Friday 18^th December – Palau

• There are three main flights into Palau — all of which are on a Friday — from Guam,  Taipei or Manila, with the Taipei flight arriving at 18:25, the Guam flight arriving at 21.00, and the Manila flight coming in at 02.35 (flight to Palau not included)
• Meet at the airport and transfer to our hotel
• Overnight in Palau

Saturday 19^th December – Palau

• A late rise after late flights coming the previous night
• Group lunch at the hotel where we go over our pre-tour meeting and you can properly meet the YPT guide and your fellow travellers
• In the afternoon we head out for a once-in-a-lifetime experience: snorkeling at Palau Jellyfish Lake! The jellyfish have evolved away their stingers, having no natural predators around, and make for a phenomenal natural sight!
• Dinner at Carp, which mixes Japanese and local cuisine
• Overnight in Palau

Sunday 20^th December – Palau

• After breakfast we head out on the first of what will be many World War Two trips on our Least Visited Countries tour. The Pacific Islands were the scene of many battles and the region is often overlooked for this side of its history — by Europeans at least!
• We head out in YPT style, by speedboat, to the island of Peleliu which was home to some of the fiercest battles in the region
• On arrival we check out the World War Two Memorial Museum, but the whole island has basically been left as an open-air museum
• Lunch in a local restaurant
• Check out White Beach where the American military landed, the wreckages of American tanks and planes still left as they were, concrete pillboxes and Japanese machine-gun posts as well as the eerie shell of the Japanese Military Headquarters. We also visit the Japanese shrine built to commemorate those who died
• Head back to the main island and go for dinner at Taj for Indian food
• Overnight in Palau

Monday 21^st December – Palau

• After breakfast we head out to The Rock Islands, or Chelbachbover to the locals. There are over 200 rocks, mostly uninhabited, that show you just what the Pacific is about. Peace and quiet and stunning views. Grab a kayak to explore the area or we can arrange scuba diving for an extra charge
• In the afternoon we’ll be going off with the locals searching for coconut crabs on land, and mud crabs in the mangroves! Then off hunting fruit bats — considered a pest on the island –with BB guns.
• For dinner we’ll be eating the spoils of our catch (options other than crab or bat available)
• Overnight in Palau

Tuesday 22^nd December – Palau

• For the divers amongst us we’ll head to the Blue Corner for a day amongst the abundant underwater wildlife, known as a shark haven (extra charge for diving)
• For those who don’t have their diving license we can arrange snorkeling trips or a fishing expedition (extra charge for fishing)
• Browse the local markets for traditional Palauan storyboards which depict stories of legend from Palauan history
• Final dinner and drinks in Palau at the Drop Off Bar and Grill
• Although it’s our last night in Palau, we can’t stay out too long because gone midnight we’ll…

Wednesday 23^rd December – Pohnpei

• Head to the airport to catch the 02:35 flight from Palau via Guam to Pohnpei, capital of the Federated States of Micronesia, arriving at 13:15.

ATTENTION – Since we are changing plane in Guam and Guam is USA territory, we need to go through US Immigration even though we are staying in the airport. This means that you will need either need a Guam-Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Visa Waiver (given on arrival to citizens of Australia, New Zealand, UK, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Singapore), an ESTA (given online if you are eligible) or a visa-free entry (Canadians and Americans). If you are not eligible for any of those, you will need a visa for the USA (either tourist or transit) to transit in Guam.

• Transfer to our hotel, check in and freshen up
• Then we head out to the waterfront for Christmas dinner at Coco Marina then party the night away with locals and expats alike!
• Overnight in Pohnpei

Thursday 24^th December

• Relatively late get up but we’ll head out after breakfast for a full tour of Pohnpei
• In the state capital, Kolonia, we’ll see the relic of a Japanese tank and we’ll see more Japanese on a hike up Sokeh Rock. Near the top stand two heavy gun batteries
• Lunch in Kolonia
• We’ll then head to the national capital, Palikir, and check out the area outside the huge US Embassy complex
• Check out the local markets back in Kolonia then head for dinner at the China Star Restaurant for a dose of Pacific-Chinese cuisine and enjoy the festivities of Christmas Eve in Micronesia!
• Overnight in Pohnpei

Friday 25^th December – Pohnpei/Majuro

• Free morning to relax from last night’s party or catch up on some sleep, or we can organize kayak trips (extra charge)
• Catch the 13.44 flight to Majuro arriving at 19.17
• Join up with the Part 1 group for dinner and drinks
• Overnight at MIR! The Marshall Islands Resort

Saturday 26^th December

• End of tour, YPT can help with onward transport or you can join us on the Least Visited Countries Part 1 tour for, amongst other things, New Year’s Eve on Nauru!

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