Updated Itinerary

This is our tentative daily schedule at a glance. All timings and distances are approximate. Our tour staff will make daily announcements with specifics and times during the trip. Note that our itinerary may shift due to the weather or to take advantage of unexpected opportunities.

A typical day’s activities begin with buffet breakfast. We then set out around 8:00 a.m. for our day's excursion, with our snorkel gear, light layer, sunscreen, sunglasses, water, hat, camera and water shoes or walking shoes (depending on the day). We stop along the way to enjoy a packed lunch. After lunch, we are off again in the afternoon for an excursion before returning to our hotel. On arrival at our hotel, we have time for a shower, then perhaps a lecture or briefing before dinner.

Meals included in the program are indicated next to the hotel name with the following designations:

B = Breakfast          L = Lunch                D = Dinner 

Sunday, February 18

Yap

1:10 a.m. Scheduled arrival of United Airlines 185 from Guam to Yap.

Arrive in Yap in the early hours of the morning. Collect baggage, pass through immigration, and transfer to the hotel to rest before gathering for a late morning briefing and lunch. 

This afternoon, snorkelers head for nearby calm waters to test equipment for best fit and comfort while divers depart for a check-out dive. Gather with fellow travelers for a welcome cocktail this evening.

MANTA RAY BAY RESORT (B, L, D)

Monday, February 19

Yap

After breakfast, take a speed boat to Manta Ridge, a 30-foot ridge of coral that straddles Mi'l Channel. Conditions permitting, enjoy a drift snorkel as the tidal current allows easy access for manta rays to glide in and out of the lagoon. The area is also popular with white-tip and gray reef sharks, as well as schools of jacks and black snappers.

Enjoy a bento box lunch on the boat as you continue your excursion into the afternoon. Return to the hotel for a lecture providing an overview of Micronesia, followed by dinner.

MANTA RAY BAY RESORT (B, L, D)

Tuesday, February 20

Yap

Spend the morning snorkeling at Blue Holes. Named for the sandy holes in Tomil Lagoon, they contain large hard coral outcrops and are often surrounded by fields of staghorn coral. Stingrays are often found resting in some of the shallower holes. 

Return to the Manta Ray Bay Resort for lunch. In the afternoon, explore the small town of Colonia and learn how the Yapese have surpassed the rest of Micronesia in preserving their ancient culture. Stroll through a traditional Yapese village and learn about the history, and modern-day life, of the Yapese people.

MANTA RAY BAY RESORT (B, L, D)

Wednesday, February 21

Yap / Koror, Palau

After breakfast at the hotel, board our one-hour charter flights to Palau.

The group will be split into three charter flights of nine people each. Those on the first flight (9:30 a.m.) will have lunch on arrival in Palau, while those on the second and third flights (2:00 and 2:15 p.m.) will have free time in Yap in the morning and lunch in Yap prior to departure.

As we approach Palau, we should have fantastic aerial views of the famous Rock Islands, now declared a UNESCO World Heritage site. The Rock Islands of Palau, also called Chelbacheb, are a collection of several hundred small uninhabited limestone islands of volcanic origin in the Southern Lagoon of Palau between Koror and Peleliu. Many of them display unique mushroom-like shapes in turquoise lagoons surrounded by coral reefs, and sustain a large diversity of plants, birds, and marine life.

3:00 p.m. Check in to our hotel.

Later this afternoon, meet in the lobby to receive fins and snorkel equipment. After a briefing and introduction to Palau, enjoy dinner together.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Thursday, February 22

Palau

After breakfast, divers and snorkelers will depart for their respective excursions, spending the day out on the water with a box lunch.

In the true spirit of exploration, daily activities are determined based on current weather and tide conditions to ensure we visit the best sites at the most ideal times. Consequently, lecture days and times are determined as the schedule allows. The following is a sampling of locations we hope to experience over the course of our time in Palau.

Rock Islands

Board a covered speed boat and enjoy gorgeous tropical scenery en route to Palau’s geologically fascinating Rock Islands, a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Jellyfish Lake

Take a short hike through lush forest to the world-famous Jellyfish Lake. Snorkel among thousands of melon-sized jellyfish, that have become stingless through centuries of isolation and relations with symbiotic algae. Swimming alongside these pulsating creatures as they follow the movement of the sun is a once-in-a-lifetime experience.

German Channel

During the German occupation of Palau, this channel was blasted and dredged to connect the inner lagoon of Angur Island to the open ocean. Explore these nutrient-rich waters that flow into the channel with the tide as they attract manta rays, schools of sharks, jacks, barracudas, trevallies and snappers. The sandy bottom is home to garden eels and blind gobies.

Ngemelis Conservation Area

A sheer vertical wall runs along the length of Ngemelis Island, providing a habitat for soft, leather and fan corals. Watch for colorful anemones and an abundance of reef fish on the reef's upper layers. Sharks, green and hawksbill turtles, Moorish idols, sergeant majors, and a variety of butterflyfish and angelfish patrol the reef edge.

Cemetery Reef

Named for an artificial structure in the shape of a cross that was placed on top of the reef, Cemetery Reef is a great snorkel site with many hard and soft corals at shallow depth. The area abounds with small reef fish such as fusiliers, anthias and rainbow runners.

Giant Clam Beach

Hundreds of giant tridacna clams, some weighing up to 500 pounds, line the beach here. With an amazing variation of color and patterns within the clams' iridescent mantles, these beautiful living pieces of art make fantastic subjects for photographers.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Friday, February 23

Palau

Our group will divide today with half of the group spending the day kayaking and snorkeling in Risong Bay, and the other half experiencing the culture and natural beauty of Babeldaob Island. The two groups will swap on February 25. A bento box lunch will be provided.

Risong Bay

Hidden within Risong Bay's walls, six secretive pockets of bays and lagoons allow kayaks to easily pass through tunnel entrances to shallow lakes and bays where speed boats can't reach. For millennia, these bays have served as nurseries for baby sharks, stingrays, and eagle rays. As we paddle quietly amongst these youngsters, they hone their hunting and feeding skills before they graduate to the outer reef. Pristine coral gardens such as Blue Devil Gardens and the Sunken City, undisturbed by divers or fisherman, are rich marine biodiversity centers bursting with baby butterfly fish, honeycomb groupers, and the unusual crocodile fish.

Babeldaob Island
Heading to Babeldaob Island, we’ll visit a Traditional Men’s House (Bai). Should time allow, we’ll also visit the terraces, which are massive structures built on volcanic soil by ancient Palauans. These terraces are still being studied by researchers who call it the green pyramids. A short hike brings you to the Ngchesar Waterfalls, where you can take a dip in the upper pools.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Saturday, February 24

Palau

Continue our underwater exploration of Palau with a full day of underwater excursions.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Sunday, February 25

Palau

Our group will again divide, with half of the group spending the day kayaking and snorkeling in Risong Bay, and the other half experiencing the culture and natural beauty of Babeldaob Island. A bento box lunch will be provided.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Monday, February 26

Palau

Continue our underwater exploration of Palau with a full day of snorkeling and diving.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Tuesday, February 27

Peleliu, Palau

Depart by bus and boat for a full day excursion to Peleliu. During WWII, Palau was the site of a fierce battle between the United States and Japan. Peleliu was the site of one of the Pacific's bloodiest battles as U.S. Marines made an amphibious assault on the beaches in an attempt to liberate the island from Japanese forces. Visit the infamous Thousand Man Cave and the Japanese Shrine, and witness remnants of Japanese buildings, gun emplacements, tanks, planes and weapons still scattered around the island today.

Return to the hotel for dinner with time to pack before the journey home.

PALAU PACIFIC RESORT (B, L, D)

Wednesday, February 28

Palau / Home

Transfer to the airport shortly after midnight for the flight to Guam and homeward.