Palau is an island nation in Oceania/Western Pacific I have solo traveled to for one week in June/July 2026. This was a side quest from a longer stay in Taiwan.
This page collects things to do and see in Palau and will soon feature posts about my experiences. Until then, feel free to read about Taiwan, Malaysia, or Thailand.
Map of Things to Do in Palau
Use the menu button on the left side to make points of interest (dis)appear. Star the map while on mobile phone to show these points of interest on Google Maps on your phone. Happy navigating!
Things I’d Like to Do in Palau
- After taking the Palau Pledge upon arrival at the airport, hitchhike! I’d love to catch rides with locals and hear about island life from them.
- Visit the capital Ngerulmud and the largest city Koror. Ngerulmud is a planned city that replaced Koror as the capital in 2006, which is something I’m slightly obsessed with. Koror is most likely the base of operations for any visitor to Palau and it has a morning market with fresh food at competitive prices.
- Learn about Palauan culture and pick up a few words/phrases of Palauan. It will be my first time interacting with a Polynesian language.
- Learn about WWII history, Pacific Theatre, from the remnants in Palau. This is an area of the world not covered in the Dutch curriculum
- Take the ferry to Peleliu, which takes between 3–4 hours and costs $15 per trip for foreigners. Peleliu is interesting from its WWII history. It’s possilbe to visit the Old Japanese Air HQ and the Peleliu WWII Museum. There are also some promising beaches in Peleliu to go swimming or to watch the sunset from.
- Visit some archaeological sites, such as the Badrulchau Stone Monoliths, the Tet el Bad stone coffin, the Ulong Island rock paintings, and the Ouballang ra Ngebedech terraces. Of the last one, archaeologists agree that the terraces hidden beneath the jungle are very cool. Watch this ABC Pacific video to learn about it.
- Visit some museums in Koror, such as the Etpison Museum and the Belau National Museum. I’d love to learn about Palauan culture and history before European contact (and since), and the Palau–U.S. relations (COFA) regarding defense and Palau’s anti-nuclear movement. Moreover, I’d love to learn about the Palau-only Modekgnei religion, see a Toluk made from a turtle’s shield, a Dilukai statue, and the highlight would be seeing Rai Stones. Maybe I’ll visit the Palau Aquarium too.
- Hike up the tallest peak, Mount Ngerchelchuus (242masl). As PeakBagger says, the hardest part is getting to Palau
- Drink a Red Rooster Beer anywhere that serves it and/or visit the Palau Brewing Company
- Visit Ngardmau Waterfalls, which is the most famous waterfall. There are also others on Babeldaob, the main island.
- Though I hate things from the sea, Palau is famous for its Jellyfish Lake. The jellyfish can’t really hurt you due to a long time without predators, before humans came to the lake. Tours to swim/snorkel there cost over US$100 usually, though it might be closed due to environmental concerns.
- In terms of cuisine, I think I’m gonna skip the national dish, which is fruit bat soup. I loved the giant fruit bats back in Mauritius and would prefer to not eat them. In terms of what I can eat in Palau, there’s vegetable yasai korokke (Japanese origin), vegetarian lumpia (Indonesian/Filipino origin), Taro rösti (Swiss-German origin), and whatever vegetable is in season. In terms of desserts, there’s an-doughnut (Japanese/American origin), Karintō (Japanese), pichi-pichi (Filipino), and tama (basically Dutch oliebollen).
- Visit Angaur (pop. 119), if that’s even remotely doable price/time wise. It’s quite remote, but still not the southernmost inhabited island of Palau, which is I think is Tobi (pop. 39). I find these remote places people live in truly fascinating.
- Learn about the Palauan clan system and its succession disputes https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ibedul_succession_dispute
- If I’m lucky with my timing, the Belau Games major sports event could be held. The same goes for the International Photo Festival. This is very unlikely, though.
If you know cool places and things to do in Palau, comment below so I can always find your suggestions again once I start planning my return! Tips are especially welcome if you are Palauan or have lived there for a while
Are you a travel blogger and do you have good posts about Palau? Drop them in a comment below and I’ll read them!
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