Thank you to the Vacation Gals for publishing my story: Palau: Royal Treatment Under and Above Water
After recently snorkeling with whale sharks in the Philippines and scuba diving among a tornado of barracuda off Sipadan, Borneo, I wondered if Palau scuba diving would live up to the hype. Scuba dive sites in Palau are famously wonderful and teeming with marine life; I had been informed that some of the best dive sites in the world were situated at the edge of paradise in Palau’s Rock Islands. Our day out withNeco Marine Dive shop did not disappoint. From the moment of our arrival in the shop, the entire dive team — especially Dive Instructor Dale — went above and beyond the call of duty.
WATCH: Diving Palau by Terry Gardner
Whether snorkeling or diving, each person was given attention to make sure they were prepared for an excellent day of adventure. We were all primed with our green Rock Islands cards that are required for entering the water in this UNESCO protected area.
Our first scuba dive site in Palau was Coral Garden. In Coral Garden, I immediately felt like I was in a magical place. During our hour underwater reaching depths of 47 feet, my dive buddy, Terry, and I saw green turtles, anemones, clams, purple and green damselfish, angelfish as well as mackerel. We slowly meandered through the reef garden, enjoying every second of our Nitrox dive.