Palau
Palau
May 8-15, 2025
Venture with us on the new Solitude Gaia liveaboard in Palau!
Hop on board the beautiful Solitude Gaia liveaboard. This new 40 meter/ 130 foot vessel was completed in 2023 and is making its "home" in Palau.
With nine cabins, a luxurious spa and a max of 18 guests, the layout and features have been well thought out and designed with divers in mind.
We are venturing into Palau during full moon, perfect to witness the spawning events that occur here during this time frame.
Our planned (subject to change) itinerary:
Tentative Itinerary:
Day 1: Arrival into Koror, Palau board the Solitude Gaia, for a warm welcome, and settling into cabins, unpack dive gear/camera gear, boat briefing and dive briefing. Relax and enjoy the views as we get ready for diving the next day.
Day 2: Diving begins! Today we'll start off with an easy first dive in Malakal Bay and continue diving here today. These site sites are captivating and historical wrecks.
Day 3-7 Diving continues as we venture to Ulong Island, Peleliu & Ngemelis Island Area and Ngemelis Island to round out the week.
Day 8: No diving today and we'll disembark in the evening, which gives us time to visit world famous jellyfish lake and the Milky Way. We'll say our final farewells to the crew and the Solitude Gaia and make our way to an area hotel (TBC).
Duration:
7 nights/8 days
Package Cost:
Upper Deck Ocean View Suites:
King or Two Twins (1 female share), double occupancy
$4595.00 USD per person
Upper Deck Ocean View:
King bed only, double occupancy (sold out)
$4295.00 USD per person
Main Deck Ocean View
King bed only, double occupancy (sold out)
$3995.00 USD per person
Main Deck Ocean View
Two Twins or King bed, double occupancy (sold out)
$3995.00 USD per person
Lower Deck Twin
Two Twins, double occupancy (1 male share)
$3595.00 USD per person
The beautiful Solitude Gaia & Palau
Main Deck King
Exclusions:
Dive gear rental
Massages
Alcoholic beverages, soda, "barista" coffee drinks
State Cabin Room Tax: $70 USD for 7 night itineraries
Nitrox for the week: $135 USD
Fuel Surcharge: $210 USD (Paid on board)- if the price of crude oil drops a certain amount, this may be waived.
Peleliu Diving Permit: $60 USD paid in cash
Koror Diving Permit: $50 USD paid in cash
Angaur Island Permit: $35 USD paid in cash
Jellyfish Lake or Rock Island Permits: $100 USD paid in cash
Airfare: International & Domestic
Travel Insurance / DAN dive Insurance
Crew tips
Hotel in Palau and/or Manila before/after trip if required.
Onboard purchases
7 nights/8 days on board the Solitude Gaia
(refer to https://solitude.world/solitude-gaia/)
3-4 dives a day (includes tanks and weights. Other equipment not included). *Some days may be 2-3 dives depending on land excursions and transit distances.*
3 meals a day plus snacks, water, tea, & coffee
Accommodations in luxurious cabins.
Presentations on marine wildlife.
Travel and explore with an experienced trip leader, diver, & underwater photographer.
Photography and editing advice provided.
Friendly & fun atmosphere
Certified dive guides and amazing cruise directors.
Private charter for our group only.
Group size limited to 16 including trip organizer.
Getting to Palau:
To/From North America:
Travel to Palau is typically flown via Manila or Guam.
Many of us will be flying into Palau from Manila on May 6, 2025 on UA.
Alternatively, there are other airlines that fly into Palau (ROR airport)
United Airlines via Guam (GUM) or Manila (MNL)
China Airlines via Taipe (TPE)
Hong Kong Airlines via Hong Kong (HKG)
Nauru Airlines via Brisbane, Australia (BNE) (https://www.nauruair.com/)
Flights to Palau from Manila:
Group Flights: From Manila the current schedule is:
May 6, 2025 UA 192 MNL-ROR 10:25pm departure
May 16, 2025 UA 193 ROR-MNL 9:00pm departure
Pricing $837.00 USD roundtrip
If you arrive into Palau on May 8, 2025 you will be met by the Solitude Gaia staff at the airport. Embarkation begins at 5pm on May 8, 2025. If you are staying in a local area hotel, the Solitude Gaia team will pick us up and transport us board the yacht.
Departure on May 15, 2025 is in the late afternoon. The Solitude Gaia staff will bring you back to the airport for your departing flight. If you are continuing onto another resort or elsewhere in the Koror area, just let us know so we can coordinate with the Solitude Gaia team for transportation.
If saying until the United flight on May 16, 2025, hotel is TBC.
Bumphead Parrotfish Spawning
300+ species of coral are found in Palau – the entire Caribbean Sea has only 58 species
2000 species of fish have been recorded to date
Palau gained it's independence from the United States in 1994.
The region has over 380 islands yet is the fourth smallest country in the world.
Palau if well known/famous for "Jellyfish Lake" which we'll have an opporutnity to visit.
Palau is nestled to the southeast of the Philippines and northeast of Indonesia. If you've been to Wayag in Raja Ampat, and keep going northeast, you'll eventually arrive in Palau.
The official language is Palaun and English, and currency is the US dollar.
There are some WWII wrecks that we'll be able to dive and check out!
80% of the water areas in Palau are marine protected areas.
Please note that this trip has limited spots, so you will need to get in quick to secure your booking. The following payments will be required:
$1000 USD to secure your spot
30% of package cost due: Oct 1, 2024
Remaining Balance due: Feb 22, 2025
We will be in touch via e-mail for your payment and provide individual invoices. We would recommend purchasing your flights into Jakarta as soon as possible to secure reasonably priced flights.
To book and check for available spaces email: info@designedforscuba.com
Designed for Scuba, LLC highly recommends you purchase travel and dive insurance as soon as possible after confirming your travel plans. We recommend Dive Assure or DAN for diving insurance. Dive Assure offers a Dive and Travel Insurance annual and short-term (per trip). You can purchase it here: https://diveassure.com/en/home/?pid=18662
Evidence of adequate travel and dive insurance must be provided prior to departure.
Bookings made more than 100 days out from the start of a trip require a deposit of $800.00 USD per passenger in 2024 and a regular deposit schedule will commence in late 2024/early 2025.
All deposits are non-refundable.
Bookings made less than 100 days out from tour commencement require payment in full to secure your booking.
Payment in full is required 100 days out from the start of the trip. We will email you a final payment reminders. No refunds will be given within 100 days of the start of any trip, under any circumstances.
If you cancel your spot more than 100 days before the start of a trip, and we are able to resell/fill the spot, a trip credit for your remaining balance (minus a $300 USD service fee deducted) will be issued for use on another Designed for Scuba, LLC trip within 2 years of the cancellation.
If you cancel your spot less than 99 days prior to the start of a trip, no refund or credit will be issued for deposits that have been paid.
If our In-Country Providers cancel or if aForce Majeure Event occurs, meaning any act of God, war, terrorism, fire, flood or any other extreme weather conditions, loss of power, epidemics or pandemics, industrial disputes, slow-downs or other strike activities, riots or civil disturbances, acts of government, semi government or other authorities, inability to obtain any necessary license or consent and delays caused by sub-contractors, suppliers or other third parties (including telecommunications carriers), material shortages or other disruption to the trip beyond our control, Designed for Diving shall not be held responsible for matters outside of our control or any failure to deliver the trip.
The affiliated and established company such as the Coralia, hold the relevant insurances and maintain responsibility for the dive and snorkel insurance policies and procedures. As such when in the water diving, snorkeling or swimming you are diving under the affiliated company's policies and procedures and must adhere to either the Captain, Dive Instructor or Divemaster’s instructions.
Designed for Scuba, LLC takes no responsibility for loss, damage or injury arising from any shortfall, error or omission in the information passed to the customer during the course of the sale or subsequent delivery of the product. The company takes no responsibility nor can be held liable for loss, damage, or injury that occurs on a supplier’s or service provider’s premises or transport, or between two such premises.
Participation in any of the Activities involves certain risks which may result in injury or death. This warning does not purport to describe or disclose all risks associated with participation of the Activities. There are a wide range of inherent risks when engaging in sports and particularly underwater sports; for example, with diving there is the risk of decompression sickness, embolism or other hyperbaric injury can occur that requires treatment in a recompression chamber. Open water scuba diving trips may be conducted at sites that are remote, either by time or distance, from emergency services or recompression facilities. Scuba diving, snorkeling and tours will involve uncontrolled encounters with wild animals which bears the risk of stings, bites, and at the extreme end, more serious injury and death. Participants should be responsible and aware of animal behaviors and their own interactions and engage in these activities entirely at their own risk.
We will not be liable to you in respect of any personal injury (including without limitation serious injury or death) that you may suffer or sustain directly or indirectly as a result of attending the Trip or participation in the Activities. Nor will we be liable to you in respect of any other losses arising as a result of any such personal injury (including without limitation loss of profit or earnings or other consequential losses). We will not be liable to you in respect of any of your personal property that is lost, stolen or damaged before, during or after a trip.
Please ensure you understand our cancellation policy prior to providing any deposits and agree to the booking and trip. By placing a booking with Designed for Scuba, LLC, this implies that you accept these booking terms and conditions and cancellation policy.
The requirements for entering Palau for international travelers (foreign citizen) are as follows:
All COVID vaccination entry requirements have been dropped.
Complete the entry form https://palautravel.pw/ within 72 hours of arrival. Save the QR code it generates to your phone, it will need to be presented on arrival.
Valid Passport with at least six months validity and two blank pages.
Return or onward ticket.