Micronesia Snorkeling Adventure
$8,995 based on double occupancy; $1,575 single supplement
October 10 – 23, 2008
See the brochure (pdf)
Trip Overview
Some of the world's best snorkeling and diving sites lie within the millions of square miles of ocean surrounding Pohnpei and Palau in the South Pacific. You'll explore reefs, channels and lagoons teeming with marine life, plus an inland lake filled with millions of stingless jellyfish.
Trip Itinerary
Friday & Saturday October 10 & 11: United States / Yap, Federated States of Micronesia
Depart Los Angeles Friday morning on the group flight to Yap. Cross the International Date Line and "lose" a day, arriving Saturday evening. Drive to the resort, a restored colonial-era mansion reflecting the architectural style favored by the clipper ship captains of the 19th century. Trader's Ridge Resort (Meals Aloft)
Sunday, October 12: Yap
After a morning at leisure, visit the Ethnic Art Institute of Micronesia, where elders teach craft skills to younger artists. View such World War II artifacts as a German cable station and a Japanese bomber. In the late afternoon, tour the north end of the island and visit a traditional meeting house surrounded by Yapese stone money. Watch a traditional Yapese dance in the village. Return to the resort for dinner and a discussion. Trader's Ridge Resort (B,L,D)
Monday, October 13: Yap
This morning, board a boat to explore the wonderfully diverse snorkeling sites of Yap. The Mi'il Channel is a site frequented by manta rays; there is a good chance of spotting these gentle giants as they glide through the water. Look for harmless white-tipped reef sharks, jacks, trevallies, parrotfish, eagle rays, pipefish and nudibranchs. After a barbecue lunch at Forbidden Island, snorkel the surrounding waters to look for lionfish, gobies, trumpetfish, lobster, mantis shrimp and turtles among the colorful hard coral. Return to the resort for dinner. Trader's Ridge Resort (B,L,D)
Tuesday, October 14: Yap
Take a boat ride to the Lionfish Wall and Caverns, which are known as the two most pristine and interesting snorkeling sites on Yap. Both hard and soft corals endemic to this area flourish at these sites. After lunch continue to a site called O'Keefe's, which is famous for its mandarin fish. Be on the lookout for sea cucumbers, starfish, regal angelfish and rainbow parrotfish. Enjoy dinner on your own. Trader's Ridge Resort (B,L)
Wednesday, October 15: Yap / Palau
Transfer to the airport for a flight to Palau. Upon arrival, drive to the beachside resort. Staff from the Palau Conservation Society will conduct an informal morning talk about the region's marine parks and conservation projects; afterwards, visit the Palau Aquarium. Snorkel through Lolita's Coral Gardens, an old-growth forest teeming with branching, table and bottlebrush corals and angelfish, butterfly fish and damsels. Hike to the German Lighthouse for a picnic lunch, then take a birding tour by boat through Fantasy Lake in the Rock Islands to look for bridled terns, black noddies, sulfur-crested cockatoos, eclectus parrots, Palauan fantails and Micronesian pigeons. The calls of cooing fruit doves and the haunting whistle of bush warblers echo off the surrounding walls. Enjoy one last snorkel stop at Mandarin Fish Lake before returning to the resort in the late afternoon. Take a magnificent sunset cruise, followed by dinner at the resort. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Thursday, October 16: Palau
Take a short boat ride through a secret tunnel entrance to a landlocked marine lake and snorkel over a carpet of multicolored soft corals, neon-colored clams and numerous fish species. Back on the boat, weave through a labyrinth of limestone islands in search of endemic birds, diurnal fruit bats and flowering plants. Discover Giant Clam Beach, a protected preserve and home to Palau's largest bivalves. After lunch, swim at Rainbow Reef. After years of protection from the predatory crown-of-thorns starfish, the reef has bloomed into one of Palau's finest shallow snorkeling habitats. Go on a botanical tour of Megapod Beach, then enter the protected waters of Kingfisher Bay, where a gentle current floods multicolored brain corals with nutrients. Tour the Milky Way, a cove whose water is cloudy from limestone deposits. Slip into the water to discover the remains of a sunken WWII Japanese Zero fighter plane. Gather for an informal lecture on Palauan habitats before dinner at a local restaurant. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Friday, October 17: Palau
Return by boat to the Rock Islands and spend the day snorkeling and wandering the uninhabited beaches. Overhead, white-tailed tropic birds share the skies with common and delicate fairy terns, slow-flying Palauan fruit bats, mixed flocks of feeding terns and the elusive sulfur-crested cockatoo. Explore sheltered Nikko Bay by kayak and snorkel among coral gardens and hidden marine caves. Kayak through a marine tunnel into Disney Lake, with its stalactite-filled Cathedral Cave, a reef fish nursery called Lettuce Coral Wall and Rembrandt's Cove, a coral-spawning site. Tonight, dinner is at a local restaurant. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Saturday, October 18: Palau
This morning, snorkel at Soft Coral Arch, a natural archway with a gentle current, and at Cemetery Reef, with its lettuce coral, anemones and trigger fish. Enjoy a traditional beach barbecue lunch at Ulong Island. Stroll along the beach and trek into the forest to explore an ancient Palauan village. Drift snorkel through Ulong Channel, where schools of spawning grouper carefully guard their territory. Keep an eye out for reef sharks, schools of barracuda and giant trevalley; though encounters are a spine-tingling experience, these fish do not pose a threat. Weave back through the islands by boat and linger at favorite birding spots to find parrots, cockatoos and flying foxes. Tonight, gather for another informal lecture on the wildlife of Palau and have dinner at a local restaurant. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Sunday, October 19: Palau
Enjoy a full day in the water, snorkeling at Turtle Cove and Ngedebus Gardens. Discover a variety of undersea life that includes marine turtles, cuttlefish, anemones, tradacna clams, shy white-tipped reef sharks, rainbow-colored gobies and thousands of small schooling fish. Between snorkeling stops, your guide discusses how to identify certain fish species and elaborates on fish behavior. Enjoy dinner on your own. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L)
Monday, October 20: Peleliu / Palau
Take an hour-long boat ride to the island of Peleliu, stopping to snorkel along the way. Go on a land tour of WWII sites and relics. A local naturalist will later provide insight into the unusual ecosystem of mystical Jellyfish Lake, an isolated marine lake inhabited by millions of harmless jellyfish that have no natural predators. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Tuesday, October 21: Palau
After exploring snorkeling sites along the outer reef—including Big Drop Off, Blue Hole and Blue Corner—stop at a secret Yapese stone money site. Then take a short hike to Jellyfish Lake. A snorkeling outing in the lake is a tour highlight—an ethereal, other-worldly experience not to be missed. Tonight, dinner is on your own. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L)
Wednesday, October 22: Palau
Take an hour-long boat ride north of the island for a journey into the rain forest of Babeldaub. Hike through the forest to a waterfall and swim in the many small pools carved out of the rock. Continue uphill to a bungalow on a raised platform overlooking the forest and have a traditional Palauan lunch. The rest of the afternoon is free to snorkel from the beach or explore the area around our lodge. Gather for a farewell shabu-shabu dinner, and late this evening, drive to the airport for your flight home. Palau Pacific Resort (B,L,D)
Thursday, October 23: Palau / United States
Fly to Los Angeles via Guam and Honolulu, re-crossing the International Date Line and arriving in the United States early Thursday morning. (Meals Aloft)
