Palau: Getting there & around

Continental has daily flights to and from Guam. Far Eastern Air Transport has four-weekly flights to Taiwan and another option, if travelling from the USA, is a Circle Micronesia air-pass. Other connections are through Guam. The airport is a 25-minute drive from the capital Koror; travellers leaving Palau must pay a US$20.00 departure tax.

Although there are inter-island boats within Micronesia, it's rare to find any sort of passenger vessel going to Palau from countries outside the region, aside from the occasional private yacht and live-aboard dive boat. Organised tours focusing on diving, snorkelling and - in dwindling numbers - guiding WWII veterans back through the islands in which they fought during the war, are also available.

A few hotels provide airport transportation for their guests. Otherwise, taxis and car rental are available at the airport. Because Koror is the nation's commercial centre, Palauans commonly commute by private speedboat between Koror and their home villages on other Palauan islands. You can sometimes hitch a ride with them by offering to chip in for gas. Ask around at the gas docks. Otherwise, there are occasional flights aboard small Cessnas and weekly trips by government boats from Koror to Peleliu and Angaur.

Visitors are allowed to drive in Palau for 30 days with their home country's driver's licence. Driving is on the right, and the speed limit is a doddering 40km/h (25mph).