Scuba diving locations in Palau:

When to scuba dive in Palau:

The water is warm, between 25°C and 29°C, all year, but the wet season from May to November can reduce visibility.

Local standards for gear:

The best scuba diving spots in Palau:

• Ngemelis Wall's variety of soft and hard coral is staggering.
• Turtle Cove is a spectacular dive with entry in a small blue hole which exits onto a beautiful and healthy wall.
• Big Drop Off begins in a metre of feet of water and drops off to around 600m. It has beautiful soft corals and sea fans, as well as many small reef fish, including the unusual Squarespot anthias and thousands of Pyramid butterflyfish.
• Blue Corner always has sharks and a high current, but watch out for bullhead sharks.

The best spots to snorkel in Palau:

• Jellyfish Lake is one of the isolated rock islands and the hosts a very high jellyfish population who have small stinging cells, however, because the stinging cells are so tiny, their sting is not detectable on most human tissue. At night, the jellyfish descend into a layer of hydrogen sulphide which is found below 15m. Scuba diving in the lake is prohibited to avoid disturbing the jellyfish and also to reduce the risk of hydrogen sulphide poisoning but snorkelling is allowed.

Fun scuba facts:

Country data:

Administrative details

• Currency: US dollar (USD)
• Population: is about 21,000 (2011)
• Time Zone: (GMT+9)
• Main languages spoken: English, Palauan, Japanese, Sonsorolese (in Sonsoral), Tobian (in Hatohobei) ## Diveable overseas territories:

Palauan diving federations:

Local diving laws and regulations (and PADI-equivalent certifications):

Scuba diving is prohibited in Jellyfish Lake.