Koror-Palau Palau Islands
Palau

4 Cruises availables At departure or passage at this port

Ponant (4 Cruises)


Frequently Asked Questions

By tender. Ships anchor in the sheltered Malakal harbour near Koror, the country's main town, and boats land passengers minutes from the quays.
Between the Philippines and New Guinea, in the western Pacific. From the deck, the archipelago appears as hundreds of limestone domes capped with jungle, set on a lagoon of improbable greens and blues.
A maze of more than two hundred mushroom-shaped islets, undercut at the base by the waves, listed as UNESCO World Heritage. Excursion boats thread between grey walls and beaches reachable only by sea, into coves where the water reaches an unreal clarity.
A single boat trip to the Rock Islands, with snorkelling and a stop on a sandbar. That is what defines the call. If you prefer to stay ashore, Koror's museums and a waterfront stroll easily fill half a day.
Only when the authorities open it, depending on the state of the population of these fragile creatures, and with a permit. Check on board before promising anything to children: closures are frequent and access is never guaranteed.
No. Divers worldwide rank the archipelago among the planet's finest underwater territories, but snorkelling over the reefs is enough to fill the memory for years: turtles, schools of parrotfish, coral gardens.
A channel cut during the German colonial era to move phosphate out of the lagoon, now a renowned dive site: manta rays come to be cleaned by small fish, and the neighbouring walls drop into the blue laden with sea fans and anemones.
The Belau National Museum, the oldest in Micronesia, and the Etpison Museum, displaying stone money, outrigger canoes and clan histories. Traditional meeting houses with painted gables tell of an island society organized long before Europeans arrived. The country has fewer residents than a Montréal borough — everything is unhurried.
The US dollar. One regulatory detail matters: local law requires oxybenzone-free sunscreen to protect the corals. Buy it before you travel, as it is not available everywhere.
Marinated raw tuna, grilled fish and taro in every form, at waterfront restaurants with the harbour and its islets as backdrop. Craft shops sell storyboards, carved wooden panels recounting clan legends.