Palau Travel Guide
From Wikitravel
| Location | |
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| Quick Facts | |
| Capital | Koror; note - a new capital is being built about 20 km northeast of Koror |
| Government | constitutional government in free association with the United States |
| Currency | US dollar (USD) |
| Area | 458 sq km |
| Population | 20,579 (July 2006 est.) |
| Language | English and Palauan; also Sonsorolese, Tobi, Angaur, Japanese |
| Religion | Roman Catholic 42%, Protestant 23%, Modekngei 9% (indigenous to Palau), Seventh-Day Adventist 5%, Jehovah's Witness 1%, Latter-Day Saints 0.6%, other religion 3%, unspecified or none 16% |
| Electricity | 120V/60Hz (North American plug) |
| Calling Code | +680 |
| Internet TLD | .pw |
| Time Zone | UTC +9 |
After three decades as part of the UN Trust Territory of the Pacific under US administration, this westernmost cluster of the Caroline Islands opted for independence in 1978 rather than join the Federated States of Micronesia. A Compact of Free Association with the US was approved in 1986, but not ratified until 1993.
Contents |
Regions
Cities
Koror - capital
Other destinations
Understand
Palau is sometimes referred to as "Belau", due to the phonology of the local language.
Get in
Palau is completely surrounded by ocean: there is no way to travel overland to Palau. Hence, all international visitors arrive by plane or by boat.
By plane
Plane is the only real choice, there are flights from Manila twice a week (Wednesday and Saturday) and from Guam daily on Continental Micronesia. There are also two chartered flights from Taipei per week. There is only one airport in Koror, named Airai (ROR).
By boat
Possible but not very easy.
Get around
Taxi and rented car.
Do
Palau is most famous for scuba diving. One of the most famous dive sites - Blue Corner, with constant sharks and a high current - is located less than 1 hour's boat ride from most resorts. Many live aboards like Ocean Hunter operate out of Palau. There are also tours to WWII battle fields on Palau.
The Blue Corner, German Channel, Ulong Channel and Blue Holes are all amazing dive sites. You can dive the same site again and again and have completely different experiences each time.
Splash, the dive shop attached to the Palau Pacific Resort is recommended. The equipment available for rental is of high quality, and either new or well maintained. The dive masters are also very experienced, responsible and know the dive sites very well. Angelo at Splash is highly recommended as a dive master especially if you have not dived in stronger currents.
Talk
English and Palauan are the official languages, although some islands also give official status to their own languages.
Buy
Eat
Places to go for Palauan food: 1. Yano's Market Try the Beef steamed in Titiml leaves (a local plant that is often confused with Basil), Clams cooked in Coconut, local Kangkun vegetables stir fried with onions and garlic.
2. Penthouse Try the fruitbat cooked in coconut if you are adventurous. Otherwise, the creamy taro leaf soup with coconut, local fish soup (which you can also have for breakfast with fried garlic rice), mangrove crabs in spicy cause, grilled prawns and baked lobster with garlic butter are all must tries. This restaurant also has an excellent inhouse bakery.
Drink
Sleep
There are lots of reasonably high end resorts on Palau, most catering for scuba divers.
Learn
Work
Stay safe
Stay healthy
Respect
Contact
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