Big Drop Off
A vertical wall dropping to 900 feet, where hawksbill turtles feed and rest on the reef top.
- Open Water
- Wall
- Grey reef sharks
Palau
12 documented dive sites, 2 of them for Open Water divers. Known for manta rays, grey reef sharks and reef sharks.
- Best months
- Dec–Apr
- Water
- 27–29 °C
- Levels
- Open Water, Advanced, Experienced, Technical
- Diving from
- Dive resorts, Liveaboards
- Nearest airport
- ROR
When to go
Pick a month: the diving season, from published sources, and the typical weather.
Pick a month
- Best
- Good
- Possible
- Closed
- Not documented yet
Palau in October
Good season- Sea
- 30 °C
- at the surface
- Air
- 30 °C
- 25 °C at night
- Rain
- 550 mm
- average for the year
- Wind
- 10 km/h
- on average
The warmest water of the year.
Typical weather, not a forecast: averages for 2021–2025 (air, rain, wind) and 2023–2025 (sea), data from Open-Meteo (ERA5 / Copernicus, Météo-France). Covers an area of roughly 10 to 25 km around the destination.
Best Dec–Apr (calm, clear). Wet season Jun–Sep: rougher seas, visibility 15–20 m.
Dive sites in Palau
From the easiest to the most demanding. Levels with a dashed outline are estimates we are still verifying.
Open Water friendly
usual dive down to 18 m2 sitesFor Advanced divers
usual dive down to 30 m5 sites
Ulong Channel
Ride the channel current past lettuce coral grown 15–20 feet from the bottom, with grey reef sharks and batfish at the mouth.
- Advanced
- Drift
- Grey reef sharks
Wall
down to 70 m
Shark City
Many grey reef sharks patrol the walls, spotted eagle rays are frequent, and great hammerheads are reported at Hammerhead Point.
- Advanced
- Grey reef sharks
German Channel
A channel blasted through the reef where manta rays visit cleaning stations, with peak sightings from December to March.
- Advanced
- Drift
- Manta rays
down to 33 m
Devil Fish City
- Advanced
- Manta rays
For experienced divers
usual dive down to 40 m4 sites
Blue Corner (Palau)
Hook in above the wall and watch resident grey and whitetip reef sharks, tuna and barracuda work the current.
- Experienced
- Wall
- Whale sharks
Blue Holes
Drop through four reef-top holes into a large light-filled cavern, then swim 7–10 minutes on to Blue Corner.
- Experienced
- Blue hole
- Nudibranchs
Wall
down to 40 m
Peleliu Wall & Expressway
A vertical wall running to Peleliu Corner, where currents converge and grey reef and whitetip sharks are common sightings.
- Experienced
- Whale sharks
Siaes Tunnel
A 90 m tunnel open at both ends at 35–40 m, with grey reef sharks at the entrance and whitetips resting on the floor.
- Experienced
- Cavern
- Grey reef sharks
Technical and specialty dives
1 site
Marine life
When the big encounters happen, month by month.
| Species | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Manta raysSource: zubludiving.com | ||||||||||||
| Reef sharksSource: zubludiving.com | ||||||||||||
| TurtlesSource: zubludiving.com | ||||||||||||
| TrevallySource: zubludiving.com |
- Peak season
- Seen
Manta rays: Nov–Apr. Reef sharks: All year. Turtles: All year. Trevally: All year
Also reported here, season not documented yet:
- Grey reef sharks
- Whitetip reef sharks
- Eagle rays
- Tuna
- Barracuda
- Nudibranchs
- Bumphead parrotfish
- Napoleon wrasse
- Snappers
- Whale sharks
- Bull sharks
- Hammerhead sharks
- Leopard (zebra) sharks
- Tiger sharks
- Sperm whales
- Mandarinfish
Where is Palau?
- Nearest airport
- ROR
- How people dive here
- Dive resorts, Liveaboards
Palau: frequently asked questions
- When is the best time to dive Palau?
- The best months to dive Palau are Dec–Apr. Best Dec–Apr (calm, clear). Wet season Jun–Sep: rougher seas, visibility 15–20 m.
- Is Palau good for beginner divers?
- Yes, partly: 2 of the 12 dive sites we document are suited to Open Water divers, including Big Drop Off and Jake Seaplane. The others need more experience or a higher certification.
- What is the water temperature in Palau?
- The water is usually between 27 °C and 29 °C over the year.
- What marine life can you see in Palau?
- Divers regularly see manta rays (Nov–Apr), grey reef sharks, reef sharks (all year), whitetip reef sharks, turtles (all year) and eagle rays.
- How do you dive Palau?
- The nearest airport is ROR. Ways to dive here: dive resorts and liveaboards.
About this page
Seasons and marine life come from the sources below. Site levels and depths marked as estimated come from our original catalogue and are being checked one by one. Conditions change: always confirm with a local dive centre.
Your next dive is somewhere out there.
Find my next dive tripPhoto credits
- Aerial view of Palau's Rock Islands, Luka Peternel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Blue Corner (Palau) dive site, Palau, Matt Kieffer from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sea star on the bottom of Ulong Channel, Palau, LuxTonnerre, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Blue Holes Palau dive site, Palau, w:en:Aquaimages (talk | contribs), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Anemonefish on the Big Drop Off reef, Palau, Matt Kieffer from London, United Kingdom, CC BY-SA 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Anemonefish on the wreck of the tanker Iro, Palau, w:en:Aquaimages (talk | contribs), CC BY-SA 2.5, via Wikimedia Commons
- Divers inside Siaes Tunnel, Palau, LuxTonnerre, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Manta ray gliding through German Channel, Palau, amanderson2, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Air chamber inside Chandelier Cave, Palau, Lakshmi Sawitri, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons
- Sunlight and bubbles in deep blue water, Sarah Lee, Unsplash License, on Unsplash
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