Palau
Classic Palau liveaboard for currents, sharky corners, caves, wrecks and manta action.
Palau is one of Insider Divers’ signature bucket-list destinations, offering an exceptionally diverse dive experience in a stunning natural environment.
Expect thrilling currents, encounters with reef sharks and manta rays, explorations of caverns and wrecks, and reef dives regularly ranked among the world’s best. A standout highlight is the chance to witness spawning events (timing depends on your expedition), while seasonal manta feeding at German Channel—most common in February and March—adds another unforgettable spectacle.
Beyond the underwater wonders, Palau also offers the famous Jellyfish Lake and historic land tours of Peleliu Island.
OUR PROMISE
Insider Divers always carefully select the optimal season and best operator for every destination. For Palau, winter and spring offer the clearest water and best sea conditions. Solitude Gaia is the newest liveaboard in Palau and is part of the award-winning Solitude World, an operator of choice for Insider Divers in Indonesia and Philippines.
Overview
Animals
Accommodation
Solitude Gaia
The Solitude Gaia is 40-meter vessel masterfully combines innovative design with superior craftsmanship. Its robust steel hull ensures stability, while the aluminum superstructure enhances security and comfort. It creates a welcoming, home-like atmosphere that meets the highest standards for passenger ships, inviting guests to explore the profound wonders of the ocean depths. Solitude Gaia provides a tranquil yet exhilarating experience, boasting nine cabins and an opulent spa suite for a total of 18 guests. As you set off on a scuba diving adventure, Solitude Gaia transforms into a platform for personal exploration, where the beauty of the ocean intertwines with the spirit of the ship, resulting in a truly unique and transformative journey
Solitude Gaia
Interior Cabins
Twin rooms with individual AC, spacious bathrooms and flat-screen TVs.
OCEAN VIEW - MAIN DECK
Twin or double rooms with seaview and individual AC, spacious bathrooms and flat-screen TVs.
Ocean View Stateroom
Luxury suite with king bed, outdoor access and with individual AC, spacious bathrooms and flat-screen TVs
Activities
Reef Dives
Reef Dives
Palau is one of the best protected reef systems in the world. Every dive will be on lush soft and hard coral reefs. Often these reefs are on unique lime stone formations.
The diving is often at a mild drift but can also have strong currents where we hook onto corners and watch the magic.
Current Diving
Current Diving
Palau is famous for its rapid current dives. The most famous sites such as Blue Corner are dove partially with the comfort of a reek hook, avoiding strain while enjoying huge shoals of fish and 100s of sharks
We will also do several high speed dives throughout this itinerary
Spawning Dives
Spawning Dives
Depending on your intinerary we will always try to offer you a spawning dive. Every year this is different and you will be informed which spawn we target on the dates that you choose.
Jellyfish Lake
Jellyfish Lake
The world famous jellyfish lake is often filled with stingless jellyfish. The density changes season to season. We will only offer this if it is a good experience at the time of your expedition.
Excursions
Excursions
As part of your trip there will be several land tours to see the jungle, WWII artefacts or beaches
Cavern Dives
Cavern Dives
We will dive various caverns like Blue Holes, Siaes Tunnel and Chandelier Cave. All are easy for recreational divers.
Trip leader
Matt Boyle
Matt Boyle is an experienced dive professional, tour guide and marine biologist with over 15 years of experience exploring the Pacific's islands and waters. Palau is his home and he is one of leading experts in animal behaviour and fish spawning aggregations in particular.
REsponsibilities
- Briefings
- All organisation and logistics
- Wildlife presentations on sharks, rays and marine life
- History Talks on WWII
- Scuba coaching
- Taking and sharing professional underwater photography
Itinerary
Inclusions
- Full board based on shared room
- All snorkeling and diving
- Breakfasts, lunch, dinner plus snacks
- Towels, soap & shampoo
- Wildlife presentations
- Professional photos
- Transfers from Koror airport
- FREE T-Shirt
- Access to Insider Divers Portal
- Fuel surcharge
- Marine park fees
- Palau state room tax
- Flights & local arrival hotel
- Wifi with Starlink
- Airport transfers to boat
- Equipment rental
- Tips
Reviews
F A B U L O U S experience all around,I did a 1-week trip in the waters around Palau February 2025 and Matt Boyle was our primary guide.
The ship was “Four Seasons” first class. The food and service incredible. Staterooms were beyond spacious.The diving (of course) was some of the best you’ll find on planet earth.
Matt Boyle is an absolute expert on the marine biomass and also provided fascinating presentations (3) on WWII Pacific theatre history. Matt is a brilliant and passionate professional - can’t say enough about his acumen and positivity with us all.
Insider Divers is a first class operation providing superlative experiences in all the “bucket list” destinations.
What a fantastic experience we had in Palau! This was my second trip with Insider Divers and it delivered again.
I absolutely loved the variety of dives we got to experience, and we made some incredible underwater encounters. We learned so much about what we saw both under and above water thanks to Matt and Simon.
Simon is very generous with advice and direction, and although I was one of the most junior guests on this trip, I always felt really encouraged by the group of friendly and conscious divers he brought together. I've been back three weeks already, but my mind is still in Palau!
Just came back from my second trip with Insider Divers, after last years amazing trip to Raja, we went to Palau this time and again, an amazing experience!
The Insider Divers professionals helped me a lot to improve my sidemount diving skills and shared their experience with me. Beside diving I learned a lot about the country and it’s history during WW2, which gave a lot of background during our wrack dives.
At the end we received amazing pictures which we can share with friends and family. Thanks a lot and looking forward to my next trip with Insider Divers !
videos
FAQ
What dive experience do I need?
This destination offers accessible diving conditions, but it is not suitable for absolute beginners. To join, participants must have:
- A minimum of 30 logged dives
- Advanced Open Water (AOW) certification or higher
- Nitrox certification (mandatory on all Insider Divers trips to ensure longer, safer dives) - certification can be taken on ship with prior booking.
This is a great trip for people doing their first time on a liveaboard as the water is calm and we never experience rough seas.
What if I get seasick easily?
This destination is ideal for travelers prone to seasickness. Cruising exclusively between protected atolls and islands, the boat avoids waves and rough seas, ensuring a calm journey.
For peace of mind, we recommend packing seasickness medication, though most guests find it unnecessary and only use it in rare, unexpected cases.
What should I pack and bring?
As part of our process you will receive an extension packing list after signing up. We do recommend bringing your own gear but you can also rent everything on site.
When is the best time to dive Palau?
Palau is divable year-round with two seasons. The dry season (November to May) offers the best visibility and calmest conditions, ideal for all the classic sites. The wetter season (June to October) still has excellent diving with the benefit of plankton-rich water that draws manta rays to German Channel.
Spawning events happen all year around, while some species spawn every month (Bumphead parrotfish and Red Snapper) others only spawn in particular windows
What marine life can I expect in Palau?
Expect lots of reef sharks, manta rays at German Channel, bumphead parrotfish, napoleon wrasse, turtles, jacks, and barracuda. Palau is also famous for Jellyfish Lake, WWII wrecks, and dramatic caves and blue holes. Bigger sharks can be encountered in the blue or during spawning aggregations. Dugongs are theoretically possible, but we have only ever seen one on a dive (2020 expedition)
How do I get to Palau?
Fly into Roman Tmetuchl International Airport (ROR) on Koror. Common connections are via Manila, Taipei, Seoul, or Guam. We board from Koror, and Insider Divers coordinates transfers from the airport to the vessel. It is recommended to arrive at least one day prior to departure
We’re here to help — reach out with any question you may have.