Stay in the heart of town at the Marina, perfectly positioned for easy access to restaurants, shops, and a range of unforgettable tours—from scenic flights (highly recommended!) to quad‑bike adventures. Enjoy a modern hotel room with direct poolside access before setting out the dive boat, offering exclusive access, flexibility, and a personalised dive experience. 

Palau delivers calm tropical waters, stunning visibility, and an extraordinary abundance of marine life thanks to its shark sanctuary and protected marine zones. Expect encounters with schooling grey reef and white‑tip sharks, graceful mantas, swirling barracuda, cruising pelagics such as dogtooth and yellowfin tuna, bumphead parrotfish, turtles, eagle rays, and vibrant, healthy coral gardens teeming with reef fish. Dive iconic high‑current sites like Blue Corner and German Channel for consistent, thrilling big‑animal action, or add unique experiences like Jellyfish Lake, Rock Islands UNESCO World Heritage sites, WWII wrecks, and more. With Qantas’ convenient direct flights from Brisbane—and liveaboards not aligning with these schedules—this land‑based package gives you the ultimate, hassle‑free adventure 

• This trip takes advantage of the Qantas flight schedule between Brisbane and Palau. The current liveaboards do not often integrate well.

• Staying on the mainland, combined with the Australian government-subsidized flights available for early bookings, means you can access the bucket-list diving of Palau on an affordable budget.

• Experience scenic flights over the amazing islands from your comfortable base.

• Enjoy the best rooms at Cove Resort Palau—slip straight into the pool from your personal sundeck.

• Palau is one of the world's largest marine sanctuary's. Its known thrilling shark and schooling fish action, and healthy resilient reefs. .

Arrive at Palau International Airport where you’ll be met by our team and transferred to your poolside room at the Cove Resort. Unwind from your journey, settle in, and join the group for an informal welcome drink before dinner.

Wake up to a fresh buffet breakfast before boarding our dive boat for two exhilarating dives each day—including a bonus dive at the atmospheric Chandelier Rock Cave on one of the days. Cruise through the iconic Rock Islands, past towering limestone formations and turquoise channels, as you journey to some of Palau’s most legendary dive sites such as Blue Corner and German Channel. Return mid‑afternoon for poolside relaxation, a cold drink, and a dose of tropical sunshine.

On one of the days, enjoy a bonus dive at Chandelier cave.

On another day, enjoy a special excursion to Jellyfish lake (marine life permitting) or snorkel Rock Island lagoon.

With sufficient diver interest (minimum 6 pax), night dives, typically organised as shore dives, can be arranged. Think fish, maybe a short or two and the glow of your dive lights.

Take an afternoon siesta, sun bake from your personal sundeck and slip straight into the pool.

Each day begins with a delightful buffet breakfast at the hotel, and lunch is served on the boat.

Staying in the Marina offers numerous dining options within walking distance. Your tour leader will coordinate a location for each night, but feel free to relax in your apartment or enjoy a romantic dinner if you prefer.

Enjoy a relaxed rhythm.

• Relax poolside with a cocktail.

• Enjoy a scenic flight over the islands (highly recommended - Smile Air conducts personalized flights from approx $160 USD).

• Take a guided kayaking trip.

• Explore a land-based cultural and nature trip, including WWII history sites (Peleliu Island), Koror city tours & museums, Babeldaob waterfalls, and more.

• Arrange an extra day of diving (on Day 5 only)

Enjoy delicious bufffet breakfast before departing the resort.

Transfer to Koror Airport. Have your final hugs, but don't worry the banter will continue until your next trip!

Palau is widely considered one of the world’s premier dive destinations, thanks to its powerful currents, pristine reefs, and extraordinary fish biomass. What makes Palau special is the variety—you’ll find adrenaline‑filled drift dives, calm coral gardens, deep walls, blue holes, WWII wrecks, and manta cleaning stations, often all in the same week.

In 2015 , 80% of Palau's entire maritime territory was designated as a no-take marine sanctuary. This means shark populations remain intact, fish biomass stays exceptionally high and ecosystems are resilient.

• Famous for consistent shark encounters, not just occassional sightings. Mainly reef sharks and siilvertips.

• Massive fish schools are a signature of Palau. Barracuda tornadoes, Bigeye trevally, snapper clouds, fuiliers in the thousands.

• Mantas, spotted eagle ratys, blue-spotted stingrays.

• Iconic species include massive Bumphead parrotfish (up to 1.3m) and Napoleon Wrassse.

• Extremely good coral cover resilient to warming events.

• Lagoon wrecks

• Jellyfish lake, containing stingless golden Jellyfish, one of Palau's famous natural wonders.

• Grey reef sharks: abundant at outer reef corners

• Manta rays: frequently seen at German Channel cleaning stations

• Spawning events: groupers and bumphead parrotfish often aggregate around full moons in March–April

• Jellyfish Lake: traditionally one of the better months for higher jellyfish density (subject to conservation cycles)

Dive sites include;

Blue Corner 

• Palau's most famous dive site. 

• Divers use reef hooks to stay in place while sharks swim by 

• Expect grey reef sharks, barracuda, jacks, and turtles 

Ulong Channel 

• Fast drift through a coral-lined channel 

• Sandy bottom with giant clams and reef sharks 

• Ends in a shallow coral garden 

Blue Holes 

• Four vertical holes dropping to around 30-40 m 

• Dramatic entry opening to a deep blue wall 

Dive sites include;

Chandelier Cave

• Five distinct limestone air-pocket chambers filled with stunning stalactites and stalagmites, resembling chandeliers

German Channel 

• Man-made WWII channel that funnels plankton 

• Famous for manta ray cleaning stations 

Peleliu 

• Famous for its raw pelagic action including tuna, barracuda and jacks, as well as large shark numbers.

• A deep cut where currents collide, similar to blue corner but more intense

• Only for very advanced, fit divers and only when conditions allow 

Iro Maru 

• Massive oil tanker lying upside down 

• Covered in soft corals 

Mandarin Fish Lake 

• Famous sunset mandarin fish mating displays 

• Shallow and slow dive 

Flights are not included, providing clients maximum flexibility to extend their trip, upgrade their ticket class, select their preferred departure point, and earn or use airline points.

We recommend the following flights based on the current flight schedule:

Qantas QF165 – Depart BNE 10:20 AM, Arrive 3:30 PM, 0 stops, 24th April

Qantas QF166 – Depart ROR 8:30 AM, Arrive 3:10 PM, 0 stops, 2nd May

Indicative cost of return flights with Qantas as of March 2026 is $1,100.

We recommend booking flights early to secure a good price, as flights to Palau increase significantly in cost over time.

Clients are responsible for booking their own flights and must ensure they arrive in time for the specified transfer, embarkation, and disembarkation schedules.

Transfers are provided by Cove Resort and will be co-ordinated based on your chosen flight schedule.

• A family-owned Australian business for over 45 years, founded in 1979 and still run by the McKinnon family, brings passion and personal care to every guest experience.

• Guided by Scuba World’s mission to create safe, enthusiastic divers, every trip feels welcoming and memorable.

• Highly trained, experienced, and long-term staff at Australia’s only Aqualung Partner Centre and SSI Diamond Dive Centre ensure world-class safety and education.

• We have a proven history of taking guests on trips for years, often visiting the destination beforehand to ensure a seamless experience and extra bonus information—sometimes having visited many times.

• Suppliers are carefully chosen for being the best in their area when it comes to service and safety. This translates to serviced equipment and boats, clean air, and knowledgeable, friendly staff—elements that truly matter to divers.

• A strong team culture built on trust, with a stable crew, means your trip is led by passionate individuals who care about your experience.

• A warm tour leader enhances the experience through shared activities and laughter, helping guests form meaningful connections.

• Enjoy personal, attentive service from friendly staff and experienced guides, consistently praised by guests.

• All participants must hold Advanced Open Water certification. We recommend practicing SMB deployment beforehand and having completed a minimum of four dives within the past six months. 

• Your safety and enjoyment are our top priorities. As such, dive sites—particularly Peleliu—cannot be guaranteed, as all site selections are dependent on weather conditions and diver experience levels. 

• Prices are subject to currency fluctuations and changes in supplier rates, including any fuel tax surcharges. The final price will be determined upon payment of the balance. This pricing estimate is based on the NAB Exchange Rate of 1 AUD to 0.6835 USD as of March 2026.  

• We strongly recommend obtaining travel insurance.

• All divers must hold dive evacuation insurance, such as that included with Diver Alert Network (DAN) membership.

• Snorkeling at Jellyfish Lake depends on marine life presence. If the jellyfish are not present in reasonable numbers, snorkeling will take place at the Rock Islands instead.  

• The price excludes government permits. For example, Koror State Permit $50USD, $100 USD permit for Jellyfish Lake, $60USD for Peleliu (if required).

• Full Terms and Conditions are provided as part of the booking form and must be acknowledged prior to booking.