Contents(8)
- Introduction to Palau's SUP Stand-Up Paddleboarding Experience — Will You Get Sunburnt? Tired? Is It Beginner-Friendly?
- Palau SUP Stand-Up Paddleboarding: Extending Your Adventure into Secrets Spots No Speedboat Can Reach
- Cultural Relics on an Uninhabited Island: The Quarrying Site of Stone Money
- Up-Close Exploration at Sea Level: Stalactite Scenery You'll Never See in Taiwan
- If You Could Step Away from the World for a Moment, Palau SUP Might Be the Answer
- More Amazing Palau Content
- Further Links
- Further Reading
This in-depth Palau SUP tour combines island-hopping, mangrove exploration, and local history and culture into a route that's suitable for all ages and beginners alike — and one of the most popular on offer. After riding a speedboat to your destination, a SUP board lets you push deeper into hidden corners no speedboat can reach: rainforest, ocean, stalactite caves, WWII relics, and wild wildlife. The speedboat stays on standby throughout, and Mandarin-language guiding is available without any language barrier.
LT DIVE - Lance
Palau is an absolute must-visit for anyone who loves the water. An archipelago of more than 250 islands sitting at roughly 7° North in the North Pacific, it enjoys a tropical rainforest climate on all sides and is blessed with extraordinarily rich marine resources. It is also one of Taiwan's rare and precious diplomatic allies. The following is a look at a new way to experience Palau — perfect for anyone heading there who doesn't want to scuba dive every single day, or who is in the 24-hour pre-flight no-diving window after scuba diving and doesn't want to waste a moment: the Palau SUP In-Depth Exploration Tour.
Introduction to Palau's SUP Stand-Up Paddleboarding Experience — Will You Get Sunburnt? Tired? Is It Beginner-Friendly?
Departing at 9 a.m. — ready to head out on the Palau SUP adventure
We joined LT DIVE's Palau SUP In-Depth Day Tour, which runs approximately 4–5 hours and includes hotel transfers, lunch, a torch, and SUP instruction. Our guide for the day was Lance, originally from Taiwan, so the entire tour was conducted in Mandarin without any language barrier — from ecological introductions to explanations of historical relics. Along the way, Lance also helped us snap great photos and suggested the best spots to shoot from.
Tired? The speedboat stays nearby at all times and can step in at any moment should an emergency arise. Additionally, the guide's SUP board is fitted with a small electric motor, which tows everyone along on the longer stretches.
Sunburnt? We recommend wearing a UV-protective rash guard, a hat, and sunglasses. Some segments do expose you to direct sunlight, but the majority of the route winds through swampy woodland, where tree shade and cave overhangs offer natural protection.
Beginner-friendly? If you're not confident in the water, you can share a SUP board with a friend and take turns paddling. Lance also has life jackets available for anyone who needs one. Since the Palau SUP route moves between islands rather than open ocean, there are no big swells or strong waves, and because speedboats can't access these passages, the water along the paddling route is never very deep.
You don't have to paddle the entire way — this is a relatively relaxed route overall
Palau SUP Stand-Up Paddleboarding: Extending Your Adventure into Secrets Spots No Speedboat Can Reach
The speedboat docks at a jetty only accessible at high tide, and the SUP boards are unloaded
The islands of Palau are almost entirely ringed with coral, and many areas feature vast stretches of mangrove mudflats and swamp, making it impossible for speedboats to get close to the shoreline. The half-submerged stalactite formations hugging the islands, the wildlife hidden within the mangroves — mangrove crabs, saltwater crocodiles, wild pitcher plants — and even WWII-era relics are all easily missed from a conventional speedboat tour. In recent years, SUP and kayaking have surged in popularity, and Palau has begun offering dedicated day trips around them. SUP boards, with their ease of loading, the flexibility to stand or sit, and the ability to accommodate multiple riders, have gradually become the first choice for visitors.
Wreckage of a Japanese warplane from World War II — photo credit ＠cathy2wildddd
WWII traces visible everywhere — the engine wreckage of a Japanese warplane that flew straight into a cliff face
Lance guided us through the swampy woodland between the islands, pointing out ancient graffiti on sheer cliff faces and the remnants of wartime history. Palau was one of many Pacific battlegrounds during World War II, and the islands and surrounding waters are scattered with downed aircraft and sunken ships — making visits to WWII-era sites one of the highlights of the SUP adventure. Gunpowder, naval mines, warplanes, bottles, and transport rail tracks all lie in wait. One island in particular features an enormous cave: in addition to artifacts of human habitation, the stalactite chamber is home to bats, swiftlets, and giant crickets, offering a travel experience entirely different from Palau's traditional water-based tours.
Venturing deep into a military stalactite cave used by Japanese forces during WWII
Ruins of a Japanese gunpowder manufacturing facility from the WWII era
Cultural Relics on an Uninhabited Island: The Quarrying Site of Stone Money
LT DIVE arranged the famous Palau dining experience — Bem Ermii Burger & Fries flame-grilled burgers — for our lunch. After eating, Lance took us to explore Airai Stone Money Island, an uninhabited island that was once an important quarrying site for Yap's iconic traditional currency: stone money.
Lunch: the famous Bem Ermii Burger & Fries flame-grilled burgers — a Palau culinary landmark
Stone money is made from calcite — a natural crystal and carbonate mineral commonly found in limestone formations. The island's rainforest ecosystem is exceptionally rich; night-time exploration offers a chance to spot the coconut crab, a protected species in Taiwan. Throughout the walk, Lance shared the story of stone money and pointed out cultural relics that bear witness to this unique monetary tradition.
Most remarkably, money is literally everywhere underfoot here. Picking up a torch and lifting an unassuming-looking stone from the ground, you can watch golden light seep through the moss-covered surface under the beam. That's right — this is the very raw material from which stone money was made.
After mooring the SUP boards, we headed into the tropical rainforest
Stone money left behind in the rainforest
Just pick up a rock from the ground — and you're holding the raw material for stone money
Up-Close Exploration at Sea Level: Stalactite Scenery You'll Never See in Taiwan
Magnificent stalactite formations visible right at the water's edge
Stalactites are composed of commonplace limestone, yet their formation takes tens of thousands of years — and becoming a full stalactite cave takes an almost immeasurable span of time. It is precisely for this reason that stalactites hold enormous research value for geological study.
Only a SUP board gets you this close to Palau's hidden natural wonders
Paddling in from the sea surface through a cave entrance, the milky-white stalactite walls shimmer with a soft, gradient blue cast reflected off the water. Scenery that you can ordinarily only admire from a distance aboard a speedboat becomes something you can savour at arm's length on a SUP — this truly is nature's craftsmanship on display.
Inside the cave, sunlight filtering in from outside reflects off the water's surface, casting a pale blue glow across the stalactites
If You Could Step Away from the World for a Moment, Palau SUP Might Be the Answer
LT DIVE weathered two extraordinarily difficult years, but those years gave them the time to scout out hidden gems. The Palau SUP In-Depth Tour is more than just an adventure through Palau — it's an exploration of inner stillness. In the face of nature's grandeur, we are so small. Guided by Lance, we lay back on the SUP boards and gazed up at the water-light dancing across the stalactite walls, and in that one minute where everything stopped, we felt the sea, felt the light, felt the sounds. Unlike the downward-looking perspective of scuba diving or snorkeling in Palau, the upward-looking experience of SUP might just be the perfect new choice for getting close to the ocean and cleansing the mind.
SUP has become a fresh new option for exploring Palau's hidden corners — photo credit ＠cathy2wildddd
More Amazing Palau Content
Further Links
Further Reading
Frequently Asked Questions
How is a BlueTrend dive trip different from an unknown, no-name dive group?
Choosing us means full peace-of-mind protection and a smooth experience from start to finish. Every trip we run holds to three things.
First, full legal protection and a professional dive leader: we strictly follow Taiwan's travel regulations and provide complete travel-agency liability insurance, travel insurance, trip-inconvenience insurance and dive insurance. Every group is accompanied by a certified, foreign-language dive leader who joins you on both the dives and the land itinerary, liaising seamlessly with local dive shops and operators on your behalf to keep things running smoothly — the person our travellers trust most.
Second, fully licensed with secure payments: every payment goes into a licensed travel agency's account, with multiple safe payment channels (bank transfer, credit card and more) and a legal collect-and-remit receipt, so every transaction is open, transparent and protected, avoiding the fraud and dispute risks of transferring money privately to an individual.
Third, hand-picked quality we vet in person: every trip, dive site and partner shop is scouted on the ground by our own team, from the guides' professionalism and safety standards to the food, lodging, environment and service details on land, all vetted by us so you don't get caught out.
I want to sign up for a dive trip. Are there certification-level or logged-dive requirements?
Each dive site is different, so the entry bar varies. 'Bali Tulamben', for instance, is relatively beginner-friendly. 'Malapascua in the Philippines' is also beginner-friendly, but since thresher sharks tend to cruise between 20 and 30 metres, we recommend AOW certification with 20+ logged dives to enjoy this trip comfortably. For 'the Maldives' or 'Palau', we suggest AOW with 50+ logged dives for a more relaxed experience. If you're not sure whether your experience fits the trip you want, message us and our dive editors will assess it and help you find the trip you'll feel safest on.
Can I join if I'm signing up alone? How are rooms arranged?
Plenty of our travellers sign up solo! For rooms and beds, we prioritise pairing you with a same-gender traveller, and if you'd rather have your own space you can pay the difference to upgrade to a single room. For the diving, our professional leader will pair you with a suitable buddy, and with the happy vibe on our trips you'll quickly make a great group of dive friends. Many people sign up alone, make new friends, and end up organising the next trip together!
Does the trip fee include dive insurance, gear rental, taxes and instructor tips?
It depends on the trip, the destination's regulations and the local operators. Every BlueTrend dive trip has a detailed web page with a clear 'included / not included' list, transparent and with no hidden charges. All payments are collected by a licensed travel agency, with a standard-form contract for your protection.
I'm a new diver / haven't dived in a long time — will I fall behind the group?
Before you complete your booking, our team assesses a suitable trip based on your certification level and experience. Before departure, we strongly recommend taking time to refresh in Taiwan with an instructor, or a fun dive to get your feel back. On the trip itself, our professional dive leader groups and pairs everyone by experience, keeps a close eye underwater on travellers who need extra care, and steps in to help right away.
Will the photos and videos taken during the trip be shared with us?
During the dives, 'safety' is always the leader's top priority, so whenever it's suitable and safe the leader will capture great shots and record the best moments. During or after the trip, we compile a cloud album for all travellers to download, so you go home loaded with memories!
Besides your scheduled trips, can you arrange a private group charter or independent travel for me and my friends?
Absolutely! Besides group trips, we also arrange private group charters and independent travel. We can communicate, enquire and coordinate services with local operators based on your needs, saving you time and effort and taking the language barrier off your plate, to tailor the smoothest, most reassuring dive trip just for you. Contact our LINE support and our editors will arrange it for you!
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