8 Destinations for Extreme Diving

Rock Island Tunnels, Palau

A new kayaking and diving package from Sam’s Tours and Planet Blue gives a slower-paced window into the rarely seen ecosystems of Palau’s Rock Island marine lakes. Many of the lakes nestled in these picturesque islands are accessible by either a steep scrabble up and over sharp limestone, or through narrow tunnels cut by eons of tidal flow into the rock. Some of the tunnels are wide enough to paddle a kayak through at low tide, but others will require you to don a tank and turn sideways to ease through submerged, hidden passages barely wide enough to accommodate a single diver. Once you’ve entered the inner realm of the marine lakes, the chance to dive in waters few ever see is the payoff. Your exit through the tunnels will be carefully timed with slack tide to ensure you don’t get stuck, but that does nothing to diminish the rush of emerging from this inner sanctum into the blue waters of open-ocean Palau.