Palau Aggressor II

Palau
is a year-round destination that has something to offer in every season. While the English Channel is home to many manta rays, guests can see up to 20 to 30 rays during the mating season from December to March! In February and March, there are large schools of Moorish idols, unicorn fish and various species of butterfly fish. Throughout the year, the boat crew encounters huge bait balls of scad in and around Ulong and German Channel as well as on the reefs of Blue Corner and Siaes Corner.

The Palau Aggressor II and the Rock Islands Aggressor have now brought guests to Jellyfish Lake again. We will try to get there every week, weather permitting.

Sample itinerary:

Day 1: Guests arriving at Koror International Airport (ROR) on Sunday evening will be greeted by a uniformed crew member or a Neco tourism agent. There are no telephones or taxis at the small airport, so we can assist you with the transfer to the yacht. If you are already on the island, you can board at 16.30 on Sunday. Guests can board until Monday morning, the boat leaves the jetty at 6am. The boat is moored in front of the harbour of Neco Marine (Malakai) in Palau.

Day 2 - 7: Eat, sleep and dive in the amazing sites of Palau! After days of diving, the boat returns to the dock on Saturday afternoon after lunch.

Day 8: Check-out is at 8am on Sunday morning. The crew will be happy to help you organise transport to the airport or a local hotel if you are extending your stay.

Top dive sites - Palau:

Big Drop-Off: A wall dive that starts as shallow as 2' at low tide and drops to 600'. It is considered by most to be the most beautiful wall dive in Palau as it offers an abundance of hard and soft corals, sea fans, schools of pyramid butterflyfish and a variety of tropical reef fish.

Blue Corner: The best known and best rated dive site in Micronesia has a shallow coral shelf that juts out into the ocean with vertical walls on both sides. An upwelling created by the current attracts schools of fish and large pelagic animals to the upper edges of the walls. The dive is best known for its schools of grey reef sharks that cruise along the edge of the wall. Two resident Napoleon wrasse often accompany divers during their dive. Dogtooth tuna, eagle rays, manta rays, white tip and hammerhead sharks, turtles, schools of barracudas and shoals of reef fish populate the site.

Blue holes: This is a series of four large holes in the top of the reef that converge to form a gigantic underwater chamber. The chamber has a huge opening on one wall where soft corals, sea fans, sea whips and hard corals live. The large pelagic animals that are frequently encountered here include tuna, mackerel, grey and whitetip reef sharks, barracudas and eagle rays. Groupers, Napoleon wrasse, triggerfish, Moorish idols, butterflyfish, anemones and turtles are common at this site, which is located next to Blue Corner.

Chandelier Caves: A short swim through a tunnel at a depth of 35 feet opens into a cave consisting of three chambers. Beautiful stalactites, formed by water dripping through the rock island above, hang from the ceiling and give the caves their name. Tiny holes to the outside world allow fresh air to enter the chambers so that divers can surface and admire the beautiful surroundings.

Denges Passage: This natural channel on the east coast of Palau is home to a whole family of cuttlefish. The unusual creatures, related to the octopus family, are as accommodating to photographers as they are rare. They are not often encountered by divers as they find relatively few places in the world, can remain relatively motionless and have excellent camouflage.

German Channel: This man-made channel through the south-west side of the barrier reef is home to two dive sites. One site, known as Manta Rock, is a natural cleaning station where giant manta rays have their bodies cleaned of parasites and debris by cleaner wrasse. Grey reef sharks also often make use of the wrasse's services. The area is also inhabited by barracudas, snappers, titan triggerfish, gobies, lionfish, leaf fish and an octopus. Nearby is a coral garden with crocodile fish, nudibranchs, flatworms, anemones and clownfish.

New Drop-Off: Halfway between Blue Corner and Big Drop-Off, this vertical wall is similar to Blue Corner in that it is a shallow shelf that juts out into the ocean, catching the current and creating an upwelling that attracts schools of pyramid butterflyfish and barracuda, as well as a number of grey reef sharks. The wall is covered with soft corals and sea fans

Ngedebus Coral Gardens: One of the best collections of stony corals in the Pacific, this dive has a spur and groove reef structure that harbours turtles, octopus, anemones, tridacna clams, white tip reef sharks and thousands of small schooling fish.

Ngerchong: Ngerchong Island, just beyond Denges Passage, has two dive sites nearby: Ngerchong Outside and Ngerchong Coral Gardens. Ngerchong Outside is a sloping wall dive with sea fans, anemones, soft corals and many hard coral formations. Sharks, bumphead parrotfish and schooling fish are often seen here, as well as the occasional manta ray. The Coral Gardens, also known as Ngerchong Inside, is probably the best dive in Palau to see an abundance and variety of hard corals. Table corals, staghorn corals, elkhorn corals, mushroom corals and brain corals are just some of the coral species that can be found here. Many anemones with clownfish also thrive here, as well as octopus, turtles and other fish. This dive can be enjoyed at any depth between 10' and 80'.

Peleliu: The island of Peleliu, at the southern tip of the main archipelago of Palau, is bordered by magnificent walls. Dive sites include Peleliu Corner, Yellow Wall and Orange Beach. The dive sites of Peleliu are mainly steep walls covered with sea fans, sea whips, stony corals and anemones, but dominated by soft corals. Peleliu is an excellent place to observe large pelagic creatures, especially sharks.

Short Drop-Off: A sloping wall directly in front of the entrance to Koror harbour, covered with huge sea fans. At the top of the wall is a beautiful coral garden with tropical fish and invertebrates.

Siaes tunnel: An exceptional deep dive on the west side of Palau, near the Ulong Channel. The dive begins on a steep wall with the tunnel opening at 70 feet. You enter through an opening that is about 50 feet wide and 20 feet high and swim through the tunnel that runs 150 feet parallel to the wall. The inside of the tunnel is a large cavern with a ceiling of 80-90' and a floor of 120-130'. Halfway through the tunnel is a \"window\" in the wall that looks out onto the deep blue. You exit through a large opening in the wall at 80'. Stingrays, turtles, schools of mackerel and sharks can be seen in and around the tunnel.

Ulong Channel: This channel is located on the west side of Palau, near the Siaes tunnel and wall. The entrance is surrounded by walls crowned by beautiful coral gardens. When the tide comes in, the mouth of the channel fills with grey reef sharks. The channel stretches for about half a mile and has an average width of 100 feet. The maximum depth is about 60'. Coral-covered walls extend the entire length of the channel on both sides. A shallow ridge running down the centre of the channel is covered with soft corals, hard corals, sea fans and anemones. Unique to this site is a huge patch of plate coral that resembles lettuce leaves and harbours schools of squirrel fish, soldier fish and glass eyes. The current provides a gentle push, making for a nice, leisurely ride along the channel.

Miracle Channel: Located within the rock islands, not far from Jellyfish Lake and Clam City, this channel is best dived on the east side along a wall that starts at the surface and reaches a depth of 80 feet. Soft corals, sea fans, anemones, blue and red starfish, a crown of thorns, starfish, crabs, pipefish and a wide variety of sea slugs, flatworms and nudibranchs can be found along this wall.

Wreck of the Iro Maru: A 145-foot-long merchant ship that was sunk by American bombers during the Second World War. Three mast and gun turrets at the bow and stern harbour a variety of invertebrates and stony corals. The main deck is at a depth of 80 feet with open holds containing oil drums and machinery.

Diving details:

• Known for grey reef sharks, white tip sharks, manta rays, octopus, mandarin fish and WWII wrecks.
• All dives are conducted from a large 35-foot dinghy.

Water temperature:

• 80 - 82F / 27 - 28C
• 3mm wetsuit recommended

Diver:

• The dive boat is 35 feet long and accommodates 18 divers.
• 4 - 5 dives per day are conducted from the dinghy.
• During the week 2 shore excursions are offered to Peleliu Tour and Ulong Beach.

Sample routes and maps are for illustrative purposes only. The exact route and sites visited are subject to change depending on local regulations, guest experience, weather and logistics and are at the captain's discretion.

Guests arriving at Koror International Airport (ROR) on Sunday evening will be greeted by a staff member in uniform or a Neco Tourist Agent and transferred to Palau Aggressor II or Rock Islands Aggressor. There are no telephones or taxis at the small airport, so reservations must be made in advance.