Palau offers you the world's most beautiful tropical paradise. Famous for its diving, Palau is rated as one of the world's best diving destinations by scuba aficionados. And why not...Palau has unspoiled reefs, caves, and walls with the most amazing array of marine life you can ever imagine.
Palau beckons to you with some of the world's most awesome natural wonders. Imagine the whitest beaches you will ever see, gardens of coral just beneath the clearest waters, lakes filled to the brim with 'sting less' jellyfish. Forests, waterfalls and caves that have never been ravaged by man, and hundreds of islands of the purest beauty abound all along our pristine archipelago.
From the western seaboard of the United States, you can hop to Hawaii, skip to Guam, then jump to Palau. For a scenic island route, you can do an island hop across Micronesia to Palau. Through Asia, there are twice weekly charter services between Taipei, Taiwan and Palau and additional flights are also available during peak seasons (including South Korea). From Europe, visitors can fly via Emerates direct to Manila, Philippines and onwards with Continental Airlines to Palau--this is possible without overnight stay in Manila.
History: Palau's early history is still largely veiled in mystery. Why, how or when people arrived on our beautiful islands is unknown, but studies indicate that today's Palauans are distant relatives of the Malays of Indonesia, Melanesians of New Guinea and Polynesians. As for the date of their arrivals, carbon dating of artifacts from the oldest known village sites on the Rock Islands and the spectacular terraces on Babeldaob place civilization here as early as 1,000 BC.
English-Speaking?: YES
Weather: Palau enjoys a pleasantly warm climate all year round with an annual mean temperature of 82 degrees F. (27 deg C.). Rainfall can occur throughout the year, and the annual average is 150 inches. The average relative humidity is 82%, and although rain falls more frequently between July and October, there is still much sunshine. Typhoons are rare as Palau is located outside the typhoon zone.
Customs/VISA: Nationals of any country (except Bangladesh and Myanmar, which must obtain a VISA prior to arrival), can obtain a free visa on arrival. The visa is valid for a maximum stay of 30 days but can be extended twice for a fee. In order to obtain a visa on arrival visitors are required to hold a proof of sufficient funds (USD 200 per week).
Currency: The official currency of the Republic is the U.S. Dollar. Visa, JCB, Master Card, and American Express cards are widely accepted at stores and visitor facilities. There are FDIC insured banks and major hotels with limited foreign currency exchange. In addition, Palau has money transfers such as Western Union or through Bank Institution.
Immunization: Cholera and Yellow Fever immunizations are required for those arriving from infected areas.
Wikipedia: Palau - Palau is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean, some 500 miles (800 km) east of the Philippines and 2,000 miles (3,200 km) south of Tokyo...
Palau Visitors Authority Website - The Palau Visitors Authority (PVA) is a semi-autonomous body created by law to promote and encourage the development and marketing of tourism as one of the primary economic sectors of the Republic...
Star Alliance Micronesia Airpass - Read how you can travel conveniently throughout Micronesia with the Airpass. It gives you great choice and flexibility to plan an unforgettable journey in this unique corner of the world. You can choose from over 20 destinations within Asia and Micronesia which are covered by the Airpass....
Improving Phone, Internet Access in North Pacific - People in the Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) and the Republic of Palau will get better telephone and internet connectivity, with support from a new project announced today by the World Bank...more
WWF Micronesia Snorkeling Adventure - Nov 2012 - There's a reason many WWF members join our Micronesia tour more than once. Some of the world's healthiest and accessible snorkeling sites are found in this South Pacific region...more
New "Pacific Oceanscape" Makes History - Heads of State and Governments from 15 nations endorsed a draft framework for the long-term, sustainable, and cooperative management of 38.5 million km2 (nearly 24 million square miles) surrounding their collective islands...more
Micronesia: the Next Cruise Discovery? - A hitherto unknown patch of the North Pacific Ocean could well feature more frequently in cruise itineraries if the newly formed Micronesian Cruise Association (MCA) have their way...more
Palau Is Naturally Eco-Friendly - With so many tourism entities intent on implementing new environmentally-friendly programs, procedures and strategies, the destination of Palau needs not enhance what is already an ingrained custom in this North Pacific paradise...more
Japan signs carbon offset deal with Palau - Japan has signed an agreement with Palau to allow Japanese companies to earn carbon credits by helping the small Pacific island cut greenhouse gas emissions...more
European Commission Proposes Visa Free Travel - The European Commission on Wednesday proposed to add five Caribbean Island Nations (Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and Trinidad and Tobago), 10 Pacific Island Nations (Kiribati, the Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Nauru, Palau, Samoa, the Solomon Islands, Tonga, Tuvalu and Vanuatu) and Timor-Leste to the list of third countries and territories whose nationals are exempt from the visa obligation...more
Pacific nations discuss climate change impact on food, drinking water - Heads of government, ministers and ambassadors from 22 Pacific Island countries and territories (PICTs) and Australia, France, New Zealand and the USA will gather in Noumea, New Caledonia on Monday for the 7th Conference of the Pacific Community to discuss the impact of climate change on food and drinking water – one of the most critical issues facing the Pacific region today...more
Palau: A Pacific Paradise at the End of the Rainbow - On a visit to the Pacific archipelago of Palau, there's every chance you'll see a rainbow spreading its colors across the sky here in the far western Pacific.
In fact, rainbows are so common that "Rainbow's End" is Palau's official motto.
...more
Palau, Micronesia’s Jellyfish Lake Gets A 'Facelift' - One of the most unique attractions on the planet, Palau's Jellyfish Lake recently upgraded its previously-rutted access trail with a smoother, more pedestrian-friendly concrete path/stairway...more
Global Warming impacts a real concern for Pacific Island Nations - A major new report on climate change in the Pacific Ocean region reports that the region is getter hotter, sea levels are rising, rainfall is changing and equatorial winds have weakened. The number of tropical cyclones may decrease slightly in the future, however cyclone intensity may also increase...more
Palau Focusing on Climate Change Impact - The Republic of Palau, like many island nations, is learning new ways and relearning old ways to adapt and mitigate the impacts of climate change....more
Micronesia explores new air links, proposes new airline - A new airline, to be named Fly Micronesia, is being proposed by the three Compact states in the North-West Pacific. Government officials are already looking at either leasing or buying two Dash 8 aircraft to launch the airline’s services into Asia...more
"Dominica was another stop on our Caribbean cruise. Here's an excerpt from my blog post about our day in Dominica:
The bus departed from the pier at 10:30am and we were en route to our first stop up in the mountains for a hike to a waterfall. As we drove through town, it looked really poor - more than the other places we've visited. During our history lesson of Dominica we learned that the island is 99% volcanic rock and 1% limestone, that there are 17 dormant volcanoes and 365 rivers - one river for every day of the year, and during leap years they find another river, was the joke.
The bus stopped after the 45-minute drive through the mountains, and we were at the entry point of the rain forest for the walk to Spanny's Waterfall. A few people stopped to use the facilities but the rest of the group began their walk through the rain forest - great tour guide, just leaving us to navigate on our own. The walk was roughly 20-minutes and was a pretty substantial hike through the mud. We saw a lot of interesting and colourful plants along the way, but surprisingly no bugs. The waterfall was absolutely beautiful. Could have spent a lot more time there.
Back on the bus, we made our way down the mountain and to Mero Beach, which is a black sand beach. The drive down the mountain was a little easier to handle than the drive up. Baron sure did like to grind the gears, and take the turns pretty fast. The beach was pretty interesting, seeing that I've never been to a black sand beach before. The water looked really murky, but was surprisingly clear - the black sand makes the water clarity deceiving. Because we were with the tour group, we didn't have to pay for the chairs/umbrella, and we were given a free drink at the bar."
![find flights to Palau (Belau) [ROR]](images/airplane.jpg "find flights to Palau (Belau) [ROR]"){kind=small}
.jpg "Courtesy of OceanIslandTravel.com")
