Things to do in Koror & Palau
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Koror & Palau
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Drier window with the most settled seas, best visibility and most reliable access to exposed sites.
Manta season, when mantas are most reliably reported at German Channel cleaning stations.
Shoulder months, still diveable with rising rain and humidity, fewer visitors and softer prices.
Long wet season, roughly May to November, with the wettest and roughest stretch generally July to October.
Palau sits south of the main typhoon belt and direct hits are rare, but wider Pacific storms disrupt travel.
What's on
- Constitution Day 9 July
Palau national holiday marked with official events in Koror and Ngerulmud.
- Independence Day 1 October
Palau independence holiday marked with official events in Koror and Ngerulmud.
Best things to do in Koror & Palau
Rock Islands Southern Lagoon
More than 400 limestone islands in a UNESCO lagoon, seen on a Koror boat day of snorkel stops and beach lunches.
Jellyfish Lake
A marine lake on Eil Malk where golden jellyfish follow the sun, snorkel only, with numbers that fluctuate sharply.
Milky Way
A shallow Rock Islands inlet where white limestone mud gives the water its milky colour, a stop on boat days.
Belau National Museum
The oldest museum in Micronesia, the best single hour on bai culture, storyboards and Palau colonial past.
Etpison Museum
A private family museum of canoes, fish traps, traditional money and master carver storyboards in Koror.
Palau Aquarium
The Coral Reef Center aquarium in Koror explaining the five marine ecosystems you will snorkel and dive.
Airai Bai
The oldest surviving bai in Palau, a painted traditional meeting house just across the bridge in Airai.
Badrulchau Stone Monoliths
Carved stone columns on a northern Babeldaob hillside, the far point of most Babeldaob land tours.
Where to stay in Koror & Palau
Koror and Malakal
dive boats, restaurants, first trips
The dive docks, most restaurants, museums and supermarkets are in Koror town and on Malakal Island.
Airai and Babeldaob edge
resort space and quiet
Across the Japan Palau Friendship Bridge from Koror, with room for a full beach resort and a shuttle to town.
Best restaurants in Koror & Palau
Elilai Seaside Dining
Koror splurge table, international fine dining on an oceanfront deck near Palau Pacific Resort.
The Taj
A Koror institution for Indian curries, tandoor and fresh naan in generous portions at mid prices.
Drop Off Bar & Grill
The Neco Marine bar and grill on Main Street for poke, sashimi and burgers on a waterfront deck.
Kramer's Cafe
A long loved waterfront cafe and bar in Malakal harbour for seafood, mixed plates and an evening drink.
Tori Tori
A well regarded Japanese restaurant in Koror, with visitor accounts singling out the sashimi quality.
Rock Island Cafe
A cheap American cafe on Main Street for burgers, pizza and breakfast plates at town lowest sit down prices.
Bem Ermii Burger & Fries
The local burger name in Koror, burgers and fries from a small stand near the friendship bridge side.
Outdoor things to do in Koror & Palau
Blue Corner
Palau signature current dive, a plateau where sharks, jacks and barracuda stream past hooked in divers.
German Channel
A German era channel now known as a manta ray cleaning station, with sharks and schools of jacks.
Ulong Channel
A tide timed channel drift past soft coral walls and shark aggregations, ending over lettuce coral.
Chandelier Cave
A shallow multi chamber cave dive near Koror with air pockets and stalactites, guided and by torchlight.
Sam's Tours Palau
The best known land based dive operator in Koror, with daily outer reef boats and a bar and grill on site.
Neco Marine
An established Koror dive centre running daily diving and the Rock Islands day, with Drop Off attached.
Ngardmau Waterfall
Palau tallest waterfall, reached by a steep muddy jungle hike on Babeldaob, with pools for a swim.
Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum
The small Peleliu museum of battle photographs and artefacts, opened by arrangement on a guided day.
Best hotels in Koror & Palau
Palau Pacific Resort
Palau best known full resort, on a private beach in Airai with overwater bungalows and a conservation lagoon.
Palau Royal Resort
A full resort on Malakal side in Koror with a private beach and pools, walkable to the dive docks.
COVE Resort Palau
A smaller resort hotel in Koror with a big lagoon facing pool, between the big resorts and dive hotels.
Palau Carolines Resort
A small hilltop resort of bungalows above Koror, quiet and garden set, minutes from docks and restaurants.
Palau Central Hotel
A modern town hotel in central Koror with clean rooms and a small pool, the sensible mid range default.
West Plaza Hotel Malakal
A simple clean dive hotel on Malakal near the docks, the value base divers have used in Koror for years.
DW Motel
A small simple motel in Koror at the bottom of the town price range, to confirm direct before booking.
Palau Aggressor II
A liveaboard boat, not a hotel: 7 and 10 night Koror itineraries with up to five dives a day from a skiff.
Is Koror & Palau expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $150 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $290 a person |
| Splurge | $620 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Rock Islands Southern Lagoon: a few days ahead
- Jellyfish Lake: a few days ahead
- Blue Corner: a few days ahead
- German Channel: a few days ahead
- Ulong Channel: a few days ahead
- Sam's Tours Palau: a few days ahead
- Neco Marine: a few days ahead
- Peleliu World War II Memorial Museum: a few days ahead
- Book liveaboards months ahead and flights around the limited weekly schedules from Guam, Manila, Taipei and Seoul.
- Buy the Koror State permit through your operator on day one and carry cash for Peleliu and Babeldaob state fees.
- Ask your operator what Jellyfish Lake counts were in the week you go before paying the lake permit.
Is Koror & Palau safe?
- On the Rock Islands and outlying islands help is a boat ride away, and on Peleliu stay clear of unexploded World War II ordnance in uncleared areas.
- Stay on marked paths on Peleliu, touch no relics or metal, and go only with a known local guide.
- Reef toxic sunscreen is illegal in Palau: bring mineral sunscreen with zinc oxide or titanium dioxide.
- Insurance covering diving, medical evacuation and disruption is part of the cost of a Palau trip.
Koror & Palau travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Do not expect the postcard density at Jellyfish Lake: golden numbers fluctuate and were reported down in 2025.
- Do not book Blue Corner as a beginner: it is a strong current reef hook dive for experienced divers.
- Do not confuse the West Plaza hotels: the group has several Koror properties that are not interchangeable.
Getting around Koror & Palau: public transport and more
- Fly in to Roman Tmetuchl International Airport in Airai, about 25 minutes from Koror over the friendship bridge.
- Taxis are cheap for Koror town hops and dive operators pick up from hotels; rent a car for one Babeldaob day.
- Boat days to the Rock Islands and Peleliu run 45 minutes to an hour each way from Koror.
Who Koror & Palau suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | Good |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Koror & Palau your trip
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