About Four Seasons Explorer Palau - What you need to know

Before starting this review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau, let's give you a few information about this luxury liveaboard.

Four Seasons Palau started to operate in the Palauan waters around Q3 2024 after many years exploring the beautiful atolls of the Maldives.

With only 11 rooms (10 "normal" and 1 big suite), it is extremely exclusive and offers a very unique experience that we wish for everyone to try.

So, how is the overall experience onboard? Are the dive spots really that amazing? Would we recommend it? And, above all, is it worth the price? Let's dive in and check all this during this Four Seasons Explorer Palau review.

The Boat - The Explorer

Let's start this review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau with a place you'll be spending a lot of time on: the boat.

Spacious and perfectly well laid-out, it offers everything one could be expecting on a luxury live-aboard.

All rooms (except the suite) are in a corridor on the same level (base level) and you'll have the option to eat in the inside or outside restaurant. Most of the days, we had the chance to eat outside while admiring the beautiful landscapes nearby. Yet, sometimes, it got a bit hot...or rainy, and we opted for lunch or dinner inside, which looks like your living room at home.

This is obviously not a criticism. It creates a very homey atmosphere, particularly as you'll get to socialise a lot with all other guests on board. We'll get back to this more in details later in this review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau.

On the top deck of the boat, you'll have a nice relaxing area as well a the spa. So, let's be honest, don't expect the usual amazing spas you'd have in Four Seasons worldwide. This is basically a massage bed. And that's it. But well, it is definitely cool to have this available and having a massage on a luxury live-aboard in Palau, in the middle of the rock islands, is quite unique!

The Room - Small, but very well optimized

To continue this review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau, let's move in to the room.

Well, as you can expect, we're not going to be talking about a nice 150sqm suite. We are on a boat after all, and every sqm matters.

Even though the room is definitely not big, it is big enough and they've bet it all on a huge (and super comfortable) bed. You have drawers below the bed for optimisation of the space and not a single sqm has been wasted.

We also got the chance to visit the Explorer Suite at the front of the boat which is much larger and with a panoramic 180° view. If you really want to treat yourself and are concerned that the normal rooms would be too small for you, we strongly recommend you to upgrade to the Suite. It is totally worth the extra dollars.

Diving - Is it really that good?

When talking about Palau, the question that most people ask us is "how is the diving?". Indeed, it is said to be one of the best dive destinations in the world.

So, how was it? Let's review the diving with Four Seasons Explorer Palau after more than 20 underwater excursions in the Palauan waters.

Let's not waste your time and start with the short answer: it is AMAZING.

Now, let's give more details on why.

I would say that the diving in Palau is amazing for 5 reasons.

1) The visibility is really excellent, most of the times, we had around 25m, but it can sometimes go to 35-40m.

2) The corals are absolutely beautiful, healthy and colorful.

3) The fish life is abundant, particularly with big stuffs like grey reef sharks, manta rays, turtles,...

4) The dives spots are globally pretty easy. Only on the Blue Corner (one of the most amazing and famous dive spots in the world) did we experience some pretty strong currents. Other spots were easy to navigate and therefore, perfectly fitted to people who would only be doing their discovery dive.

5) The water is nice and hot (around 29°).

For these 5 reasons, our overall diving experience with Four Seasons Explorer Palau was amazing. We would definitely recommend this destination to everyone with a big focus on diving.

I did not take many underwater pictures because I was focused on videos and my camera is not great for underwater photography. But you can find tons of shots on our video on Youtube here.

The food at Four Seasons Explorer Palau

Let's get back on the boat and continue this review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau with the food onboard.

It is quite funny because the chef used to work at Four Seasons Landaa Giraavaru (check our review here), and we loved the food there.

Well, it is no surprise that the food on Four Seasons Explorer Palau was equally as amazing. Every dish was super tasty and perfectly executed. Special mention for the carbonara pasta. Lucinda being from Italian origins (and very picky with her pasta) still said it is maybe the best one she's ever eaten!

But having such good food is not always good. Indeed, you're come back home with a few extra kilos on the scale. Just kidding, enjoy!

The service and the global experience onboard

An other important point to review about about Four Seasons Explorer Palau is the service and the overall experience onboard.

For us, Four Seasons always deliver the top when it comes to service. But 4S Explorer Palau is different. It is even better. As you are all together on the boat, the team gets to really know you and you really have lots of time to get to know them as well. So many of the team members were absolutely amazing and we left the boat as friends.

It is not the formal and proper service you are usually used to. Everything is very relax, which does create a super nice atmosphere onboard. And this is what makes the experience so special.

On top of the very good interactions with the team, we also loved exchanging with other guests. Everyone on board has the same passion: diving. Everyone loves traveling and has been to the most amazing places on earth. Therefore, all discussions we had were all super interesting. And most of the nights, all guests just sat around, enjoying a few drinks before dinner. Simply amazing.

No diving? Don't worry!

If you are not so keen on diving, do not worry, Four Seasons Explorer Palau may still be for you.

Indeed, they have basically 2 programs: one for the divers, and one for the non-divers.

The second one will offer a wide range of activities like snorkeling, exploring nearby islands and beaches,... So, do not worry at all if your partner dives and you don't (or the opposite), both will be able to really enjoy their stay.

And Palau, how beautiful is it?

Before moving to the conclusion of this in-depth review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau, let's of course talk about Palau itself.

And well, it is absolutely stunning! As we stayed on board for 7 nights, we got to do the full tour around the Rock Islands. We flew the drone a lot and managed to get some amazing shots of the landscapes surrounding us.

We also went 2 on land and it was also very nice. A very chill vibe with very minimal tourist activity.

Conclusion - Is it worth the price?

As you may have understood through our review of Four Seasons Explorer Palau, we had an amazing time and this was one of our best experiences ever.

BUT, as you may know, it is quite a pricey experience. Therefore, the big question is: is it really worth it?

And the answer is YES! The experience is absolutely unique at every level. The service, the beauty of the country, the quality of the dives, the delicious food. Everything is here to offer guests a memorable time and you will definitely never regret your trip to this beautiful paradise.

If you want to know more about it or get a quote with our very competitive rates, do not hesitate to contact us and we'll be more than happy to assist you.

Four Seasons Explorer Palau Tour