April 28 – May 11, 2024
Rock Island Aggressor $3553*
Palau Land Based Extension est. $2500*
World renowned underwater coral encrusted walls begin knee deep and plummet to unseen depths of the Pacific Ocean. A landlocked marine lake holds millions of non-stinging jellyfish. There are blue holes, giant undersea tunnels, sharks, mantas, hard coral gardens, World War II wrecks, stalactite filled caves, predictable spawning events and a dozen more oddities in Palau, offering a diversity of diving experiences that cannot be matched.
After an incredible trip in 2022 I can’t wait to get back to Palau as soon as possible! The diving is sublime with dramatic wall dives and hard coral gardens. The topical water warm, clear and inviting. The local people lovely and the mushroom shaped Rock Islands stunning. With a good mix of big animals such as grey reef sharks and mantas contrasting macro subjects like tiny nudibranchs, healthy corals, and beautiful reefs, Palau has everything a diver could want.
We will spend a week onboard the Rock Island Aggressor with the best and most knowledgeable crew in the islands. The trip is planned around the full moon late in April, giving us the strong currents that bring in the pelagic animals as well as the opportunity to dive the mind blowing bumphead parrotfish spawning event.
A land based extension the week after the live-aboard allows us to search for marine mammals such as sperm and pygmy sperm whales, blackfish (false killer whales, pilot whales, melonhead whales), dugongs, dolphins and pelagic fish and sharks. Animals and experiences that we wouldn’t typically be exposed to during our week diving the reefs.
The tentative schedule for the land based extension is as follows:
Day 1 Cetaceans & FADs (Fish Aggregation Devices). Swim with pelagic species of fish and sharks not seen on regular dive days on the reefs.
Day 2: Dedicated Dugong Day. We’ll locate the herd using quad copters, before tracking them by boat. If we get them in numbers, we’ll offer an in-water swim.
Day 3: Melekeok Trench: The third deepest spot on earth, can be accessed only a few miles off the East coast of Babeldoab. We’ll search for Palau’s deepest divers including sperm whales, pygmy sperm whales, and potentially beaked whales.
Day 4: Peleliu FAD & Hydrographer’s Reef: The submerged reef between Peleliu & Angaur offers our best chance on encountering “Black Fish” to include pilot whales, false killer whales, and a super pod of melon headed whales. If seas are glassy calm, we will do two scuba dives on this remote reef top (rises to 60’).
Day 5: West Babeldoab: We’ll head North as far as Ngardmau State, where a deep water FAD attracts mahi mahi, silky sharks, a host of oceanic dolphins.
Day 6: Angaur Loop: Circumnavigating Angaur will provide the final sweep in our search for Palau’s 24 species of marine mammals. Spinner dolphins, Fraser’s dolphins and Risso’s dolphins.
The Palau Extension includes six nights hotel accommodation, six days of ocean adventures as detailed above (weather dependent) and round trip airport transfer.
Reservation and Payment Information: A $1500 semi-refundable** deposit per diver is required to reserve a space. Deposits can be made in several easy ways. Credit cards (VISA & MC) may be used with a 3.5% transaction fee, or send your deposit today by check, Venmo, or Zelle and avoid the fee. Please make checks payable to Worldwide Diving Adventures and send to PO Box 1019, Twin Bridges, CA 95735.. Second payment of $3000 is due 9 months prior to the trip (September 28, 2023). Final payment is due 4 months prior to the trip (January 28, 2024). Airfare booked by Worldwide Diving Adventures must be paid upon flight reservation. Cancellations are subject to a $300 processing fee. Price is based on double occupancy. Reservations and payments will be forfeited if full payment is not received according to the schedule. No refunds can be made after Dec. 31, 2023.
