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Dive Centre - Characteristics
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| Who we are Sam's Tours, a PADI 5-Star National Geographic Dive Center, is Palau's premier scuba diving service. Excellent customer care, personalized attention and professional service have earned Sam's Tours eight Scuba Diving Magazine, Reader's Choice Awards including “Best Dive Operator”, Best Dive Staff ” and “Best Value”. Palau Visitors Authority selected Sam’s Tours as 2008 Tour Operator of The Year. We operate in conjunction with Palau's preferred hotel properties and offer full day dive trips, night dives, PADI courses, complete hotel & diving packages, and customized private charters for individuals and groups. Our custom built dive boats provide safe, fast, and comfortable trips that include a complimentary visit to Palau's amazing Jellyfish Lake. For added safety and comfort we offer our guests complimentary Nitrox (with proof of certification). Our modern full service dive centre includes a digital photography and HD videography centre, authorized Aqua Lung, Mares and Scubapro sales & service, a full range of scuba experiences from Introductory programs through Assistant Instructor certification, and a waterfront café overlooking the beautiful rock islands. DSL and wireless internet access. In addition to diving, Sam's Tours offers snorkel trips, rock island tours, sailing charters and Palau's top rated Planet Blue Kayak Tours. Sam's Tours is Palau's only dive centre to receive the Palau Conservation Society “Partners in Conservation” award and is a corporate sponsor of the Palau Shark Sanctuary. Sam’s Tours was founded in 1990 by Sam Scott, originally of WA. State, USA. Sam is a PADI Professional Divemaster with over 10,000 logged dives and remains actively involved in providing the quality professional service Sam's Tours is recognized for. Look for Sam most afternoons casually mingling with guests (or telling “fish stories”) at Bottom Time Bar & Grill our waterfront café overlooking the rock islands. We look forward to welcoming you to Palau and making your visit a trip of a lifetime! |
| Where we are
Palau is located just over 7 degrees north of the equator in Micronesia's Western Caroline Islands at longitude 134 East and enjoys warm tropical weather and moderate temperatures year round. We are just a short flight away from Yap, Micronesia, home to our Quality Divers partner Manta Ray Bay Hotel & Yap Divers.
Continental Micronesia Airlines provides a direct service to Palau every day from Guam, and from Manila on Wednesdays and Fridays. China Airlines offers service from Frankfurt to Palau via Taipei. Charter flights are available throughout the year from other destinations including Japan and Korea. Our PADI 5-Star National Geographic Dive Center is located in a secluded cove on the western side of Malakal Harbor, Koror, about 40 minutes by speedboat from Palau's stunning outer reefs and world-class dive sites. For wreck diving enthusiasts we are less than 10 minutes away from Palau’s best WWII ship and plane wrecks and just moments away from Chandelier Cave, another signature Palau dive. We operate every day of the year and provide a complimentary shuttle service from all Koror hotels. |
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| Palau, Micronesia is consistently ranked among the Top Five dive destinations worldwide. | |
| What you can expect
Our goal at Sam’s Tours is to ensure that every guest enjoys a trip of a lifetime to Palau. Our friendly knowledgeable staff will cater to your every need to ensure your comfort, safety and satisfaction while you enjoy Palau’s world-class diving. We provide efficient professional service in a casual island-style setting for your complete relaxation and fun! Our full-service dive centre includes a Digital Photo & HD Video Centre, Internet Café, waterfront Restaurant & Bar, private hot showers, secure gear storage, and courtesy Hotel Shuttle Service until late evening. In addition to world-class diving trips, we offer a wonderful selection of non-diving tours both on and off the water that include rock island tours, snorkel tours, Jellyfish Lake tours, Palau's top rated kayak trips with Planet Blue Kayak Tours, big island sight-seeing tours, waterfall tours, cultural tours and “around the town” shopping shuttles. Visitors to Palau will find a warm welcoming island with friendly people, well-stocked stores and an amazing variety of restaurants offering great casual dining and good value. Shorts, T-shirts and flip-flops are appropriate for most every occasion. Pack lightly. |
| The Dive Sites | Palau’s top-rated dive sites are mostly located along the southwestern edge of the outer barrier reef including renowned sites such as Blue Corner, Big Drop-Off, Ngemelis Wall, New Drop-Off, and Turtle Cove. WWII wreck diving is primarily confined to the Malakal Harbor area a few minutes from Sam’s Tours’ dive centre. Depending on weather and tidal conditions we also offer trips to dive sites around Peleliu Island to the south and some of the more northerly sites off Babeldaob Island. Sam’s Tours visits all of the sites used by liveaboard safari boats, most of which simply anchor 20 minutes closer to the dive sites than our dive base. Typical multi-level dive profile is about 70 feet or 20 metres maximum depth. Free Nitrox on every dive! Our experienced dive guides and captains will greet you upon arrival at the dive centre, assist in preparing your dive equipment and offer comprehensive dive briefings for the day's choice of dives. Dive boats generally leave within 45 minutes of hotel shuttle arrival. Dive trips begin with a spectacular ride through Palau's beautiful inner lagoon en route to the first outer reef dive site. Surface intervals between dives are either spent on beautiful rock island beaches or at amazing snorkel sites along the outer reefs. Following the second dive (or third dive), the return trip takes you back through the stunning rock islands with possible stops along the way to snorkel at Jellyfish Lake, Soft Coral Arch, Giant Clam Beach, or some of Palau's many beautiful marine lakes. Bring your camera! Dive boats generally return to the dock around 4:00 p.m. |
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Mandarinfish & Macro Photography: Beneath our boat docks is some of Palau’s best diving for Mandarinfish and other strange and tiny creatures. It’s a favorite with photographers. Tanks are free! Jump in! Stay shallow! Have fun! Hot showers when you’re done. We also offer some Specialty Dives for a little something out of the ordinary! - Nautilus Photo: A wonderful opportunity to photograph these pre-historic creatures- Chandelier Cave: A unique dive inside one of Palau's amazing rock islands. - Wreck Diving: Explore Palau's “Ghost Fleet” of WWII ship and plane wrecks. - Temple of Doom: An advanced dive to an ancient turtle graveyard (perfect for Nitrox divers!) - Night Diving: Available on demand. |
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| The Diving |  |
Palau is world renowned for marine biodiversity and an abundance of large pelagic animals that includes schools of sharks and lots of manta rays. Our warm clear tropical waters are legendary amongst divers for dramatic coral encrusted walls rising from the depths to within inches of the surface. Home to over 1,300 species of fish and more than 700 species of coral, Palau also offers exciting wreck diving with one of the Pacific's largest collections of intact WWII shipwrecks and plane wrecks. Palau is a divers dream! A true “one stop shop” when it comes to diving! From sheltered coral gardens filled with colourful reef fishes and turtles to current swept plateaus patrolled by schools of sharks and barracudas, Palau offers a wide and wonderful range of diving for divers of every interest and skill level. Healthy reefs, warm clear water, creatures big and small, and a big collection of WWII wrecks! Whatever your diving pleasure, level of interest, or experience level, Palau diving is sure to please! |
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Most diving in Palau consists of drift diving along the beautiful walls, plateaus and coral gardens of the outer barrier reef, a forty minute boat ride from Koror through the picturesque rock islands. While you dive the boat follows along from the surface to meet you upon ascent. Our dive boats leave the dive centre before 9:00 a.m. and return late afternoon. We are open every day of the year and offer a choice of two-tank trips or three-tank trips and complimentary side trips to Jellyfish Lake and other natural wonders. |
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| The Education | |
Palau is a wonderful place to learn to dive and begin your exploration of the amazing underwater world. Warm, clear tropical water, a professionally equipped learning centre, and friendly, patient instructors make learning fun, easy and exciting!
Sam's Tours PADI 5-Star National Geographic Center offers PADI's complete line of scuba courses from Introductory Dives through Specialty Courses up to Assistant-Instructor Level Certification. |
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Specialty Courses PADI Enriched Air Nitrox (EANx) PADI Blue Corner Distinctive Specialty For complete Course Information please contact our Reservations Desk at: reservations@samstours.com
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| About us |
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