It was a journey full of firsts, as are most trips to the tiny Pacific nation of Palau. Before my first swim with jellyfish and my first leap from a paddleboard into an underwater cave, my passport had been stamped with its first entry visa that doubled as a conservation pledge. And before that, at Heathrow, I was checked in for the first time by an airline worker who had never even heard of my destination.

Why come here?

Palau is characterised by densely forested islands and calm waters (Image credit: Holden Frith / Future)

Palau consists of more than 300 islands, most of them uninhabited and many in the form of spectacular mushroom-topped domes. The unusual shape is the result of 40 million years of erosion. At sea level, between the high and low tide marks, windblown sand and waves

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