Palau is the Eastern most archipelago within the Micronesian Islands. Koror, Palau is located approximately 500 due North of Papua New Guinea and 500 miles due East of the Philippine Islands. The Republic of Palau has been an independent country since declaring it's independence from the United States on October 1st, 1994. The currency is still the US dollar and the zip code is technically still a US address.

Direct flights to Palau can be booked from Manila, Guam, Taipei, Narita, and Tokyo. The most common route to Palau from the US is via Hawaii and Guam. Tickets can be booked online through www.continental.com. Another popular and potentially less expensive route to Palau is via Northwest Airlines with US West coast flights directly to Manila. The only disadvantage with this route is that there are only two flights per week from Manila to Koror (Wednesdays & Fridays). Additionally, it's generally necessary to spend one night in Manila between flights. A five star hotel located close to the Manila airport is The Heritage Hotel: www.heritagehotelmanila.com.

Palau has a wide variety of hotels to choose from. You can book directly online with several of the more popular hotels & resorts. Here's a list of hotels from the least expensive to most expensive:

treed@palaunet.com
www.wphpalau.com
www.penthousepalau.com
www.landmarkmarina.com
www.cliffsidehotelpalau.com
www.carolinesresort.com
www.palauroyal-resort.com
www.palauppr.com