Palau’s 500-plus Rock Islands rise out of a turquoise lagoon like a scattering of mossy green mushrooms, and the diving and snorkeling around them is some of the best on the planet. This six-day trip covers the full range: a swim with millions of stingless jellyfish, two of the Pacific’s most famous dive sites, a day of kayaking to hidden beaches, and a sobering day trip to one of the Pacific War’s bloodiest battlefields.
Day 1Arrival in Koror
A short first day to clear customs, settle in, and get oriented with a stop at Palau’s best museum before the activity-heavy days ahead.
✈️ Arrival & Pristine Paradise Environmental Fee
On arrival · $100 USD/person
Most flights route through Guam, Manila, Taipei, or Incheon. Every visitor pays a $100 Pristine Paradise Environmental Fee on arrival, which funds marine conservation and comes with signing the Palau Pledge, a stamp in your passport committing to act responsibly toward the islands’ environment during your stay.
🏛️ Etpison Museum
~1.5 hrs · $10 USD/person admission
Palau’s best collection of traditional storyboards, money, and photography, in a small private museum that’s a far better introduction to Palauan history and culture than its size suggests — a good first stop before a week spent mostly underwater.
Etpison Museum · +680 488-6730 · etpisonmuseum.org
🏨 Check-In — Palasia Hotel Palau
Check-in 2pm · from $182 USD/night
Koror’s largest hotel, in the middle of town within walking distance of restaurants and the WCTC department store — a convenient, well-priced base for the two nights before the trip shifts to a beachfront resort.
Palasia Hotel Palau · +680 488-8888 · palasia-hotel.com
Day 2Rock Islands & Jellyfish Lake
The signature Palau day trip: a boat tour through the limestone Rock Islands ending with a swim among millions of stingless jellyfish.
🚤 Full-Day Rock Islands & Jellyfish Lake Tour — Sam’s Tours
Full day, 8am–4pm · from $165 USD/person
A boat tour through the UNESCO World Heritage Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, stopping at Jellyfish Lake, where millions of golden jellyfish that lost their sting over thousands of years of isolation drift near the surface — swimming with them (no scuba, snorkel only) is one of the few places on earth you can do this. The same tour typically includes a stop at the Milky Way lagoon, where the seabed’s white limestone mud is said to be good for the skin.
Sam’s Tours · +680-488-7267 · samstours.com
🍽️ Dinner — Elilai Seaside Dining
Dinner · $25–40/person
An open-air restaurant built on stilts over the water on Arakabesan Island, with Koror’s best sunset view over the lagoon to go with fresh local fish and sashimi — worth booking a table by the rail in advance.
Day 3Blue Corner & German Channel
A day for two of the most famous dive sites in the Pacific, then a move to a beachfront resort for the rest of the trip.
🤽 Two-Tank Dive — Blue Corner & German Channel (Fish ‘n Fins)
Half day · from $170 USD/person (certification required; gear rental extra)
Blue Corner is routinely ranked among the best dive sites on the planet: a current-swept wall corner where divers hook in and watch gray reef sharks, schooling barracuda, and the occasional manta cruise past. German Channel, a man-made passage dredged in the early 1900s, is a reliable manta ray cleaning station on the right tide. Snorkeling day-trip add-ons are available for non-divers.
Fish ‘n Fins · +680 488-5522 · fishnfins.com
🏨 Check-In — Palau Pacific Resort
Check-in 3pm · from $328 USD/night
A beachfront resort on its own private cove on Ngerkebesang Island, with Palau’s best swimming beach and an on-site dive shop — a quieter, more resort-style base for the second half of the trip than staying in town.
Palau Pacific Resort · +680 488-2600 · palauppr.com
Day 4Kayaking the Rock Islands’ Hidden Beaches
A slower, self-powered day among the Rock Islands, reaching a few beaches the big tour boats skip.
🛶 Kayak Day Tour — Ngermeaus Island & Long Beach
Full day · from $120 USD/person
A guided sea-kayak route through the Rock Islands’ narrow channels, with a stop at Ngermeaus Island’s resort for lunch and a paddle out to Long Beach, a sandbar that appears and disappears with the tide — a different pace from the engine-powered tour boats and a good way to see the limestone islands up close.
Sam’s Tours Kayak Tours · +680-488-7267 · samstours.com
🏖️ Free Afternoon — Palau Pacific Resort Beach
Afternoon · free for hotel guests
A half-day to do nothing on the resort’s private beach, one of the few swimmable sandy beaches in a country made mostly of jagged limestone — a built-in rest day between two activity-heavy ones.
Day 5Peleliu Island WWII History Day Trip
A sobering change of pace: a boat ride south to the site of one of the Pacific War’s bloodiest battles, still scattered with wreckage more than eighty years later.
⛵ Boat Transfer to Peleliu
~45 min each way · included in tour price
Peleliu sits about 25 miles south of Koror, reached by speedboat through the Rock Islands. The 1944 Battle of Peleliu was one of the costliest island assaults of the Pacific campaign relative to its size, and the island has changed little since.
🎖️ WWII Battlefield & Museum Tour
Full day · from $180 USD/person
A guided tour of Bloody Nose Ridge, the Peleliu Peace Memorial Museum (set in a former Japanese command post), rusted tanks still sitting in the jungle, and the invasion beaches — a quiet, humbling day that most visitors come away saying was the highlight of the trip.
Day 6Departure
A free morning for last-minute souvenirs before the flight out.
🛍️ Souvenir Shopping — WCTC & the Koror Night Market
Morning · prices vary
WCTC, the territory’s main department store, has a surprisingly good selection of local handicrafts and Palauan storyboard carvings on the ground floor — a reliable last stop for gifts before heading to the airport.
✈️ Airport Departure Transfer
~20 min · ~$20 USD/person
Most hotels can arrange a shared or private transfer to Roman Tmetuchl International Airport; build in at least three hours before an international flight given limited counter staff at peak times.
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