Black Pearl, Palau
Guide To Everything You Need To Know About A Diving Holiday To Palau On M/Y Black Pearl
The article below provides you with all of the relevant information to make the most of your diving holiday to Palau on board the Black Pearl. The information below is correct as of January 2025.
Diving in Palau
Palau, situated in the western Pacific Ocean, is renowned for its crystal-clear reefs, stunning drop-offs, and exhilarating drift dives. This island nation boasts diverse dive sites, from vibrant shallow coral gardens to deep walls bustling with large pelagic species. Iconic spots like Blue Corner and German Channel draw impressive numbers of sharks, manta rays, and barracudas, making Palau a top destination for divers in search of thrilling marine encounters.
Incredible Marine Biodiversity
• Diverse Marine Life: Palau is part of the Coral Triangle, often referred to as the “Amazon of the Seas,” and boasts over 1,400 species of fish and 500 species of coral.
• Big Pelagics: Frequent encounters with manta rays, reef sharks, and even whale sharks, particularly at world-famous dive sites like Blue Corner.
• Rare Encounters: Unique species like the nautilus, bumphead parrotfish, and the intriguing mandarinfish can often be spotted here.
World-Class Dive Sites
• Blue Corner: Famous for its strong currents, this site offers thrilling drift dives with schools of barracuda, jacks, and grey reef sharks in abundance.
• German Channel: A hotspot for manta ray cleaning stations, offering unforgettable close-up interactions with these graceful creatures.
• Jellyfish Lake: A surreal experience snorkeling among millions of harmless golden jellyfish in a marine lake.
• Ulong Channel: Known for stunning coral walls, incredible macro life, and an exhilarating drift dive through vibrant marine ecosystems.
Pristine Coral Reefs
• Palau’s reefs are teeming with colorful coral gardens that remain some of the most pristine in the world, thanks to strong environmental protections.
Visibility and Conditions
• The crystal-clear waters of Palau provide visibility of up to 40 meters (130 feet), making it ideal for appreciating its underwater beauty.
WWII Wreck Diving
• Palau has a fascinating history as a key battleground during World War II. Divers can explore well-preserved wrecks of planes, ships, and submarines, now teeming with marine life.
Unique Geological Features
• The Rock Islands: These limestone islands create a stunning backdrop and are surrounded by calm lagoons and caves to explore.
• Blue Holes: A dramatic underwater cave system leading to vertical walls that drop into the deep blue.
Conservation and Sustainability
• Palau was the first country to establish a national marine sanctuary that bans commercial fishing, ensuring a thriving and sustainable marine environment.
Black Pearl, Palau
The Black Pearl Liveaboard in Palau is a top-tier vessel designed to offer divers an unforgettable experience while exploring one of the world’s most breathtaking diving destinations. Combining luxury, comfort, and convenience, the Black Pearl is the perfect home base for discovering Palau’s renowned dive sites.
This modern, well-appointed boat features spacious cabins with en-suite bathrooms and air conditioning, ensuring a restful retreat after a day of underwater adventures. Onboard, you’ll find an inviting lounge and dining area where you can relax, enjoy delicious meals prepared by expert chefs, and take in the stunning ocean views. For those seeking extra comfort, the sundeck offers the perfect spot to unwind, soak up the tropical sun, or stargaze at night.
Designed with divers in mind, the Black Pearl is equipped with a dedicated dive deck, ample gear storage, and modern nitrox facilities for certified divers. Its experienced crew and dive guides ensure seamless, safe, and personalized experiences, taking you to iconic sites like Blue Corner, German Channel, and Ulong Channel.
With its combination of luxury, top-notch amenities, and a dedicated diving team, the Black Pearl Liveaboard is more than just a boat—it’s a gateway to exploring Palau’s underwater paradise in style and comfort.
Black Pearl Inclusions
INCLUSIONS:
• Full-board accommodation with 3 meals for every full day onboard
• Palau Goods & Services Tax (PGST)
• Fuel surcharges
• Free drinking water, tea, instant coffee
• Two-way transfers strictly between the hotels in Koror area and Malakal Port
• 3 guided dives a day (except 2nd last day), 1 night dive
• 12-litre diving tanks, weights and weight belts
• Nitrox tanks
• An array of activities such as Beach BBQ, cocktail Party, Jacuzzi pool, Snorkelling, Paddleboard, kayaking, etc.
EXCLUSIONS:
• Marine Park Fees and Taxes – $200 per person (to be paid on board)
• (Optional) Diving permit fee for Peleliu – $60 per person
• (Optional) Transfer between Koror (ROR) Airport (and islands outside of Koror area) and Malakal Port – $25/per transfer/one-way
• (Optional) Special Transfers between Malakal Port and M/Y Black Pearl – $250/per transfer/boat/one-way [When the boat is out in the open sea, and the guest has an emergency and needs to come back with a smaller boat to the port]
• International flights
• Pre- or post-cruise accommodation
• Specialty Coffee, Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
• 15-litre tank rentals and dive gear rentals
• Internet – Can be purchased in advance upon request
• Diving insurance – Can be purchased in advance or on board
• Crew gratuities (10% for services provided during your stay is recommended)
*All prices are subject to change without notice depending on the market.
ALCOHOL IN PALAU
* If you wish to bring your own alcohol, please note that may incur a corkage fee: $20 per bottle of wine and $2 per can of beer, per Palau Universal guidelines.
PRIVATE GUIDE
The price for a private guide is $1200 pp or $1500 per couple for the whole trip. (snorkel or diving)
Have to request in advance, but can pay onboard
ACTIVITIES that guests can enjoy onboard the BP:
Paddleboarding, kayaking, SPA
EXTRA BED
We cannot add any extra beds in any of our cabins.
If people want to put a 3rd person in the same cabin, the 3rd one will pay 50% of the room rate. Please note that according to our booking terms, normally children above 11 years are not allowed to share the bed anymore, but in this case we can make an exception for you.”
BP SIM Card
There’s no Wifi or Starlink in Palau yet. One option is to purchase a local physical SIM card for connection. Due to new regulations in Palau, PNCC SIM cards must now be purchased directly by the user. Our land manager can no longer buy them in advance for customers.
To address this, Black Pearl offers PNCC SIM cards for onboard use, which must be returned before disembarking. Customers need to purchase their own voice and data packages. For reference, a $10 recharge provides a 4GB package valid for 8 days, and packages can be renewed if needed.
Available packages are:
– 10GB for 30 days: $26.50
– 6GB for 15 days: $15.75
– 4GB for 8 days: $8.50
– 2GB for 2 days: $2.10
All prices include PGST.
We also recommend checking out eSIM options that support the internet in Palau (please note that not all phones are eSIM compatible). You can check out the eSIM company “Gigago” which was proven to work well in Palau.
Koror Hotels
RECOMMENDED HOTELS: Palau Vacation Hotel and Beluu Sea View Resort are our partner hotels in Koror. Pearl Fleet guests will enjoy promotional rates. Other recommended hotels are Cove Resort, Palau Royal Resort, Sea Passion, Palasia Hotel or Palau Pacific Resort.
PAYMENTS ON BOARD
CASH: on Black Pearl we only receive USD and only the newer Bank Notes.
(The difference between the old and the new notes may not be necessarily the year, the newer version is with a more complicated design, and the blueprint as a security element. generally is after 2009 or 2013)
CARDS: Visa and Mastercard are widely accepted; select American Express (AMEX) cards issued from the following countries are accepted: Singapore, Australia, United States, Hong Kong, United Kingdom, Europe (SEPA – EUR only), Japan, Canada, United Arab Emirates, Mexico, Brazil, South Korea, South Africa, India, Sweden (EUR only).
– There are no fees for credit card transactions, but subject to the prevailing exchange rate.
EQUIPMENT
– Our BCDs have weight pockets, and the fins are open-heel with booties.
– The wetsuits are Aqua Lung AquaFlex 3mm (long wetsuits only).
– There are 2, 3, and 4-pound weights available for guests to use on the dive boat, which are approximately 0.9 kg, 1.4 kg, and 1.8 kg
– Dive Gear full set includes: fins, mask, suit, regulator, BCD, computer, nautilus. It is freshwater tank with sanitizer for wetsuits
GUESTS SPECIAL REQUESTS – FOOD
Lobster, crab and shellfish need to pay extra on Black Pearl. Supermarkets often sell the following seafood: basa fish, salmon, silver pomfret, ghost knife fish, common small fish, shrimp, squid, mussels, fishballs, and tuna (but it has been out of stock for a long time). Additional charges apply for other seafood, especially lobsters, crabs, and triton shellfish.
Nitrox Course onboard
Nitrox is recommended and the course can be completed on the liveaboard for an extra fee.
FULL MOON SPAWNING
For four days leading up to the full moon period, divers will have the chance to witness one of the ocean’s most spectacular natural events: the spawning aggregations of the Bumphead Parrotfish and or the Red Snapper. During the full moon period or new moon, divers are required to be in the water before sunrise to witness tens of thousands of Red Snappers rise from the deep and begin their mating manoeuvres. This spectacle, full of energy and excitement, includes the fish changing their colours from red to white. These huge aggregations also attract the biggest predators, which hunt actively
Bumphead is in sand bar and NEW MOON and red snapper in shark city with FULL MOON
DIFFERENCE IN BETWEEN BEST OF PALAU AND SPAWNING
In fact, there is no significant difference in essence; however, the spawning period of the red snapper coincides with the full moon. This increases our chances of witnessing the red snapper spawning. Therefore, during the morning dives over the itinerary of two days, we will visit a specific dive site to observe this spectacle. The other dive sites and itinerary will remain the same as the Best of Palau.
BUDDY TEAMS
Regarding the boat’s policy for groups: they will first try to group them with similar people, such as photographers. Dives last for 60 minutes. In the event that someone needs to finish earlier than that, guides will allow those individuals to ascend first with their SMBs. This way, the rest of the group can continue to stay together with our guide until the 60 minutes are up.
They don’t allow experienced buddy divers to go alone; there will always be a guide with the guests.
PALAU MARINE PARK FEES
$200 Marine Park fee which includes Rock Island dive permit, Jellyfish lake and port taxes.
For the jellyfish lake, if the guests don’t go, we can refund it.
Maritime park fee valid for 10 days under the real names, it will expire after 10 days without being able to keep it as a credit
Rock island permit is cost 50$ x2
Rock island + jellyfish lake in one permit is 100$
And our MPF is 150$ ($50 extra is “port tax”)
Tours in Palau
I always like to recommend Paddling Palau, owned by Ron Leidich. He and his team have extensive knowledge about nature in Palau. They offer day tours for snorkelling, kayaking, birding, beach visits, ancient Palauan village visits, and WWII tours. Take a look at their website and see what you think! https://www.paddlingpalau.net
Daily things to do
If they are not up for a full-day tour you can always visit the Etpison museum or visit the jail where they make the wooden Palaun storyboards. There is the Palau aquarium, which is small but ok. Or visit the Biota Marine Life Nursery in Airai.
For lunch and or dinner you can go to Kramers or DropOff bar both in Malakal close to the jetty where we drop the guests off.
If they like Indian food, I highly recommend the Taj.
Flying into Palau
Our travel team can quote you the best prices and routes, but here below are some options for flights into Koror Palau:
Via Taipei
Our first recommendation would be to fly into Taipei (TPE) from your country of origin followed by a 4-hour direct flight into Palau (ROR) with China Airlines.
Direct flights into Taipei are available from many major airports in the world (Eg. Frankfurt from Europe), with reputable companies such as EVA Air and China Airlines.
As of January 2025, the flight schedules and frequencies for China Airlines from Taipei to Koror are as follows:
- China Airlines: Taipei (TPE) to Koror (ROR)
- Frequency: Three times a week, with an average of one flight per day.
- Schedule: Flights depart Taipei in the morning, with departure times varying between 09:45 and 12:30.
- Flight Duration: Approximately 3 hours and 50 minutes.
Via Manila
Another option would be to fly into Manila (MNL) followed by a direct 3-hour flight into Palau (ROR) with United Airlines. Manila, like Taipei, is easily accessible from major airports throughout the world.
The downside here, however, is that there are only two flights per week into and out of Palau. You will have an extra 2-3 days between the end of your cruise and your next flight.
Moreover, flights from Manila are typically around 50% more expensive than from Taipei.
As of January 2025, the flight schedules and frequencies for United Airlines from Manila to Koror are as follows:
United Airlines: Manila (MNL) to Koror (ROR)
- Frequency: Twice weekly.
- Schedule: Flights typically depart Manila late at night, around 22:40, arriving in Koror in the early morning hours.
- Flight Duration: Approximately 2 hours and 55 minutes.
Via Guam
United Airlines serves a few flights per week from Guam (GUM) into Palau (ROR) and vice versa. Pricewise, Guam would be worth looking into for travelers from South Korea and a few other Asian countries, but at the time of writing, flying into Guam from other countries is significantly more costly and more inconvenient than flying into Taipei or Manila.
BOOK YOUR DIVING HOLIDAY ON BOARD BLACK PEARL WITH OYSTER DIVING TODAY
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E: holidays@oysterdiving.com