Palau (Belau) - Facts
Palau FAQs
Pre-Arrival Boat: There is an “Application to Enter” for Customs and Immigration, plus notifications to the Bureau of Marine Transportation (i.e. the Port Captain) by e-mail, that must be sent in advance of arrival. See Clearance for more details.
Pre-Arrival Crew: Each crew member must submit an online entry form for travelers within 72 hours of ETA. See Immigration for details.
Where can I enter? The only port of entry is Malakal Harbour, Koror.
Are fees high to enter by yacht? Fees are very high to enter Palau. Approx. entry fee for 40-90ft with 2 crew, 30 days is US$750. See Fees for more details.
What security concerns should I know about? Palau is very safe and the crime rate is low. See Security for more info.
Palau Facts for Sailors
- The Republic of Palau, now known as Belau, is part of the Micronesia region in the western Pacific Ocean. Closely grouped together inside a barrier reef are the high islands of Babeldaob, the main island of Koror, Peleliu, and the many Rock Islands. Just outside the reef are Anguaur and the atoll Kayangel, while to the south are a group of five small volcanic islands, stretching down towards Indonesia.
- The population of Palau is about 22,000 with 70% of the population living in Koror. Palaun and English are the official languages.
- The currency is the US dollar.
- The time zone in Palau is UTC +9.
- Palau lies on the edge of the typhoon belt and is rarely affected by tropical storms. See weather.
- Conveniently situated on the route from the South Pacific to the Philippines, Palau lagoon and its many picturesque islands provide one of the most beautiful cruising grounds in the Pacific in one small area. This is slightly marred by the strict entry regulations, but this can be overcome by sorting out the necessary paperwork before arrival and, once there, by observing the rules. The effort is entirely justified as the scenery is rarely matched elsewhere in the Pacific. The richest flora and fauna in Micronesia are found here, both on land and underwater.
- In January 2020, Palau closed 80 percent of its ocean waters to fishing to create the Palau National Marine Sanctuary, one of the largest marine protected areas in the world.
- Coral reefs and swift currents make all navigation dangerous, especially for newcomers to Palau and particularly after dark. Be careful and watch for reefs. Koror State Rangers assess steep fines for vessels grounding on coral reefs – $100 to $500 and up.
- The most fascinating place to visit are the Rock Islands, which are over two hundred limestone islets covered in jungle growth. Three major ocean currents meet in this area bringing food to nourish the rich marine life. The sea is teeming with turtles, manta rays, moray eels, fish of all descriptions, giant clams and even dugong. Occasionally one is brought back to earth by the sight of a wrecked ship from the bloody battles which were fought in and over these waters during the Second World War.
- Strict rules apply to visits to the outer islands and because of many abuses by cruising boats in the past, the authorities treat all visitors with suspicion, and, occasionally, with a certain degree of hostility. It is even rumoured that the authorities are considering closing the Rock Islands to cruising boats altogether.
- Another fascinating place to visit is Helen Reef which is a National Park.
- Due to the country’s close association with the USA and the presence of the US military, many more American goods can be purchased here than can normally be found in most Pacific Islands. See details at Yachting Essentials and Koror.
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The FEES link does not go to a new page — can someone direct me to a page that lists the entry fees for Palau?
Hi Sue, thanks for notifying us of the lost link, we’ll fix it. All formalities sections are found via the list icon in the blue bar at the top of the page. This also takes you to ports and lots of other useful info. so have a click on each one to find out more.
Palau is now open to private yachts All persons aboard must be vaccinated and tested. See The Covid Information section for all the details.
Entry fees have not changed and are still the highest in the entire Indo-Pacific.
April 1st 2020, as of today the Port of Palau is closed to arriving private sailing vessels until further notice. Local sailing vessels may depart and return after a 14 day quarantine period.
Palau update 26 March 2020. We just wanted to post an update about what’s happening here in Palau with the Covid19 outbreak.
As of today there are no confirmed cases. No general quarantine, no lock down, people are free to move about, new arrivals via sea or air are subject to a 14-day quaranteen period. Several hotels are providing secure quaranteen facilities to the Government, for any new arrivals. Air travel is virtually at a halt with all the international airlines having dropped their service to Palau. A solitary UA weekly flight to Guam is all that is scheduled. The Island Hooper has one flight scheduled In April.
Many businesses related to tourism, are closing, closed, or scaling down, including dive ops, restaurants and hotels. There are few tourists left in Palau. Many expats who worked in these industries have also departed for their home countries.
Palauans are observing common sense social distance rules, limiting public gatherings and schools are closed. Medical facilities are in an enhanced state of readiness, having had time to prepare.
Of specific interest to us yachties, there are no new restrictions to our movement about the Palau islands, still subject to having the usual paid permits. The stores are full of fresh provisions. Sea freight is still arriving on schedule. The US Mail is still being delivered to the Koror Post Office. All goods and services are open and available. The Rock Islands are even more beautiful, but sadly empty of dive and tour boats, with the exception of few super yachts.
As of November 2019 the new Palau entry charges (see Customs) have now been law more than 60 days. They appear to be enforced according to the official schedule of fees. The very few cruising yachts that have arrived since the new laws/fees went into effect report they were charged the published fees. Of these few cruisers, they either stayed for or are planning to stay less than 30 days. With the new much higher fees in place, it is likely that few cruising yachts will call here or stay longer than 30 days.
Such a shame. We wanted to spend a couple of months there, but the new charges have put it out of the picture for us.
Palau (https://www.palaugov.pw/) has posted the “official” wording of a new law, RPPL No. 10-38: Classification for Yachts and Cruise Ships, which has impacts ($$$ & length of stay) to private cruising yachts. The new law goes into effect 90 days from its signing date of 11 June 2019. If you desire to know more a copy of the new law is at: https://www.palaugov.pw/wp-content/uploads/2019/07/RPPL-No.-10-38-re.-To-Amend-Section-1405-of-Title-40.pdf
We stopped in Palau after leaving Indonesia on our way to Japan and had nothing short of a fantastic experience with the officials and the locals. We arrived on a Saturday and paid an extra $40 to each official for overtime, but they were all waiting on the dock for us and we were cleared in after about 15 minutes…simple. The Customs officer gave me a card with his personal cell phone number and told me to call him if I had any trouble with the spare parts I was expected to arrive by air. I tried to tip the security person at the quarantine dock who helped us tie up and he refused saying they cannot do that in Palau and we were never asked for money by anyone.
Anyone stopping in Palau can contact Sam at Sam’s Tours ahead of time at rbycpalau@gmail.com and he will notify the officials of your arrival date and time and that’s a free service. Sam is the local cruiser resource who will find or do just about anything to make your trip there fantastic. He runs a dive operation and a bar/restaurant and marina/fuel dock with moorings. By paying $50 to join RBYC, Royal Belau Yacht Club, you become a member of the group and it’s the best $50 you will spend. Buy Sam a beer and you’ll get all the local knowledge your brain can absorb. There is another marina in Koror, Palau that we suggest you avoid as it is not “cruiser friendly”. And have the onion rings at Sam’s bar, they are the best. Lastly, Petris runs a taxi on the island and charges cruisers half price. His local cell phone number is 776-1715. He’s a very nice man who knows his way around the island and will pick you up at Sam’s.
Stan MV Buffalo Nickel
Feb 27, 2019 10:02 PM
We hear you and were considering prior to reading your post stopping there on our way to the Philippines (Puerta Princesa) Now we are going to dig deeper for more input. Im so sorry you experienced that on your journey. It is unfortunate and we greatly appreciate your input as it weighs in on travel decisions when you are sailing on a budget. S/V Seagate (Instagram-isleofhope) Thank you Sue 🙂
Posted on behalf of SY Segue:
We came to Indonesia from Palau. What a REFRESHING change. We truly felt that Palau was one HUGE money grab. Every single official needed money. Money to the dock guy that grabs your lines.
Money to Customs. Money to Immigration. Money to BioSecurity. Money just to anchor in the port. Money to go cruising… Every single government official had their hands out for money.
Heck — it’s even $50 bucks a head to LEAVE Palau — some “Green Tax”… All told it cost us THOUSANDS of dollars to be in Palau for three months.