Things to Do in Palau in December
December weather, activities, events & insider tips
Shoulder Season · Good Value
December Weather in Palau
Temperature, rainfall and humidity at a glance
87°F
High Temp
75°F
Low Temp
12.0 inches
Rainfall
70%
Humidity
⚠ Distant western Pacific weather systems passing to the north can generate swell and wind that close exposed outer-reef dive sites and roughen longer boat crossings - keep a flexible day in your itinerary.
⚠ Sudden hard rain squalls develop quickly over open water. Protect electronics in sealed dry bags on every boat trip.
Is December Right for You?
Weigh the advantages and considerations before booking
Advantages
- + December rides the first clean breath of Palau's northeast trades. Downpours shrink, clear faster, and leave long flat light over the Rock Islands. Visibility off Blue Corner routinely tops 30 m (98 ft), the single reason serious divers fly to Koror. Morning light is pure glass. Pack sunscreen.
- + Water sits at 84°F (29°C). A 3 mm shorty is enough for back-to-back dives. Snorkelers at Jellyfish Lake on Eil Malk island drift an hour without shivering. Golden mastigias jellyfish crowd the warm upper layer. Easy to spot.
- + Northeast trades sweep humidity aside. Mornings feel cooler than the dead-still southwest southwest monsoon. Early boats meet the calmest sea state. That matters when German Channel or Ulong Island lies across open water. Rise early.
- + December beats the Lunar New Year rush. Japanese holiday crowds land late January. Through most of the month, Blue Corner sees sane boat traffic. You can hook into the reef without twenty other divers on the same current line. Bliss.
Considerations
- − Rainfall still totals 12.0 inches (305 mm) over about 10 days. Palau earns its 'variable' label. Squalls hit fast and hard. A half-day trip can drench everything not sealed in a dry bag. Diving rarely cancels. Beach plans might.
- − Palau sits just above the equator, catching only the tail of the Pacific typhoon season. Direct hits are rare. Distant systems north can still churn swell and wind. Outer-reef sites close, crossings bounce. Build two flexible days into any December plan.
- − From December 23 onward, prices and crowds climb toward peak. Christmas-week flights into Roman Tmetuchl International Airport tighten. Koror's best waterfront rooms sell out. The easy rhythm ends. First three weeks are gold. Last week is not.
Year-Round Climate
How December compares to the rest of the year
| Month | High | Low | Rainfall |
|---|---|---|---|
| Jan | 30°C | 23°C | 10.7 inches |
| Feb | 30°C | 23°C | 9.1 inches |
| Mar | 30°C | 24°C | 8.2 inches |
| Apr | 31°C | 24°C | 8.7 inches |
| May | 31°C | 24°C | 12.0 inches |
| Jun | 31°C | 24°C | 17.3 inches |
| Jul | 30°C | 24°C | 18.0 inches |
| Aug | 30°C | 24°C | 14.9 inches |
| Sep | 30°C | 24°C | 11.9 inches |
| Oct | 31°C | 24°C | 13.9 inches |
| Nov | 31°C | 24°C | 11.3 inches |
| Dec | 31°C | 24°C | 12.0 inches |
Best Activities in December
Top things to do during your visit
Rock Islands Snorkeling and Kayak Tours
The Rock Islands Southern Lagoon, a UNESCO World Heritage site, is a maze of mushroom-shaped limestone islets rising from jade-to-sapphire water. December's drier skies make the coral gardens off Ulong Island and the Clam City giant-clam beds pop with color. Calm morning seas suit paddling between hidden marine lakes. This is Palau's signature, and December sets it up well.
Booking Tip: Book 7-10 days ahead. Confirm your operator secures the Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake permit, mandatory and separate from the tour fee. Choose licensed guides who brief on reef-safe sunscreen rules, enforced by law. See current options below.
Scuba Diving at Blue Corner and German Channel
December's 30 m visibility and 84°F (29°C) water make Blue Corner the month's star drift. Reef hooks let you hang while gray reef sharks, jacks, and napoleon wrasse glide past. German Channel hosts manta rays at cleaning stations. Early-month seas keep crossings smooth.
Booking Tip: Reserve 10-14 days ahead for December. Two-tank morning trips sell first. Seek operators with nitrox and current-diving experience. Ask about reef-hook policy. Check the booking widget for current dive packages.
Jellyfish Lake Snorkeling Excursions
Eil Malk island's Jellyfish Lake holds millions of golden mastigias jellyfish that lost most of their sting over millennia. In December's warm surface layer they cluster near the top, pulsing through sun shafts. Snorkeling feels weightless, strange. Warm water lets you linger and watch their daily sun migration.
Booking Tip: The lake is almost always bundled into a Rock Islands day tour. Confirm inclusion and permit coverage. Scuba is banned. Snorkel only. Book 7-10 days ahead through licensed operators. See tours below.
Peleliu World War II Battlefield Tours
Peleliu island, a short boat or flight south of Koror, holds Pacific War relics: rusting tanks swallowed by jungle, Bloody Nose Ridge limestone caves, and a small museum framing the 1944 battle. December's drier trails beat the wet-season mud. Walkable paths. Bring water.
Booking Tip: Book 5-7 days ahead. Choose guides with real historical knowledge, not drive-by commentary. Closed shoes are essential for caves and ridge sections. Some tours add a snorkel stop. Check the booking widget.
Koror Reef and Mangrove Kayak Trips
When swell closes outer sites, the mangrove channels and sheltered reefs near Koror stay paddleable. Glide past tangled roots where juvenile fish hide and herons hunt. Limestone Rock Islands rise in the distance. December's calm inshore mornings suit families and weaker swimmers. Easy half-day.
Booking Tip: Book 3-5 days ahead. These trips run reliably and rarely sell out. A good rainy-morning fallback since mangroves are protected from chop. Ask for dry bags. See current options below.
Milky Way Natural Mud Spa Boat Stops
The Milky Way is a turquoise lagoon between Rock Islands where the seabed is a thick white limestone mud locals have long used as a skin treatment. Boats anchor, you dive for a handful of the cool, silky clay, smear it on, let December's warm sun bake it, then rinse off in the impossibly milky-blue water. It's a fun, sensory midday break on a Rock Islands run and works regardless of light rain.
Booking Tip: Almost always bundled into a Rock Islands tour rather than sold alone, so confirm it's on your itinerary. No separate booking usually needed beyond the day tour, booked 7-10 days ahead. Reference the booking widget for current Rock Islands packages.
Where to Stay in Palau in December
Hand-picked hotels across price tiers for December travellers.
December Events & Festivals
What's happening during your visit
Late December
Christmas and New Year Celebrations in Koror
Palau is overwhelmingly Christian, and Christmas is a major community occasion. Churches across Koror, including the older Catholic and Protestant congregations, hold packed candlelit services with choral singing, and families gather for long shared meals. Visitors are generally welcome at services. Dress modestly and arrive early. The end-of-year week brings a noticeably warmer, more festive feel to an otherwise quiet town.
Packing Checklist
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Climate-specific gear, brand recommendations, and what to leave at home.
View Palau Packing List →Essential Tips
Insider knowledge and common pitfalls to avoid
Insider Knowledge
Buy your reef-safe sunscreen at home, not at the airport. Palau screens arrivals for banned chemical sunscreens, and the compliant stock sold locally runs pricey and sometimes thin. Arriving with the right SPF 50+ saves money and avoids having yours taken at customs.
All foreign visitors must sign the Palau Pledge, stamped into your passport on arrival, promising to tread lightly on the environment. It's not a gimmick - rangers enforce reef and island rules, and being briefed on it ahead of time marks you as a respectful guest.
Front-load your trip with the outer dive and snorkel sites in early-to-mid December and save Koror-based mangrove and museum days for later. The first three weeks have the calmest seas and best visibility before the late-month crowd and weather variability climb.
Stack your Rock Islands and Jellyfish Lake permits onto one tour rather than booking piecemeal. The permit is a flat fee good for several days, so doing your Rock Islands snorkeling, Jellyfish Lake, and Milky Way stops in a tight cluster gets the most out of a single pass.
Avoid These Mistakes
Treating December like a guaranteed dry month and packing no rain protection. The drier season is only relative - 10 rainy days and 12 inches (305 mm) still arrive, usually as sudden hard squalls, and unprepared visitors lose a camera or a day's plans to one burst.
Booking dives or Rock Islands tours back-to-back with no buffer day. When distant swell or wind closes outer sites, operators reshuffle, and travelers on a rigid schedule miss Blue Corner entirely. Leave a flexible day to catch the conditions you flew here for.
Bringing ordinary chemical sunscreen. It gets confiscated at the airport and, if used, can earn a fine. First-timers routinely pack the wrong SPF and scramble on arrival.
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