🧭 Palau: good to know
The general-information half of trip planning: how expensive Palau feels, what is considered polite, what is not, and the everyday practicalities - alongside our 26 written places.
Unhurried and quietly traditional; villages run on respect and the ocean runs on permits.
Cost level: High Costs run at western European levels - planning and a few local tricks keep it sane. Estimate a daily budget →
✓ Considered polite
- Ask before photographing people, homes or village sites
- Dress modestly away from resorts and beaches, especially in villages
- Sort your Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake permits before boat trips - rangers check on the water
- Greet elders and let them speak first - age carries authority in Palauan custom
✗ Better avoided
- Stand on or touch coral when snorkelling or diving - reef care is exactly what the Palau Pledge asks of you
- Comment on betel nut chewing - it is an everyday habit, not a curiosity
- Enter a village bai meeting house without an invitation
- Take shells, coral or sand out of the country - export is restricted
💡 Worth knowing
- The US dollar is the currency; tipping is not expected, though 10% for good service is welcome
- Visitors sign the Palau Pledge, stamped into the passport on arrival, promising to tread lightly
- The Pristine Paradise environmental fee is built into your airline ticket, not paid at the airport
- Sundays are quiet, with many Koror shops closed and churches full
Plugs and voltage
Type A, B · 120 V travel adapter →
CurrencyUS dollar (USD)
LanguagesPalauan, English
Driving sideright
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Keep planning
Customs are living things - regions differ, cities relax, generations shift. Take these notes as a friendly head start, watch what locals do, and when in doubt a smile and a greeting in the local language cover almost everything.