Palau: Guide, Hotels, Map & Photos
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EUR 134 - 398 Park Hotel Cala Di Lepre & Spa
 Situated a 5-minute walk from the beach on Sardinia´s Emerald Coast, Park Hotel Cala Di Lepre offers an outdoor pool, a wellness centre and spor… MoreEUR 38 - 254 Palau Green Village
 Palau Green Village offers self-catering apartments, built in typical Sardinian stone, and surrounded by Mediterranean gardens with a swimming pool.
… MoreEUR 145 - 280 Rafael Cafe
 Offering a furnished courtyard and a fish restaurant, Rafael Cafe is in the main square of Porto Rafael overlooking the Maddalena Archipelago. Buses t… MoreEUR 45 - 270 Residence Costa Serena
 Residence Costa Serena is just a few steps from the beach and 4 km from Palau centre. Facing La Maddalena Island, it offers 2 swimming pools and a piz… MoreEUR 58 - 192 Residence Excelsior Vanna
 Offering free parking and spacious apartments with a balcony overlooking the sea and the Maddalena archipelago, Residence Excelsior Vanna is in Palau,… MoreEUR 68 - 350 La Vecchia Fonte
 This 4-star hotel is well equipped for an enjoyable stay in the attractive seaside town of Palau and boasts an excellent position to reach Palau’s b… MoreEUR 58 - 379 Il Nido Dei Gabbiani
 Just 700 metres from the sea, Il Nido dei Gabbiani offers an on-site restaurant and self-catering apartments in a natural setting, near Palau.
Surro… MoreEUR 14 - 268 Hotel Altura
 Set at the foot of Mount Altura on a beautiful hill overlooking the Maddelena Archipelago, Hotel Altura is situated in a natural setting just 500 metr… MoreEUR 170 - 784 Hotel Capo d´Orso Thalasso & SPA
 Set in a 10 hectare park overlooking the Maddalena Archipelago, Hotel Capo d’Orso is a 5-star hotel with spa services, golf club and private harbour… MoreEUR 90 - 537 Hotel Palau
 The hotel is located on the upper part of Palau, one of Sardinia’s most famous tourist destinations, looking out over an extraordinary panorama of t… MoreEUR 59 - 210 Hotel Piccada
 Hotel Piccada is set in the centre of Palau, in a panoramic position overlooking the sea. It offers a fitness centre and a terrace with sea views.
Pi… MoreEUR 39 - 220 Baia Del Faro
 Located on a peninsular on Sardinia´s northern coast, overlooking La Maddalena archipelago, Baia Del Faro offers traditional stone apartments wi… More | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Palau: Guide
Palau (Belau) is a group of islands in Micronesia.
Regions
Cities
Melekeok - new capital (pop. 381)
Koror - the largest city and former capital
Other destinations
Understand
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993. Palau officially became independent on October 1, 1994.
Get in
US citizens do not require a visa, and nearly all other visitors can receive a free 30-day tourism visa on arrival. For the latest information, contact the Palau Embassy in Washington DC .
By plane
Plane is the only realistic choice. There is only one airport, Airai (ROR), in Koror. Most visitors arrive on Continental Micronesia's daily flights from Guam (~$600), which has good connections to Japan and the United States. However, if you're already in Asia, the cheapest way in is with Asian Spirit from Manila via Davao, with advance-booking fares from US$330 return. There are also chartered flights direct from Taipei and Japan on a variety of operators.
By boat
Possible but not very easy.
Get around
Taxi and rented car. Lots of local taxis. If you rent a car, be prepared to drive real slow on some bumpy roads. Cars there are left or right hand drive. Takes a little getting use to if the steering wheel is on the "passenger" side. Also, you will have to drive about one hour north to find a beach dive sight. If you drive south, to Ice Box Park, please note that the facility behind it is the sewage treatment plant. Any other diving will be from a boat, after an hour or more ride and cost around US$150 for a two tank dive. There are no dive spots or beaches on the main island - Koror. The road north was recently paved and is very nice... once you get past the airport.
Do
Palau is most famous for scuba diving. One of the most famous dive sites - Blue Corner, with constant sharks and a high current - is located less than 1 hour's boat ride from most resorts. Many live aboards like Ocean Hunter operate out of Palau. There are also tours to WWII battle fields on Palau.
The Blue Corner, German Channel, Ulong Channel and Blue Holes are all amazing dive sites. You can dive the same site again and again and have completely different experiences each time.
Splash, the dive shop attached to the Palau Pacific Resort is recommended. The equipment available for rental is of high quality, and either new or well maintained. The dive masters are also very experienced, responsible and know the dive sites very well. Angelo at Splash is highly recommended as a dive master especially if you have not dived in stronger currents.
Talk
English and Palauan are the official languages, although some islands also give official status to their own languages.
Buy
Palau uses the US dollar as its currency.
Costs
As you might expect from a remote island where tourism is the main industry, prices are comparatively high, and even a low-end daily budget would be around US$100/day.
Shopping
Palauan storyboards are traditional wood carvings depicting Palauan myths and legends.
Eat
Drink
Sleep
Budget
Palau offers a number of guest house style boutique accommodation. Some are close into Koror, some are not. These are available for international bookings via dive shops that offer holiday packages (such as Sam's Tours).
Mid-range
There are also a number of nice basic hotels available in Palau.
Splurge
There are lots of reasonably high end resorts on Palau, most catering for scuba divers.
Palau Pacific Resort is a world class resort on the outskirts of Koror. Known locally as PPR, it is very nice (beautiful beach, excellent restaurant, vaulted ceilings) but it is also quite a ways out of Koror (10-15 minute drive). They do run an hourly shuttle into Koror most evenings, or it will set you back about $5 each way for a cab.
Learn
Work
Stay safe
Palau is quite a safe country to visit. Walking in downtown Koror at night, even past midnight is quite safe. But as with any place in the world today, common sense prevails.
Stay healthy
Saltwater Crocodiles (Crocodylus porosus) thankfully still exist in Palau's mangroves and in the beautiful Rock Islands and can potentially be found anywhere on the island. Despite their fearsome and, in some areas, very justified reputation, here they rarely grow to the immense size that they do in Australia and New Guinea. There was only one fatal attack by a crocodile in Palau within recorded history and that occured in 1965. The biggest crocodile in Palau's history was 15 feet in length- large, but this is an average size for saltwater crocodiles in most other countries. The rarity of attacks probably stems from the fact that there are no more than 150 adult individuals currently on the island. Snorkeling and scuba diving are very popular in Palau and there has never in recent history been a report of an attack on a tourist.
Bull Sharks are common in the coastal waters and estuaries, so caution must always be taken while scuba diving or snorkeling
Respect
Contact
This "Travel Guide" section is drawn from the Wikitravel article "Palau". We hope you will edit and improve it. It is available under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 2.5 license.