+++ Palau : the Micronesian Paradise +++
7 nights Black Pearl liveaboard
4 nights land based diving (Sam's Tours)
🇵🇼
If you like the following, this trip might be for you:
Fish Bonanza 🐠
This trip is about insane quantities of fish. Whether it is snappers, moorish idols, bumphead parrotfish: hundreds and even thousands of them roam these waters. That feeling of being in an overwhelmingly large school of uncountable fish just hits different, and gives divers a true of idea the vast quantities of life there is still left in our oceans,
Bumphead Spawning 🌕
The parrotfish aggregation is one of the underwater highlights of Palau and probably the whole region. During the new moon phases, thousands of bumphead parrotfish come together to spawn, in what is considered the largest bumphead parrotfish aggregation in the world. This much ocean activity also attracts a large number of underwater predators, providing a unique underwater spectacle.
Seabream Spawning 🐟
Twice a year, blue lined sea bream gather at the southernmost point of Peleliu Island. Its exposed location and strong currents provide ideal conditions for tens of thousands of these fish to flock together. The aggregation is like an underwater firework display of energy attracting big predators in Palau such as bull sharks, tunas and oceanic blacktip sharks.
Jellyfish Lake 🪼
Jellyfish Lake is a mysteriously wonderful inland lake and one of the South Pacific’s most unique underwater attractions. Millions of Moon and Golden Jellyfish migrate vertically across a huge basin of water in the middle of the jungle. And no worries: in the 12000 years the lake has existed, these Jellyfish interestingly have lost their stinging cells.
WWII Heritage 🪖
The islands on the archipelago of Palau played a significant role in the Pacific theatre of World War II. American marines fought hard to gain control over the Japanese strongholds on the islands. Our trip includes a WWII tour over Pelileu, where the fiercest battles took place. Remainders such as bunkers and American tanks are still too be admired!
The Black Pearl 🛥️
Built with state-of-the-art technology, the recently built MY Black Pearl liveaboard is one of the most luxurious vessels that cruise through the pristine waters of Palau. Service level and accommodations on this boat are generally rated as five-star. It's a beauty of a boat that seemingly blends in with the natural wonders around it.
Unique Natural Event
Palau's Seabream and Parrothead spawning are a worldly renown natural event, that only a few people get the witness in their lives. To see thousands of fish involved in such a biologically significant process, is nothing less than magic.
Diving & Culture
Not only is the diving in these waters of the absolute highest order, the cultural relevance of the island surrounding Palau is staggering. We specifically overlooked to include both these aspects in a region that has not only marine but also historical beauty in abundance.
One of my fav's
"I took a group of guests to Palau last year after this destination had been on my bucket list for well over a decade and I have to say... It was worth the wait. Dives with hundreds of sharks, the famous German channel, the crystal clear waters, the manta's. This place is just magical, especially the spawning events with quantities of marine life you just don't have anywhere else. Come join us, you won't regret it."
- Marcel, Tripleader/Travelbutler -
Meet your BTM Trip leader
Tim De Deygere
BTM Travel Product Manager
Palau: the Micronesian Paradise
7 night liveaboard - 4 nights land based diving
Mar 7th - 19, 2026
Trip price:
- per person (see details below for what is included in this price)
Included:
Liveaboard
- 7 nights in a standard cabin
- Full-board accommodation with 3 meals for every full day onboard
- Free drinking water, coffee, tea, except specialty coffee
- Two-way transfers strictly between the hotel and Malakal Port
- 3 guided dives a day (except 2nd last day), 1 night dive
- 12-litre diving tanks, weights and weight belts
- Complimentary Nitrox-filled diving tanks
- Palau Goods & Services Tax (PGST)
On Land – The Cove
- 4 nights standard room with breakfast included
- Pelileu 2 dives – WWII Tour
- 3 dives with Sam’s Tours
- Rock Island Tour including Jelly Fish Lake
- All transfers
Not included:
- Mandatory Government permits: Rock Island – $50 pp / Jellyfish Lake Permit – $100 pp (valid for 10 consecutive days) * Trip to Jellyfish Lake requires Jellyfish lake permit.
- Pelileu State permit: Permit for SCUBA Diving – $60.00 per person, valid for 10 consecutive days. Non-transferrable
Liveaboard
- Fuel surcharge is $0
- Sea View Cabin surcharge $300 per person
- International flights
- Pre- or post-cruise accommodation
- Soft drinks and alcoholic beverages
- 15-litre tank rentals and other dive gear rentals
- Internet – can be purchased onboard
- Crew gratuities ($200 recommended)
On land – The Cove
- Tips
- Rock Island – $50 pp / Jellyfish Lake Permit – $100 pp (valid for 10 consecutive days – has not to be paid on the Liveaboard then twice)
- Dinner
- Taxi transfers if needed to the restaurant (mostly free of charge)
Our terms & conditions apply!
We highly recommend DiveAssure insurance, which covers force majeure cases and single missed days of diving due to sickness. 
Please note that trips such as spawning event are a very special experience which can never be guaranteed. There is no guarantee of an animal encounter or the perfect underwater photo. It is nature, just like everywhere else. The beauty lies in its unpredictability.
On land – The Cove & Sam’s Tours
March 7 – 11, 2026
- 4 nights at the cove with breakfast
- Pelileu 2 dives and WWII Tour
- 3 dives with Sam’s tours
- Rock Island Tour with Sam’s Tours incl. jelly fish lake and bbq
Liveaboard – Black Pearl
March 11 – 19, 2026
Typical dive day 1 – 7:
06:30 Dive briefing and morning test dive at Jack Sea Plane #1
08:45 Breakfast
10:30 Second dive at Iro Maru Wreck #2
12:30 Lunch Buffet
14:00 Third Dive at Chandelier Caves #3
16:30 Yacht sails to Ulong Island
18:30 Dinner Buffet
Day 8:
07:30 Breakfast
08:30 Check-out and transfer to the hotel
Black Pearl
“Crafted to meet the rigorous standards of the International Integrity Stability Standard for yachts surpassing 46-metres, M/Y Black Pearl was constructed using only the finest materials and outfitted with the latest in navigation, safety, and scuba diving systems and equipment.”
Palau is a destination that demands quite some travel time, so we wanted to assure our divers get a luxurious boat that offers anything an advanced diver requires. With up market accommodation, sufficient camera space, stellar food and a top crew the Black Pearl is the right answer.
The vessel offers guests comfort, convenience, and entertainment through various amenities, such as outdoor seating, a whirlpool, a bar, an indoor dining area, gym equipment, and a business center.
Palau
The first thing we’d like to note, which speaks to the character of this island nation, is that the world’s first shark sanctuary was declared in Palau in 2009. It was only after that action that other nations begans to follow suit.
The Federated States of Micronesia, includes the diving havens of Palau, Truk & Yap, covering roughly 3 million square miles. East of the Philippines & north of Indonesia, the islands are small, rocky & largely uninhabitable, but richly forested, many with dazzling white sand beaches. Palau itself is composed of about 250 mostly-uninhabited islands, which are ringed by a single barrier reef.
Situated where she is in a triangle with Indonesia and the Philippines, it comes as no surprise that splendid corals are one of Palau’s greatest claims to fame – along with tremendous marine diversity. Most dive sites in Palau are world-class, with underwater features like blue holes, drop-offs, caverns, caves and channels. Visibility often seems endless and can go up to 30m on good days.
Palau can be dived year-round and the water temperature is usually warm at a range of 27-30°C. Most of the dive sites are located about 45-60 minutes away by speed boat from the dive center of Sam´s Tours.
Most of the dive sites are recommended for divers with experience because of the strong currents in Palau. A reef hook is critical to have for several dive sites at the outer walls of the barrier reef.
Shipwreck enthusiast will be spoilt for choice in Palau as there are more than 20 Japanese warships and planes from the Second World War to discover, many of them covered with colorful corals.
9 spaces left!
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