THE EXPEDITION

EXPERIENCE REQUIRED - ADVANCED OPEN WATER LEVEL WITH 50 DIVES MIN

Join Unique Ocean Expeditions for one of the most electrifying underwater events on the planet, where the ocean doesn’t just come alive… it explodes with energy.

Each month, in the days leading up to the full moon, tens of thousands of Twin Spot Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) gather around Palau’s outer corners to spawn. What starts as scattered schools quickly builds into a dense, fast-moving wall of fish—before erupting into a full-blown spawning event that draws in bull sharks, oceanic blacktips, and grey reefs.

This is not luck. This is timing.

After years of diving Palau’s currents, studying tides, and tracking lunar cycles, we’ve fine-tuned these expeditions to put you in the water at the exact moment it all kicks off.

Over the course of the expedition, you’ll:

• Dive the key aggregation sites at the peak of the full moon cycle

• Experience multiple spawning dives in high-energy, current-swept sites

• Explore Palau’s world-class reefs, blue holes, corners and iconic drift dives

• Gain insight through daily briefings and presentations so you understand exactly what you’re witnessing

Expect early mornings, currents, and serious action—this is diving for those who want more than just pretty reefs.

All of our unique Palau itineraries are hosted by Palau Siren Liveaboard. With a liveaboard diving experience, you maximizing your time on the best sites when conditions are right.

Massive schools. Hunting sharks. Perfect timing.

This is Palau at its absolute peak. Miss the moon… and you miss the magic.

PALAU

Palau is widely regarded as one of the finest dive destinations on the planet—and for good reason. Its reefs are shaped by dramatic underwater topography, including sheer drop-offs, blue holes, caverns, caves, and fast-moving channels. Visibility is often exceptional, regularly reaching up to 100ft (30m), giving you that true “endless blue” feeling.

Wreck dives closer to Koror offer a different atmosphere, where visibility is typically reduced to around 15–45ft (5–15m)—but what they lack in clarity, they more than make up for in history and character.

Palau can be dived year-round, though the wetter season generally runs from July through October. Water temperatures are consistently warm, ranging between 81–86°F (27–30°C), making a 3mm wetsuit ideal for most conditions. That said, Palau likes to keep things interesting—seasonal thermoclines can drop temperatures into the mid-60s°F (23–26°C), especially on deeper dives.

Most sites are accessed via 45–60 minute speedboat rides from Koror, with the prime diving areas located around Ngemelis Islands and Peleliu—home to some of the most iconic dives in Micronesia. For this reason we choose a liveaboard experience to maximise our time on the ocean, offering four dives a day with early starts and late sunset dives.

Currents are a defining feature of diving in Palau. Driven by the Pacific Ocean, they create the conditions that make this destination so spectacular—but they also demand respect. Many sites are best suited for experienced divers, and a reef hook is essential, particularly on the outer reef walls like the legendary Blue Corner, where you’ll hook in and watch the ocean unfold in front of you.

For those with a passion for history, Palau also delivers. The waters around Koror are scattered with World War II wrecks, from cargo ships and transport vessels to navy destroyers and even Japanese Zero aircraft. Many are remarkably intact and easily accessible, offering a completely different—but equally compelling—side of Palau diving.

FULL MOON

In the days leading up to the full moon, something extraordinary begins to build beneath the surface of Palau. From across the reef, thousands—often tens of thousands—of Twin Spot Snapper (Lutjanus bohar) converge on the outer promontories, drawn together by instinct, timing, and the pull of the lunar cycle.

What starts as scattered groups quickly transforms into a dense, fast-moving mass of fish—layer upon layer stacking in the current as anticipation builds for the main event.

We begin our expedition ahead of the full moon, diving Palau’s iconic current-swept sites to prepare for what’s coming. These are not just warm-up dives—they are part of the story. You’ll feel the energy building in the water, the numbers increasing day by day, until everything is set.

Then comes the moment.

Before first light, we head out. Engines running in the dark, anticipation high. As the sun begins to rise over the Pacific, we drop into the water and descend into the blue.

Out of the depths, they appear.

A towering wall of snapper rises from below, tightening into formation as the current pushes through the reef. Then suddenly—everything erupts. The entire aggregation surges upward in a synchronized explosion of movement, releasing clouds of eggs and milt into the water column.

It’s chaotic. It’s raw. It’s nature at full throttle.

And you’re right in the middle of it.

This intense burst of life doesn’t go unnoticed. The commotion draws in apex predators—bull sharks, oceanic blacktips, and grey reefs—circling the edges of the aggregation, waiting for opportunity. The contrast is electric: a living storm of snapper surrounded by powerful hunters moving effortlessly through the chaos.

There’s no better way to describe it—this is an underwater firework display, a sensory overload of motion, scale, and energy that few divers on the planet ever get to witness.

Miss the timing… and it’s gone…………Get it right… and you’ll never forget it.

THE RATES

ALL CABINS ARE BASED ON SHARED OCCUPANCY

SPAWNING - 10 DAY ITINERARY - 8 CABINS - 16 Spaces - $6,440

ALL DATES

FULL MOON EXPEDITIONS PALAU SIREN LIVEABOARD

AVAILABLE DATES ONLY

FULL MOON EXPEDITIONS PALAU SIREN LIVEABOARD

PALAU LOCATION

PALAU SIREN ITINERARY

PRICE BREAKDOWN

EXCLUDES

• International & Domestic Flight

• Park Permits

• Gratuities

• Rental and Dive Gears

DIVE INFORMATION

WATER TEMPERATURE - 27c / 85F

WETSUIT - 3mm / 5mm

• Blue Corner, one of Palau's most magical dives, is known for its sheer abundance of underwater life and reef configuration – the corner sticks out into the open ocean and then drops to the depths. Divers are dazzled by the incredible variety of fish, including barracudas, jacks, Napoleon wrasses and schooling grey reef sharks. Strong tidal currents render it a dive for the more experienced – a reef hook is a must to remain stationary in the current.

• Blue Holes, may well be Palau's most scenic dive. It features four vertical shafts that open on the top of the reef and descend to a large cavern that exits on the outer wall at about 25m. Drifting down the shafts is a delight, especially when the sun is high. Dancing rays of sunlight flood through these openings and play with the blue hues. Schools of fish patrol the huge bottom exit, with dark blue ambient light as a background.

• German Channel, Given the right set of circumstances, a dive at German Channel can be an unforgettable experience. Manta rays regularly visit this channel, which was blasted by the Germans to ease boat passage during their 1899 to 1914 Palau occupation. The mouth of the channel features some nice sandy areas with small cleaning stations, where mantas (usually two to five individuals) come to have parasites removed by little cleaner wrasses in less than 20m of water.

• Peleliu Island, If you'd like to temporarily escape the relative hustle and bustle of the capital, the small coral island of Peleliu, in the south of the archipelago, offers a tranquil option. There's only one village – Klouklubed – and often it will seem like you've got the entire island all to yourself. The diving here is concentrated around the south East tip of the Island. Deep walls, strong currents and an abundance of fish life make this one of Palaus best dive locations.

• Ulong Channel, is one of most thrilling dives in Palau. Divers start at the mouth of the channel, which consistently sizzles with fish action. Divers usually hook themselves to the reef to see hunting grey and whitetip sharks, jacks, barracudas and groupers, before drifting with the current along the channel. The seascape is incredibly scenic: the sea floor is carved by large parallel-running white-sand valleys, bounded by healthy coral formations and dotted with massive sections of sprawling lettuce corals.

• Siaes Corner, When the tide is running and the month is right you can see more than 300 grey reef sharks here. Siaes Corner is a current-swept point that plunges vertically to about 50m. After jumping in the water, divers drift along the wall to the corner. As you reach the corner, you attach your hook to a dead coral to watch for electric fish action, which usually includes grey sharks, blackbar barracudas, jacks, bumphead parrotfish, anthias and fusiliers.

• Shark City, is the outer most promentory in Ulong and sometimes one of the best dives in Palau. Conditions are similar to Peleliu with strong current and action dives along with high rewards such as bull sharks, oceanic blacktips and pelagic encounters. The corals and reef life is also spectacular.

SPAWNING DIVE INFORMATION

EARLY MORNING STARTS

POTENTIAL CURRENT DIVES

TWIN SPOT SNAPPERS (Lutjanus bohar) are found in Peleliu and on other outer promontories in Palau, these fish aggregate around full moon. Schooling in mid water in the day, this impressive school looks like a dark cloud as you approach it. Between 5000 and 10,000 fish depending on the month can be seen schooling and spawning here.Just as the sun rises you enter one of Palau’s notoriously strong current dive sites.

The reef is barely visible as the dark cloud of snappers appears in the distance. Waiting on the reef for the exact moment you watch as bullsharks (Carcharhinus leucas) and blacktip sharks (Carcharhinus limbatas) parade around its outskirts.Suddenly the spawning erupts, all hell breaks loose as multiple females shoot to the surface, with males on the chase releasing their milky gametes into the water column as what seems to be aggressive reproduction.

Visibility goes from 30m to 3m near the surface and hungry black snappers are crazily feeding on the newly born youngsters. Drifting in the blue water doing your safety stop with the lucky snapper survivors you realize you just witnessed one of natures magic moments.

PRESENTATIONS

During your stay with us your Expedition Leader and Location Expert will be working together delivering you in depth presentations regarding the biology of what we are witnessing. These presentations have taken years to formulate and develop and what makes part of our collaboration with Unique Dive Expeditions so special.

DOWNLOADS