Palau might sound unfamiliar to many, but you may have heard of it when typhoon alerts are issued—it’s often mentioned then. It’s located in the western Pacific Ocean, about 880 kilometers from the Philippines.
At the time, Dou Dou’s flight route to Palau via Hong Kong was canceled. Later, in 2014, there were direct flights by Palau Airlines (they did exist, but it was unclear how to book them), so I opted to fly from Taipei instead. Other options included Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, and Guam, but the airfares weren’t cheap. That’s why I booked an independent travel package from a Taiwanese travel agency. However, after arriving at the hotel, when I asked the snorkeling operators, they only offered services for Taiwanese travelers. In the end, my trip ended up feeling just like joining a tour group.
To put it this way: if you stay at a hotel catering to Japanese tourists, the snorkeling operators provided will be Japanese. For non-Taiwanese or non-Japanese guests, the services are usually local, with English as the main language.
The local currency is the U.S. dollar, and the time zone is one hour ahead of both Hong Kong and Taiwan. The official languages are English and Palauan, but surprisingly, Japanese is also an accepted language. This is because the region was governed by Japan during World War I, then by the United States afterward. In 1981, an autonomous government was established, and it wasn’t until 1994 that Palau gained independence as the “Republic of Palau,” commonly known as Palau.
Palau’s international airport is the Roman Tmetuchl International Airport (ROR) in Koror. By the time we arrived, it was already evening. The hotel was operated by the Rite-Hite Group, a Taiwanese company (there’s a resort in Chenggong, Taitung—they even pass by the Bellavista Boulevard if you bike there). When I asked the front desk about snorkeling operators and whether there were any not run by Taiwanese, they simply said it was hard to get in touch with them.
Relations between Taiwan and Palau are quite strong, with substantial trade cooperation and even a Taiwanese embassy in Palau—illustrating just how close the ties are. In Taitung City’s Seaside Park, there’s a Men’s Club building gifted by the Palauan president to Taitung, their sister city, as a symbol of friendship. Unfortunately, it was knocked down by a typhoon four years ago, and I’m not sure if it’s been restored yet (it seems it hasn’t).
As a result, on the second morning, my friend and I just followed the tour group. During our three-night, four-day trip in Palau, the first day ended after just one dinner. The second and third days were dedicated to snorkeling, and the fourth day… well, my memory is that we were delayed by a typhoon and didn’t return to Taiwan until the fifth day.
So, this Palau trip—well, actually, a five-day, four-night journey—cost around 8,000 Hong Kong dollars for the independent tour package back then. Snorkeling was extra, about 100 U.S. dollars per day for two days. There were other expenses too; eating in Palau isn’t cheap. But since we ate quite well, dinners were about the same price as in Hong Kong—around 300–400 Hong Kong dollars for two people. All in all, it cost around 12,000 Hong Kong dollars (excluding the flight from Hong Kong to Taiwan, since Dou Dou was living in Taiwan at the time). If you’re only booking a flight from Hong Kong to Palau, it’s about 8,000 Hong Kong dollars, so booking through a Taiwanese travel agency is more cost-effective. As for activities, I think it really depends on your preferences—you don’t necessarily have to do two full days of snorkeling like I did.
But one thing you absolutely must do in Palau is snorkeling/scuba diving—their waters are designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site, which speaks volumes about their uniqueness. For Dou Dou, who has snorkeled here, it’s one of the top three experiences ever.
Dou Dou and friends joined a tour group, which meant rushing around—we hit ten snorkeling spots in two days. It was the most exhausting trip of my life, but when sorting through the photos, I can’t even recall the tenth spot. The surface photos are mine, and the underwater ones are my friend’s.
The first stop was Milk Lake, where a part of the Rock Islands has milky-white water due to white volcanic mud on the seabed. This mud is rich in minerals and has beautifying properties.
The local guide dug up some volcanic mud from the bottom.
Then, we applied it all over our bodies. After a while, we jumped back into the milk lake to rinse off—it felt like a natural spa treatment.
In the Rock Islands, mushroom-shaped islets are a common sight—a unique feature formed by years of wave erosion shaping the rocks like mushrooms.
On our way to the next snorkeling point, we passed through areas with varying colors and layers.
This wasn’t a natural formation. This place is called German Channel—an artificial waterway blasted out by the Germans using dynamite to facilitate boat traffic.
Next, we went snorkeling in the Blue Coral area. The guide gave us bread to feed the fish. Like fish everywhere, they love bread and swarmed over excitedly.
That was the first time Dou Dou saw blue coral—and she was absolutely thrilled.
And there were so many fish—by quantity (those swimming all around us while snorkeling)—it remains my number one experience to this day.
Before noon, our last snorkeling spot was the Big Drop-off, beyond the outer reef. The waves were stronger there (typhoon conditions probably didn’t help). The Big Drop-off is a spot that Dou Dou highly recommends for both snorkeling and scuba diving. The shallow area is around 3 meters deep, but just past that drops into a 2,000-meter abyss—it’s like a sheer cliff underwater, and it’s absolutely fascinating.
If you venture away from the shallows, you’ll see huge cliffs in the deep sea, covered with diverse corals and fish—it’s a fantastic spot for advanced scuba diving.
Seeing those massive cliffs was truly awe-inspiring. The depth below is a staggering 2,000 meters with no visible bottom—absolutely amazing.
After the Big Drop-off, we headed back to the island to rest. There was a beach where we could wade in the water. Earlier, I mentioned the 100-dollar package—it covered a full day of snorkeling and included lunch, so it was actually quite good value.
But I just remember the lunch not being very tasty—not any kind of local cuisine. Maybe because it was a Taiwanese group, it was basically like eating a Taiwanese bento box. But it filled us up, so that was fine.
The afternoon snorkeling spot was Shark City. Before seeing the sharks, we saw lots of fish that looked almost fake.
My friend didn’t get a close-up photo of the sharks because it was around 15 meters deep. Then the guide dived down to lure the sharks over (don’t try this at home), though generally, the sharks ignore people and swim around on their own.
Speaking of the guide—he’s from Kaohsiung, has been in Palau for seven years, and is married. We were curious about where his wife and child were, and it turned out they’re in Taiwan. We thought he’d be living here, but we felt a bit sorry for him being separated from them. He said he earns more money here—it’s in U.S. dollars, after all.
Then came the final snorkeling spot of the day—Jellyfish Lake, also a UNESCO World Heritage Site. It’s a short 15-minute walk to the lake, and once you arrive, you just jump right in and swim out to the center.
Actually, this used to be the sea. Due to tectonic movements, the seabed rose, forming a lake, and that's when the jellyfish got trapped here.
Although what I saw wasn’t as exaggerated as the photos online, I think it’s just right for someone with trypophobia—too many would still feel uncomfortable. The lake water is actually quite murky and greenish, and there were more jellyfish than shown in this photo, but they just didn’t show up well in pictures.
The golden jellyfish are really adorable—they’re all non-poisonous jellyfish, by the way.
The guide repeatedly reminded everyone: 1) Do not touch the jellyfish forcefully, 2) Do not lift the jellyfish out of the water, 3) When swimming in areas with lots of jellyfish, move your hands and feet gently and minimally, because the jellyfish are very fragile.
It was a bit heartbreaking—despite the guide clearly explaining in Mandarin not to touch the jellyfish forcefully, some kids still squished a few, and they did so loudly—their voices echoed throughout the mountain lake.
I was super careful (my hands were already wrinkled from soaking, sorry if the sight is unpleasant)! At that time, the golden jellyfish were already noticeably fewer, but later I saw news from this year (2016) saying they were almost gone. It seems the area is now temporarily closed for maintenance and not receiving visitors, but if it reopens in the future, it’s definitely a must-do snorkeling spot.
Next is the itinerary for the second day—our first stop was this place.
There didn’t seem to be much visible on the surface.
Actually, this is where you can see the Japanese shipwreck (Japanese Ship Wreck)—the wreckage of vessels sunk during World War II.
Besides being suitable for snorkeling, this place is also great for scuba diving. Dou Dou loves seeing all kinds of things, so I’d recommend it for something a bit different—though perhaps similar sites exist in other parts of the Pacific.
Then there’s Clam City. These clams are really huge—I’d say they’re nearly a meter wide... They’re giant clams over a hundred years old.
The water here is about 6–8 meters deep. The guide dove down to try opening one, but of course, didn’t succeed.
It was lunchtime again—we went to a nearby island for lunch. The weather wasn’t great; the typhoon would be closest the next day (day four).
After lunch, we wandered around a bit. It was my first time touching a starfish, but I didn’t really like the texture.
Next was the afternoon itinerary. Based on the photos, it seems we visited two different snorkeling spots, though I’ve forgotten which was which. One spot had Palau’s national treasure, the bumphead parrotfish, while the other had an unbelievable abundance of fish—it was called the guide’s underwater secret garden, but it was basically just their selected snorkeling spot.
There were so many yellowtail fish and damselfish—if you have bread, you’ll see them swarming.
I remember this photo well—a friend was resting tiredly on the boat, and a local Palauan guide took a camera, dove down, and took this shot for me. I really love this photo.
Lastly, there’s the Seven-Colored Coral Area. My friend was too tired to go, but to get there, you have to swim through an arched tunnel with pretty strong currents—it takes a lot of effort to push through. Swim three strokes, rest a bit, but the corals are truly vibrant and colorful.
The corals here are poisonous, so don’t reach out to touch them.
Pink, red, orange, yellow, green (seaweed), blue, purple, white—the seven-colored corals were truly stunning. It was the first time I’d seen so many colors of coral in one place.
There’s also a fault line here, but it’s not as impressive as the major ones.
That’s it for the third day’s snorkeling. Visiting five snorkeling spots in one day is definitely a physical challenge, but that’s how group tours are. I really admire those group mates who didn’t look tired at all—they still had the energy to chat, while my friend and I slept the whole ride back.
On the fourth day, we did a bit of city sightseeing—we visited the KB Bridge and the Etpison Museum. The museum is privately run but is also quite representative of Palau. Here, you can learn about Palau’s history, background, culture, etc. If you want to understand the local culture, it’s worth a visit.
Later, we returned to the hotel and waited for updates on the typhoon. I vaguely remember that only the lobby had internet, and the connection was pretty bad during the storm. In the end, we ended up staying an extra night—covering accommodation, dinner, and breakfast. In the morning, we also walked along the hotel’s mangrove trail. Since we weren’t in a rush to get to work, we considered it a nice break.
Though it was just a short five days, snorkeling in a UNESCO World Heritage-listed marine area felt incredibly memorable—as if visiting a paradise on earth (because it’s really hard to get to). Dou Dou highly recommends this to anyone who loves snorkeling or scuba diving.
Official Palau Tourism Website (English): http://pristineparadisepalau.com/
Palau Airlines: http://www.palaupacificairways.com/
(Not introduced on the Palau official site, but flight data shows flights from Hong Kong International Airport—just for reference)
Etpison Museum?http://etpisonmuseum.org
News related to Palau’s Jellyfish Lake:
http://www.appledaily.com.tw/realtimenews/article/new/20160503/852211/
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Having traveled to over 30 countries and regions, lived in Taiwan for a year and a half, spent several months exploring Japan, and experienced two months of aurora hunting through work-exchange in Canada. Travel articles have been published on U blog, DC fever, likeJapan, now.com, and Travel Bar. Open to various forms of collaboration.