest liveaboard ship. The ship offers a selection of cabins, 6 with either a king or two twin beds, 2 single cabins, and 1 cabin with a double twin bunk. Pricing for 2014 and 2015 is $3095 per person double occupancy. Contact us for availability.

Dive with Odyssey Adventures to see the ghost fleet of Truk Lagoon, the world’s best shipwreck destination. That’s only the beginning of your adventure. You’ll see an abundance of incredible tropical fish, anemones, gorgonians, and eagle rays.

You'll have the option to dive at your leisure, or borrow one of our experienced local dive guides who will show you all those places you wouldn't find on your own. 

Win a FREE Dive Trip on Palau for 2

Liquid Diving Adventures and Palau Dive Adventures

Would you like to be here with Palau Dive Adventures…? If you have had enough of winter and are ready for a tropical island dive trip, we are making it easier than ever. Register to win this FREE trip between March 23, and May 23, 2014 and you will be entered in the drawing for this dive package for 2 divers with Palau Dive Adventures. Here's what's included in the package:

  • 13 Total Dives Over 5 Days (2 Days 2 Dives, and 3 Days 3 Dives) for 2 divers
  • Small Group On The Boat No More Than 10 Guests
  • Trip to Peleliu Island
  • Trip to the World Famous Jellyfish Lake
  • Lunch On All Dive Days
  • Snacks and Refreshments On The Boat
  • Free Nitrox up to 36%
  • Guides, Tanks and Weights

Not Included:

  • International airfare to Palau
  • Hotel accommodations and meals (we can get you a great deal at Palau Pacific Resort or Sea Passion Hotel)
  • Government Green Fee
  • Palau Departure Tax
  • Diving Permit and Marine Park Fees
  • Dive Gear Rental
  • Optional Land Tour at Peleliu

Enter by sending us an email with your name and email address using any of the methods below. Enter between March 23 and May 23, 2014. One entry per person please. The draw will be on June 1, 2014 and will the winner be announced in our June Newsletter. By entering this contest, your name will be added to our once-a-month newsletter list. You may unsubscribe from the list at any time but the contest winner will only be announced in the June newsletter.
How to Enter this FREE Dive Trip Contest
  1. Send your name and valid email address to: res@liquiddivingadventures.com with "Palau Contest" in the subject line; or
  2. If you are in the US, send us a text message to  42828 with the key word PALAU; or
  3. Sign up on our Facebook page using the Join My List app, icon just below our cover photo. Our FB page is https://www.facebook.com/pages/Liquid-Diving-Adventures/142936819149653 ; or
  4. Scan this QR Code and send us your valid email address and name:

Palau Dive Sites

Palau is that destination in Micronesia of which dreams are made. Here are a few of the amazing dive sites you can experience around this island paradise.

Blue Corner

Blue Corner is very possibly the highest-rated and best-known dive site on Earth. It is home to large permanent schools of barracuda, large numbers of fairly harmless grey, white-tip, and black-tip reef sharks, and sea turtles.

The dive site can best be described as a large flat triangle similar to the top of a large office building. Coral is not especially dense on this triangle; rather, its high density of animal life is supported by the plankton-rich water carried over it by strong currents. The omnipresent plankton reduces visibility to approximately 20m/60 feet which is typical in Palau, but roughly 1/3 lower than comparable but plankton-poor sites elsewhere in nearby Micronesia. The edges of the Blue Corner are dramatic vertical drops from this 50'-deep plateau to dramatic, un-SCUBAable depths. Typically, divers will drift along the outer edges, making brief forays onto the plateau. Photographers typically arm themselves with a "reef hook," so that their hands are left free while they take photographs in the strong current. Safety stops are typically done "on the fly"-- that is, while drifting out into blue, open water and maintaining neutral buoyancy without benefit of an anchor rope or ladder. This is popular as a "last dive of the vacation" and pinnacle of the tour for dive guides leading tourists, since its unparalleled level of sensory overload "spoils the customer" for less spectacular sites.

Chandelier Cave

Chandelier Cave is remarkably different from Palau's other dives, in that it is 1) a well-developed cave system, 2) almost coral-free, and 3) less than 5 minutes' boat ride from the nearest SCUBA companies' docks. Near the cave entrance on the shallow, flat, sheltered harbor floor, divers may be able to spot rare, shy Mandarin fish. The first and second caverns are as wide and tall as a small concert hall, but almost entirely under water and drably colored. Moving further back, however, there is a far smaller group of hotel room-sized chambers that are largely above water. The walls in these rearmost chambers are bright orange and white with numerous fragile crystal growths resembling sugar frosting on donuts. Divers are regularly permitted to enter these chambers, remove their SCUBA gear, and walk and crawl about as long as the divers are respectful of the cave's fragility.

Divers should not attempt to enter this area without an experienced guide and two light sources per diver.

Because Chandelier Cave is shallow, near many docks, and not reliant on sunlight to provide enjoyment to divers, this is an extremely popular spot for SCUBA divers who wish to make a third dive on a single day. Because it's in a very sheltered, shallow bay, it is also popular as a dive site when weather conditions make other sites un-divable.

Siaes Tunnel

Siaes Tunnel (pronounced like the English word "sighs") is a natural formation in a submerged coral wall drop-off. It is comparable in many respects to the Blue Hole in Guam (not to be confused with Palau's "Blue Hole"), although Siaes Tunnel differs in having far more abundant coral. The tunnel starts at a fairly shallow point and dives down steeply to a moderately deep exit point, and is wide enough to accommodate several divers swimming shoulder-to-shoulder. The tunnel was discovered by divers fairly recently (roughly a decade ago).

Turtle Cove

Turtle Cove is a vertical, virtually bottomless wall and one of the most popular standard dives in Palau. There is a boat mooring at the beginning, close to the wall. This, coupled with the exceedingly shallow, sandy flat area between the nearby rock island and the cliff make for a perfect lunch/rest/snorkelling area between dives. The dive itself is typically conducted as a multilevel dive, with the first portion at 60'/18m where the larger life (sharks, rays, large turtles) are, and gradually coming up shallower until the safety stop which is done while drifting along near the top edge of the underwater cliff. The shallow areas are filled with their own collection of smaller but equally dazzling life: smaller turtles (one yard / 1m long), abundant reef fish, gorgonian sea fans and so on. The current is seldom strong, so photographers can pause and do macro-lens photography without unusual effort.

Ulong Channel

Ulong Channel (pronounced like "ooh-long", much like Asian "oolong tea") is an ideal drift dive. Typically, dive boats wait until a strong outgoing tide, then deposit the divers in a 30~40'-deep bowl-like sandy area surrounded by a shallow, dense coral reef. The divers then ride the strong outgoing rip-tide along a 10~15-foot-wide sandy channel through the reef, travelling in excess of 10mph without swimming. Along this 40 minute joyride, one typically sees handfuls of smallish turtles, cabbage corals, and harmless young foot-long reef sharks. The depth is limited by the shallow, sand bottom of the riptide channel until one reaches the end of the ride, where one must quickly grab at a boat mooring rope along a cliff-like edge. This mooring rope is sometimes visited by large numbers of relatively harmless grey reef sharks, so what might otherwise have been a relatively boring safety stop at the end of a dive becomes an exciting opportunity with minimal effort. Except for the possibility of drifting into deep water at the end of the dive, this is an idyllic introduction to drift-diving and one of the best dives in Palau.

Text about the Palau dive sites courtesy of Wikipedia. Dive site map courtesy of Palau Visitor Authority. Other information courtesy of Palau Dive Adventures.

 

Palau Dive Adventures & Palau Pacific Resort

 * *  Micronesia Madness  * *

This is quite possibly our best dive package special of the year. Palau Pacific Resort has offered us a special package deal and along with Chris and Jason at Palau Dive Adventures, this is a sweet package to Micronesia. This is quite simply the best 7 night, 5 day Palau package anywhere. Besides the awesome accommodations offered by PPR, add in the personalized service of Palau Dive Adventures 5 days, 13 dives and this can't be beat.

 

 

This Palau Package Special includes:

  • 7 nights accommodation
  • Daily buffet breakfast
  • 5 dive days, 13 boat dives (10 divers max) 
  • FREE nitrox
  • R/T airport transfers
Garden View Room  $1870 ppdo   or  Ocean View Room $2095 ppdo
 

Palau Dive Adventures - Long Beach Scuba Show Special

For the Long Beach Scuba Show, our dive buddies and owners of Palau Dive Adventures, Chris and Jason, have offered us two amazing packages for travel to Micronesia. One package gets you accommodations at the Sea Passion Hotel and the second gets you accommodations at Palau Pacific Resort. Both packages offer the best diving Palau can offer. Small dive groups, personalize itineraries, 5 days of amazing diving..!

Book 1 diver, 2nd diver 25% off Save $237 - Book 4 divers, get one (1) FREE Save $950 - Book 8 divers, get two (2) FREE Save $1900 - Book 10 divers, get three (3) FREE Save $2850

Contact us for availability as these dive show specials are limited. 

Sea Passion Hotel

The package at the Sea Passion Hotel includes 7 nights deluxe ocean view accommodations, daily breakfast, 13 dives (3 days, 3 tanks; 2 days, 2 tanks), free nitrox, lunch and refreshments on dive days, a trip to Peleliu, a snorkel trip to Jellyfish Lake, airport transfers and taxes. Normally this 2013 low season is $1499 per person double occupancy. Valid for travel April 1-27, May 7 - June 30, Sept 1-26 and Oct 8 - Dec 15, 2013 and 2014.

Dive Show 2013 pricing: $1381 ppdo 2 divers - $1261 ppdo 4 or 8 divers - $1214 ppdo 10 divers

Dive Show 2014 pricing: $1481 ppdo 2 divers - $1361 ppdo 4 or 8 divers - $1314 ppdo 10 divers

 

Palau Pacific Resort

The package at the Palau Pacific Resort includes 7 nights garden view accommodations, daily breakfast (2014 only), 13 dives (3 days, 3 tanks; 2 days, 2 tanks), free nitrox, lunch and refreshments on dive days, a trip to Peleliu, a snorkel trip to Jellyfish Lake, airport transfers and taxes. Normally this 2013 low season is $1799 per person double occupancy. Valid for travel April 1-26, May 7 - July 15, and Oct 1 - Dec 20, 2013 and 2014.

Dive Show 2013 pricing: $1681 ppdo 2 divers - $1562 ppdo 4 or 8 divers - $1514 ppdo 10 divers 

Dive Show 2014 pricing: $1831 ppdo 2 divers - $1712 ppdo 4 or 8 divers - $1664 ppdo 10 divers  

 

Manta Ray Bay Resort - Manta Fest 2013 - Photo Contest - Book Early

Here's your chance for world class diving in Micronesia on the island of Yap, and the opportunity to rub shoulders with several of the best underwater photographers around. Plus the chance to win a photo prize worth over $10,000.

Join us at the Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers and discover the amazing undersea world of Micronesia. The big pelagics, manta rays and sharks and all the small critters are found around Yap. This is a bucket list dive destination.

Our packages include standard room or ocean view accommodation, breakfast, dives, and airport transfers.

7 nights Standard Room, 5 days diving = $1,359pp and Ocean View Room = $1,439pp

10 nights Standard Room, 8 days diving = $1,849pp and Ocean View Room = $1,949pp

14 nights Standard Room, 11 days diving = $2,469pp and Ocean View Room = $2,629pp 

 

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