Operator dive-site page with advanced certification, safety-stop, and visibility guidance.
Koror and the Rock Islands
Advanced Palau cavern dive with a light-filled tunnel.
Advanced Palau cavern dive with a light-filled tunnel.
Siaes Tunnel is a boat-access advanced dive on the northwest side of Ulong Island, usually reached in a 30 to 45 minute speedboat run from Koror. The site is a large overhead cavern with multiple reef-wall openings, so the plan is a deliberate guide-led descent rather than a casual reef drift. Light, black coral, reef sharks, and stingrays make it a standout Palau tunnel dive.
Site Conditions
Safety Notes
This is an overhead cavern dive; advanced training, conservative gas planning, and a mandatory safety stop are important.
Access Restrictions
Advanced open-water certification minimum; deep diving experience is strongly recommended.
Legal Notes
A three-minute safety stop is mandatory, and the dive should stay within a conservative overhead profile.
Community notes to help plan your visit.
Scuba Diving
Large underwater cavern dive with an entrance around 28 m and depth to about 45 m.
Freediving
Not suitable for freedive use because the tunnel is a deep overhead cavern.
Snorkeling
Not a snorkel-first site; the main feature sits well below comfortable surface viewing.
Last Updated
Research Sources
Operator dive-site page with advanced certification, safety-stop, and visibility guidance.
Operator description with route timing, cavern layout, and marine-life context.
Official tourism page with year-round diving context and seasonal notes for Palau.
Community dive-site overview with current, life, and planning context.

Ulong Channel: Palau's signature drift canyon

Shallow Palau sandbar with coral heads and big fish.

Easy drift wall with coral, sharks, and schooling fish.