Dive Review of Sam's Tours and Werner Lau/Palau Pacific and Trader's Ridge in
Micronesia

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Sam's Tours and Werner Lau/Palau Pacific and Trader's Ridge, Jun, 2005, by Pamela Turner, CA, USA ( 2 reports). Report 1765.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spent 8 days in Palau, 5 diving and 2 kayaking with Sam's Tours. Blue Corner and New Drop Off were some of the best dives my husband and I have had in 21 years of diving. So many sharks (reef, blacktip, whitetip) that we lost count, big Napoleon wrasses, schools of barracuda. We didn't see any mantas underwater in Palau, but saw two that cruised by our boat for five minutes, which was a great photo op. In Yap, visibility at the manta cleaning stations was limited, but we saw 2 big mantas. Our second dive was actually better--through an underwater canyon with barracuda, baby whitetip sharks, big lobsters, and a huge barracuda. Best time for mantas in Yap, according to our dive guide, Nikko, is February. Both Palau and Yap exceeded expectations, and we've dived enough to be pretty spoiled. We stayed at Palau Pacific in Palau. Nice, especially the beach access, though some of the rooms are starting to look like they need new wallpaper. Best restaurant on the island is The Taj (great naan and butter chicken) followed by Arirang (Korean). We dived with Sam's Tours. They are very committed to conservation--the general manager, Dermott, helped push through a shark finning ban and is actively involved in getting a new zoning plan to further protect the reefs. Our guides, Dexter and Daniel, were excellent. Our youngest (12) was certified during the visit by the very affable Ronnie. Our kayaking guide, Jake, was extremely entertaining and an incredible athlete. If you want to see mandarinfish, go kayaking to Risong Bay--you can snorkel with them in 2 feet of water and enjoy as long as you like. In Yap, we chose the upscale Trader's Ridge and its Werner Lau dive center over Manta Ray Bay Hotel, which attracts the package tour crowd. Trader's Ridge is nicer, has a lot more atmosphere, and Werner Lau has a brand-new facility a short walk from the hotel. We had a boat to ourselves (family of five) while the Manta Ray Bay divers were crowded shoulder-to-shoulder. Service is generally slower in Yap--they have less experience than in Palau--but friendly and laid back.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Australia, New Guinea, Malasia, Thailand, Philippines, Hawaii, Costa Rica, Mexico, Haiti, Dominican Republic, US and British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Florida, California
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	rainy	Seas	calm, currents
Water Temp	80-82°F / 27-28°C	Wetsuit Thickness	0
Water Visibility	20-80 Ft/ 6-24 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	[Unspecified]
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Sam's Tours and Werner Lau/Palau Pacific and Trader's Ridge in Micronesia

Sam's Tours and Werner Lau/Palau Pacific and Trader's Ridge, Jun, 2005,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Sam's Tours and Werner Lau/Palau Pacific and Trader's Ridge in
Micronesia