PALAU GENERAL INFORMATION

Palau is located in the Western Pacific and served by Continental Airlines from Guam and Manila. Palau's location outside the typhoon belt ensures a year round sailing season.

Dive travel does tend to drop off from July through October due to the possibility of strong southwest winds, periodically making the most famous dive sites difficult to impossible. Palau trades in U.S. currency, is served by the U.S. Postal Service, and English is widely spoken.

Weather
The best time of the year for diving in Palau is November through June. The trade winds common that time of year blow from the north east, leaving the south west side of the islands, where almost all of the most famous dive sites are located, in the lee, or windless side. This almost insures calm water. Conversely, during the remaining months, July through October, the prevailing winds are most often from the south west, thus blowing on shore at these same locations, though usually not with great force. But on occasion, the winds from the south west blow hard enough to make diving difficult to impossible, thus the reason many divers chose to visit Palau during the "high season". This only happens a few times during the "off season" , but it can blow for a week at a time. The popular alternative for most divers is exploring wrecks when the reef dives are blown out, but Eclipse has other choices as well, since kayaks and snorkeling or fishing offer interesting diversions. Fortunately, Palau is outside the Pacific typhoon region, so heavy weather is not hazardous, or even uncomfortable, with all the calm wilderness anchorages found in the Rock Islands.