Dive Review of Sam's Tours/Palacia in
Micronesia/Palau

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Sam's Tours/Palacia: "Great Diving, Guide, and Captain", Sep, 2017, by Dan Gowen, FL, US ( 2 reports). Report 9870.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	The absolute best thing about the trip was being and diving with a group of friends, all very well-trained technical divers, who came together from around the world to dive Truk Lagoon and Palau. Our trip leader selected Sam's Tours for the Palau portion and Odyssey Adventures for Truk. The tour arranger, World of Diving, has us all meet in Guam and inflicted Untied Airlines on us. Three times we had to transit that mess at Guam airport. Never again! The best thing about Sam's Tours was our guide, Matt, and our captain, Jimmy (I believe). The rest of the team at Sam's was friendly and competent. They seemed to have everything we needed for configuring our rebreathers, doubles, and bailout and deco tanks. The Trimix and EANx gases were accurately mixed. Our captain made the long trips to the dive sites enjoyable and safe. I advise divers to bring warm, water repellent gear in case of inclement-weather rides. Each day we made three dives of 90-110, 60-75, 60 minutes. Fantastic viz, wonderful corals and animals, and enormous schools of tuna, jacks, and sharks. Of course, there were lots of turtles and mantas. This was a top trip. The only down side for us was Sam's managers insisting that our guide pay for disown gases and scrubber. Many of our group work at dive operation and find this policy abhorent. We divers paid the fee for the guide, at our insistence, not his. The Palacia Hotel was quite good, and with its oriental flair, had great food for a vegan like me. My non-vegan companions were happy as well. Internet, as noted in other reports was spotty, but that should change soon with the arrival of fiber cable from Guam.
Websites	Sam's Tours
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	Over 1000 dives
Where else diving	Bahamas, Belize, Bonaire, Croatia, Florida, Hawaii, Indonesia, Kenya, North Carolina, Virginia, Senegal, Spain, Solomans, and Venezuela.
Closest Airport	Koror	Getting There	United (unfortunately). Everything goes through Guam which means unnecessary US Customs and Immigration harassment coupled with United delays makes for a lousy voyage.
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny, windy, rainy	Seas	calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp	82-85°F / 28-29°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	75-150 Ft/ 23-46 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Visibility limited how much spread we had. The rebreather divers tended to be deeper than OC divers, but we stayed together.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	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		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Sam's Tours/Palacia in Micronesia/Palau

Sam's Tours/Palacia: "Great Diving, Guide, and Captain", Sep, 2017,

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/Palacia in
Micronesia/Palau