Drift Diving in Palau

Blue Corner

As mentioned, Blue Corner is practically synonymous with drift diving in Palau and is considered to be one of the best dive sites on the planet.

The reef plateau juts out into the open ocean with a steep drop-off into the depths below. Thanks to its location, Blue Corner is at the mercy of strong currents which attract huge numbers of grey reef sharks as well as schooling jacks, barracudas and Napoleon wrasses. Extremely lucky divers may even spot passing whale sharks, bull sharks and eagle rays out in the inky blue.

The site's challenging current lends itself to experienced divers only. On a typical dive, divers enter the water and drift towards the corner, before hooking into the plateau to enjoy the magnificent view.

Blue Holes

After Blue Corner, Blue Holes is the next most popular site when it comes to drift diving in Palau. It's extremely close to Blue Corner and many divers actually start their dive at Blue Holes and drift over to Blue Corner.

Divers enter through one of the four large holes on the surface of the reef and descend into the huge ethereal cavern below, which is decorated with sea fans and wire coral. The cavern has two windows leading out into the open ocean. Usually, once divers exit the cave, there's a 50-metre swim against the current, before the current reverses and carries divers over to Blue Corner.

Ulong Channel

Our last must-visit for drift diving in Palau is Ulong Channel, located on the western side of Ulong Island. This thrilling drift dive begins with divers jumping in at the mouth of the channel and drifting over vibrant soft and hard corals, often among large groups of reef sharks as well as schools of snappers, jacks and barracudas. From April to July, large groups of groupers gather in the channel to spawn during the full moon - a relatively rare sight since groupers are usually solitary creatures.

The site is renowned for its strong and unpredictable currents, making it suitable for advanced divers only - it's not unusual for the current to suddenly change direction during the dive, so divers must be prepared for this.

There are some incredible places to go drift diving in Palau, from the world-famous Blue Corner to Ulong Channel. If you're thinking about visiting this breath-taking archipelago on your next holiday, our team can assist you with creating the itinerary of a lifetime.