Palau
Palau has a very big reputation as one of the best dive location in the world...and it is! A bit of everything - macro, big fish, beautiful coral, caves, drift, shallow, deep, planes, boats...it felt like a cross between Raja Ampat and New Caledonia with a bunch of World War 2 wrecks thrown in. Water temperature was a steaming 30 degrees which was actually warmer than the air when the rain and wind came through.
Dive sites are all within about an hour from town, so all operators other than one or two liveaboards operate from land. They leave around 8am and do 2 or 3 dives getting back around 3 or 4pm. Paying a little extra will allow you to dive Peliu which is about 1h30 mins from town - certainly worth the diving and there is a great World War 2 land tour.
Visibility was great.
A trip to jellyfish lake is a must and counts as a dive during one of the day trips.
The boat ride itself I looked forward to every day - the Rock Islands are fantastic!! A geological phenomenon I had never seen anywhere else.
On my dive-free day I went to visit the Biota Hatchery where the first ever Bumphead Parrots have been raised in captivity - well done Tom! And finished off the day with a kayak around the Rock Islands.
I miss Palau already and will be back!
