As the twenty castaways paddled to shore, host Jeff Probst started the game by announcing an impromptu individual immunity challenge.

• Individual immunity challenge: The newly marooned castaways must jump off their boat, swim across the sea and reach the drop-off beach where two individual immunity necklaces, one for each gender, are waiting.

Though shocked by the twist as they were not divided into tribes yet, the castaways raced to the shoreline. Jonathan and Stephenie jumped off the boat and tried to outswim it, but the boat went far ahead of them. In the end, Ian and Jolanda each won individual immunity. The next day, Jeff Probst informed the castaways that Ian and Jolanda, as winners of the Immunity necklaces, would initiate the schoolyard-style tribe selection process, and that one man and one woman would not be chosen for tribes, and be automatically eliminated. Jonathan and Wanda were not selected. Therefore, they were forced to leave the game for good. After they left, the two tribes were given their buffs: Ian's tribe, Koror, was given brown, and Jolanda's tribe, Ulong, was given blue.

• Reward/Immunity challenge: Castaways will be on an obstacle course involving a jungle race, a cargo net crawl and a tire run. The tribe members would then arrive at a supply dump, where they would gather valuable supplies. The tribes would choose which items they want to race with. The next obstacle was a 10-foot (3.0 m) wall that the Survivors would need to get themselves and their supplies over. They would then wade through a waist-deep swamp before dropping the supplies on beach mats. The final leg would be an outrigger race on the water to retrieve their tribe flag. The first tribe to cross the finish line with their tribe flag wins all supplies they chose from the supply dump as well as Immunity

In the first immunity challenge, the younger Ulong struggled as Jolanda insisted to take everything in the supply dump, leaving the elderly Koror, who only took the flint, with the lead and the eventual challenge win. Koror was also given the chance to stay into their old camp or to start fresh; they chose a new one, leaving the old camp solely to Ulong. Though having won the flint as well as Immunity, Koror had a mishap as their outrigger capsized and their newly acquired crate full of fire-making essentials sank in deep water. While in Ulong, Jolanda and Angie were to blame for the loss (Angie deemed as a weak link and Jolanda insisting to take all the supplies). But in the end, despite being a strong competitor, Jolanda's overly domineering attitude sealed her fate.

Now living at their new campsite, Koror's new home proved terrible when they learned that their camp is infested with rats. To make things worse, their flint is still underwater after their boat capsized while paddling to their new beach.

• Reward challenge: Castaways were to run through a "gauntlet" bridge, requiring them to cross several floating obstacles over water in order to collect flags on the other side. As they were crossing, two opposing tribe members would be hurling swinging bags of sand at them all the while. If knocked off, the player would be forced to go back to the beginning. The first tribe to collect all 10 of their flags wins fishing spear, and a snorkeling set; if Ulong wins, they will receive flint.

Angie from Ulong still felt isolated after deemed as a weak link from last challenge but quickly gained the respect of her teammates by singlehandedly winning the reward challenge for Ulong. While Ulong chowed down a handful of fish, Koror had to get the hard-earned flint that was still lying underwater. Despite the angry tides, Ian became victorious as he brought the flint back at camp. In both camps, romances emerged at Koror (Jenn and Gregg) and Ulong (Kim and Jeff Wilson).

• Immunity challenge: Two heavy foot lockers, filled with mess kits, were resting on the ocean floor. Each tribe must swim out to a marker buoy, dive down, find a rope attached to the foot locker, then pull it 50 feet (15 m) across the ocean floor. Once the foot locker reaches the start point, the tribes must unlatch the lockers, thus releasing the mess kits. Each tribe member would retrieve one mess kit, then swim back to the beach. Each mess kit had a Morse code letter inscribed on it. The first tribe to decipher the Morse code and spell out the mystery word ("immunity") wins Immunity.

During the immunity challenge, Kim performed very badly and it seemed that she was throwing the challenge, while Koror's "buddy system" brought them to another Immunity win. Facing another Tribal Council, Ulong discussed voting out Ashlee, who had a questionable desire to stay and was plagued with sickness, while Kim's laziness as well as her weak performance in challenges also put her on the chopping block. But in the end, ailing Ashlee paid the price and was voted out.

At Ulong, James became suspicious of Jeff Wilson and Kim's undeniable closeness and saw it as distraction, especially when Ulong needed to win immunity. Meanwhile, the still complete Koror started to get tired of each other, as Caryn and Katie bickered when they repair their shelter.

• Reward challenge: Members from each tribe would race into the water to retrieve a safety ring. The first tribe member to fight off the opposition and swim the ring to their designated buoy would get a point. The battles would be one-on-one as well as two-on-two. The first tribe to score three wins a sewing kit.

At the reward challenge, Ulong defeated Koror in another reward challenge blow-out. In an attempt to feed their hungry teammates, Ian and Tom killed a snake and tried to use its blood as bait for sharks, but failed. At Ulong, Jeff Wilson twisted his ankle when he accidentally stepped into a stray coconut.

• Immunity challenge: The tribes would partake in a beach run, clipped to each other by a rope and carrying backpacks with 20 pounds of sandbag weight. The tribes would begin at opposite sides of an oval course. After Jeff Probst's go-signal, the tribes would race to catch up to one another. Any tribe members who fell behind could unclip from the rope and drop out of the race, but they would be forced to pass their sandbag to another player, who must carry the extra weight. The first tribe to catch up to the other tribe and tag them would gain Immunity. A variation on this challenge was used in Survivor: Cook Islands and Survivor: Caramoan.

At the immunity challenge, Jeff Wilson's injured ankle was too much to bear as he bailed himself out from the challenge. Koror won Immunity again, and Ulong faced their third successive Tribal Council. Jeff Wilson confessed that his ankle was too much torture for him and asked his team to vote him out, despite Bobby Jon and James' insistence that they oust lazy Kim. At Tribal Council, the others decided to grant Jeff Wilson's wish to leave the competition.

Ulong returned to camp from Tribal Council, with Stephenie's spirits going an all-time low and James angry and sarcastic about losing immunity challenges.

• Reward challenge: Tribes will be given a crate full of tools (courtesy of Home Depot) and will be tasked to create a bathroom for their camp. Host Jeff Probst and Survivor production designer Jesse will then judge both bathrooms. The tribe that has the better bathroom wins a new shelter, picnic table and a patio.

For the reward challenge, the tribes were instructed to elect a leader. Koror chose Ian to be the leader of the project, and Ulong chose steelworker James. When both projects were judged, it was Koror who won a deluxe shelter, further frustrating James.

• Immunity challenge: Tribes would face off in a series of one-on-one sumo-style battles. The Survivors would use padded duffel bags to knock their adversaries out of a ring and into the sea. The first tribe to win six bouts would take Immunity.

In the immunity challenge, Koror had an early lead, but Ulong made a slight comeback. However, in the final winner-takes-all round, James was defeated by Coby, thus giving Koror another victory. With another Tribal Council coming, Kim was still perceived as a weak link as well as lazy at camp, but she tried to shake things up when she tried to pull the other Ulong girls to an alliance. In the end, though worried of gender imbalance afterwards, Angie and Stephenie joined the guys in voting out Kim.

After another Tribal Council, things got worse for Ulong as they got lost in the dark on their way back to camp. While having not to visit Tribal Council for winning all the immunity challenges, Gregg and Tom complained about Willard's poor work ethic and how he seemed to enjoy having a "free ride" as his tribe continue to win challenges while he sat out most of the time. Before introducing the reward challenge, Jeff Probst announced that both tribes would go to Tribal Council to vote someone out.

• Reward challenge: The tribes will race to salvage sake bottles from a shipwreck. One player at a time would be pulled to the shipwreck on a raft by their tribemates. Once the player arrived, they must dive down to retrieve a sake bottle. The first tribe to bring back six bottles wins beef stew and root beer, but to be eaten while watching the losing team's Tribal Council. However, one member will be voted out from the winning tribe before the reward is distributed.

Though Ulong had an early lead, Ibrehem had difficulty in swimming, thus giving another win for Koror.

At Koror, the alliance of Tom, Ian, Gregg, Jenn, and Katie targeted Willard as Tom thought that Willard would take one of the spots at the Final Tribal Council, but Coby and Willard wanted to vote out Katie. Later that day, Gregg approached Coby about joining forces with Janu and Jenn to eventually blindside Tom and Ian, which Coby agreed to.

Later at Koror's first Tribal Council, Willard was perceived as weak and a freeloader and was voted out unanimously. While watching Ulong's fifth straight Tribal Council, it was revealed that Koror will vote again, this time to give immunity to one of the Ulong. Knowing Ibrehem was Ulong's worst performer in the reward challenge, Koror granted Ibrehem individual immunity in a 3–2–2–1 vote (with Bobby Jon and Stephenie both have 2 votes and Angie with 1). Ulong's vote was originally a tie as Angie and Stephenie voted against Bobby Jon, Bobby Jon and James voted against Angie, and Ibrehem against James, causing a revote. In the end, Ibrehem and Stephenie changed their votes to Angie and she was voted out unanimously. She left in good spirits, saying she was glad she was not the first person voted out.

At Ulong, everyone was upset about Ibrehem being voted by Koror for Immunity last Tribal Council. At Koror, things were lively as the yet-impenetrable team had to do some chores around camp.

• Reward challenge: Using an old authentic machine gun, tribe members would take turns shooting tribe-colored tiles. The first tribe to take out eight of their targets would win an excursion to a stinger-free jellyfish lake with a feast of Pringles and Mai Tai.

In a closely fought reward challenge, both teams seized seven targets, but, after Stephenie shot the eighth for Ulong, Caryn was unable to tie the score for Koror, giving Ulong the victory. Back at Koror, Janu's severe shivering annoyed some tribe members, particularly Tom.

• Immunity challenge: Tribes will be given wood and rope and 20 minutes to construct an impenetrable fortress to protect the already-bound foot locker. After 20 minutes, the tribes would race to break into the fortress constructed by the opposing tribe and rescue their flag. The first tribe to capture their flag and hoist it up a flagpole wins Immunity.

At the immunity challenge, Ulong again took the lead, but Koror's Janu worked through her fragile state and managed to give her tribe another Immunity win. With their sixth successive Tribal Council looming, Bobby Jon and Stephenie made an alliance and pointed out James's strength was weakening and Ibrehem was weak all throughout and his anomalous Immunity last Tribal Council. Despite their alliance, Bobby Jon and Stephenie cast separate votes: Bobby Jon and Ibrehem voted against James, and Stephenie and James voted against Ibrehem. In a revote, Stephenie changed her vote to James, sending him home.

With their roster down to only three members, camaraderie in Ulong became even closer; but Bobby Jon and Stephenie reaffirmed their alliance. At Koror, Ian and Tom competed against each other in a fishing contest. Ian brought a giant clam; not to be outdone, Tom slayed a giant shark, dazzling his tribemates.

• Reward challenge: Tribes must construct an SOS signal. The most creative yet recognizable signal wins a plane that will airdrop a crate full of additional camping supplies, some food and sewing supplies.

At the reward challenge, Ulong dismantled their shelter and spelled out their tribe name, while Koror's more comical "Got Food?" signal won and gave them additional camping supplies. After days of starvation, Bobby Jon brought a giant clam for his tribe hoping that it would help them win the next immunity challenge.

• Immunity challenge: Two tribemates must manipulate a giant sliding puzzle while the last tribe member will act as their caller. The first team to finish their puzzle (a sea star) wins Immunity.

In the immunity challenge, Ulong struggled again as Bobby Jon gave up as their caller and gave the job to Stephenie. Though Stephenie made Ulong's work progress, Coby's puzzle prowess gave Koror another win to send the Ulong trio back to Tribal Council. At Ulong, Stephenie was unsure if Bobby Jon was still committed to his pact with her. Ultimately, Bobby Jon was true to his word to Stephenie and Ibrehem was voted out.

Now only a duo, Bobby Jon and Stephenie felt discomfort in losing challenges but were still eager to win. In Koror, Coby became infuriated about his female tribemates' laziness.

• Reward challenge: The participating contestants would partake in a balut eating competition. There would be four rounds, starting with 1 balut, with each round adding another one. It was not a race, and the contestants would switch off each round In the case of tie, the two strongest eaters would go head-to-head to eat 5 balut. The tribe to finish their balut first would win bath essentials and a portable shower containing 55 gallons of potable water.

At the reward challenge, Bobby Jon struggled to swallow as he put all his servings in his mouth, but Tom strategically ate one egg at a time, thus granting Koror another victory. Back at Koror, their reward became a controversy as tribe leader Tom insisted to use the portable shower (containing drinkable water) for drinking purposes only. At Ulong, Bobby Jon became angry and blamed himself for the loss, which scared Stephenie. At Koror, Tom revealed to Ian that he has a secret alliance with Stephenie way before the tribes were created.

• Immunity challenge: The tribes must race out to a series of floating platforms, swim under them in order to collect puzzle pieces, swim back to shore, and drop off the puzzle pieces on the beach. Once they have collected all the pieces, the tribes must assemble the puzzle and solve a word jumble using the pieces. The first tribe to correctly unscramble the mystery word ("victory at sea") wins Immunity.

At the immunity challenge, it was a close race, but Coby and Gregg solved their puzzle first, Koror prevailed once more. With only two members remaining it was impossible to vote either Ulong member off, so Bobby Jon and Stephenie competed in an elimination challenge at Tribal Council, where they confessed that they were uncomfortable with the idea of them being adversaries.

• Elimination challenge: At Tribal Council, the two remaining members of Ulong must create a fire high enough to light their elevated torch. The loser will be eliminated from the game.

In the elimination challenge, though skeptical about her fire-making abilities, Stephenie narrowly defeated Bobby Jon, securing her place in the game and eliminating Bobby Jon. Stephenie had to go back to Ulong camp alone.

At Koror, Coby constantly complained about the others being dysfunctional, such as Janu's drama, Jenn and Katie's inactivity, and Tom's machismo. At Ulong, with all her tribemates gone, Stephenie tearfully struggled to fend for herself. But after receiving a sealed canister in the Tree Mail, she was instructed to go to the Koror camp and gleefully left her now desolate campsite. It was revealed that the canister holds a brown buff and she officially joins Koror¹, while the challenges from there on out will be individual. Tired of each other, Stephenie was welcomed by Koror with open arms, but most of the tribe agreed that she was a major threat after seeing her confidence and strength. Then, two Palauan natives, Edwin and Joe, taught Koror how to fish, gave them additional fishing equipment, and held a feast. Meanwhile, Coby got fed up with everyone for leaving him out of the "fun" (Gregg, Ian, and Tom were chosen to go fishing instead of him) and openly told Stephenie about the others' strategies and alliances, angering most of his tribemates.

• Immunity challenge: The Survivors must stand on a perch under the changing weather conditions for as long as they can. Meanwhile, Jeff will occasionally tempt players with food. The last person standing will win Individual Immunity.

At the first Individual immunity challenge, Coby for the second time, revealed Koror's secrets. After the others, including the obviously vulnerable Stephenie, bailed out for various food items, Tom was the last person standing and won Immunity. At Tribal Council, Coby again openly spilled all strategies and problems of his tribe; which prompted everyone except Janu to vote against him instead of Stephenie. In the end, Coby's jealousy of Ian and Tom's leadership, constant complaining and revealing too much of the tribe dynamics to Stephenie, resulted in his elimination as he became the first member of the Jury.

Janu clashed with Gregg and Katie because of the former's work ethic and her dramatic demeanor.

• Reward challenge: Koror will be split into two teams of 4. The teams must race into the water to erect a custom tower using scaffolding. The first team to construct their tower, climb it, retrieve a flag and race the flag back to the beach wins an authentic Palauan Feast.

In the reward challenge, the heavy scaffolding proved stress for the survivors, but the worn out team of Caryn, Gregg, Janu, and Tom won a Palauan feast. At the feast, Janu vomited, angering her fellow winners. Returning from the feast, Gregg gave Ian's team some leftovers from the feast, but Janu and Caryn impolitely ate some of it, annoying Katie.

• Immunity challenge: A steel cage would be set up in the water at low tide, with the castaways huddled inside under a steel tier. With the rising tide, the Survivors must fight for air, and the last player to stay under the cage would win Immunity. In a twist, the first castaway to bail out from the challenge will be sent to an untouched beach.

In the immunity challenge, Janu was the first to give up and was sent to an uninhabited island, while Tom won Immunity again. In seclusion, Janu became happy as she was away from the others that alienated her. After many hours, Janu created fire and danced joyously. Back at Koror camp, the tribe was torn between Janu, who no one liked but several people wanted to keep around because she was not a threat and could be gotten rid of whenever the stronger players wanted, and Stephenie who was popular and a fierce competitor but also a huge threat to win if she could reach the final Tribal Council. In a heated Tribal Council, Janu revealed that she was fed up with the others and the game so she decided to "throw a wrench" to the probable plan of voting out Stephenie and voluntarily left the competition, joining Coby on the jury.

After another lucky reprieve, Stephenie tried to shake things in Koror as she conspired with the women to get rid of the males (Tom, Ian and Gregg) and take advantage of their gender majority.

• Survivor Auction: Each contestant will be given US$500. The items available in the auction will be remained covered after someone takes them. Players may share money and the item. Auction will end without further notice and included food and drink items as well as letters from home.

After a series of food items, Jeff then revealed letters from home in which the tribe (except Ian and Jenn) bought and declared the auction closed after. Back at camp, the castaways temporarily put the game aside and took a moment from themselves as they read their letters.

• Immunity challenge: Players must stand behind a line in front of 35 multicolored ceramic tiles, each color representing a different Survivor. The Survivors must toss coconuts at their tiles, trying to smash them. If a castaway smashed an opponent's tile by accident, the opponent would get the benefit. The first Survivor to smash (or to have smashed by others) all five of their tiles would win Immunity.

In the immunity challenge, Tom accidentally hit one of Ian's colored tiles, which gave Ian Immunity. Despite strong lobbying, the six original Koror members ultimately turned on Stephenie, as the last Ulong standing, and she was voted out.

With Ulong completely obliterated, the six remaining Koror members started to scramble as Tom, a physical threat, and Caryn, being on the outs, talked about their voting options and future schemes.

• Reward challenge: Each player would be assigned a fire wok suspended over the water. Each time a Survivor correctly answers a question about Palauan culture/history, they may lower an opponent's wok. The last person with their flame still burning would win a yacht trip with two other castaways of the winner's choice.

In the quiz-type reward challenge where Gregg won, he revealed his true colors as he selected Jenn and Katie over Caryn, Ian, and Tom on a luxury yacht trip, angering the trio. Back at camp, knowing she was next to go, Caryn agreed to be a new wheel with Tom and Ian for dismantling their five-person alliance with Gregg, Jenn, and Katie. At the yacht trip, Gregg, Jenn, and Katie were enjoying their massage therapy, their loved ones (Gregg's best friend, Jenn's sister, and Katie's brother-in-law) appeared as an additional reward.

• Immunity challenge: Players will compete through a series of obstacles they have already seen in previous challenges: navigating a net maze, solving a miniature version of the sea star puzzle, eating balut, unleashing lock-boxes and target shooting. One player would be eliminated at each round, and the last castaway standing wins Immunity.

At the immunity challenge, Ian and Tom were on even ground, up until the final round, where Ian successfully hit his three targets and retain Immunity in his possession. Back at camp, Ian approached Katie about blindsiding Gregg to prevent a possible tie, much to Katie's shock. In the end, Katie avoided the possible tie and joined Caryn, Ian, and Tom in voting out Gregg.

After Koror disposed Gregg, his sweetheart Jenn was shocked yet kept calm after the predicament. Meanwhile, Tom talked to Caryn about his distrust with Katie. Ian promised Katie that if he wins the reward challenge, he will take her.

• Reward challenge: Survivors would race into the lagoon on bamboo rafts and collect a series of mileage markers. Once all the markers were collected, they must be placed under the sign marker designating the distance from Palau to various big cities. The first player to place all the markers correctly would win a Chevrolet Corvette, and an overnight stay in a hillside Palauan mansion where he will feast together with a companion of their choice.

After Ian won the reward challenge, Katie was offended as Ian took Tom with him instead of her. Angered by the move and with the absence of the boys, Katie approached the other remaining girls, plotting another women's alliance. After their reward, Ian confronted Katie of his deception, but Katie got emotional and deemed him untrustworthy. Ian then begged for forgiveness, which Katie eventually accepted.

• Immunity challenge: Survivors must traverse a watercourse to get reference to an arrangement of various icons on a puzzle grid. Next, they must make their way back to the start to rearrange their own icons on a blank grid to match what they had seen on the course. The players must repeat the watercourse until one of them replicated their grid exactly in order to win Immunity.

At the immunity challenge, Tom was not at his prime, forgetting the appearance of his grid and constantly stumbling throughout the course, but ultimately won the challenge and secured his spot in the final four. Back at camp, Ian and Tom speculated that while they were gone for the Reward, the women may have made an alliance. Ian reaffirmed his alliance with Katie and insisted to vote out Caryn. At Tribal Council, Caryn spilled out everyone's strategies and alliances, hurting Ian, Jenn, Katie, and Tom, who retaliated by unanimously voting Caryn out.

After a series of prickly vote-outs, the four remaining members of Koror contemplated that amidst the game-playing, unpredictable weather and intense challenges, all agreed that their closeness was unmatched. In a conversation with Jenn and Katie, Ian said that, should Tom lose the immunity challenge, he would break his deal with Tom and vote him out in order to maximize his chances of making the final two.

• Immunity challenge: Survivors must race along a tire crawl, then navigate through a series of vertical escape hatches to reach the top of a three-story tower. Once at the top of the tower, the Survivors must use grappling hooks to retrieve keys that unlock a hatch covering a flag, which they must raise. The first two players to finish would race down a flying fox into the ocean and retrieve a combination lock box containing another flag. After figuring out the box's combination, the Survivors must retrieve the flag and raise it. The first to raise this final flag wins Immunity.

At the immunity challenge, Tom and Ian were neck-and-neck once again, but Tom triumphed for his fourth collective individual immunity win. Back at camp, the four agreed publicly that Jenn was going home, with Tom deciding to stay loyal to the final three pact he had made with Ian on day two. That night, Ian let slip to Tom that he was happy Tom won Immunity, because it would have been a hard decision for Ian if he had won. Tom was baffled by the fact that his longtime ally would have had a "hard decision," so he talked to Jenn, who informed him that Ian had indeed said he would turn on Tom. At a late-night Tribal Council, all of the controversy came out in the open, with Tom and Katie hurt by Ian's lies. Katie and Ian stuck to the final three pact and voted against Jenn, but Jenn and Tom – realizing that Ian wouldn't have been true to him – voted against Ian, leaving a 2–2 tie. They were still deadlocked 1–1 after Tom and Katie re-voted. It was revealed that a challenge between Ian and Jenn would take place to resolve the tie.

• Tiebreaker challenge: At Tribal Council, Ian and Jenn must create a fire high enough to burn through an elevated rope which will raise a flag. The loser will be eliminated from the game.

Though the challenge started on even ground, Ian was the first to get the fire high enough to burn through a rope and raise a red flag, and Jenn was eliminated from the game.

Back at camp, Tom and Katie accused Ian of being two-faced for not honoring their alliance, while the latter exclaimed that they are in a competition. After a tribute to their fallen castaways, the three remaining contestants took part in the final immunity challenge.

• Immunity challenge: The Survivors must each grab onto a navigational buoy and hang on while the buoy swayed from side-to-side. The last player left hanging on would win Final Immunity.

Katie stepped down after almost 5 hours while Ian and Tom held onto their buoys even as the challenge approached the 12-hour mark. But with the feeling of guilt after Tom and Katie's accusations against him, Ian stepped down and asked the now-immune Tom to vote him out as a sign of integrity. Since the challenge ended at late night and it was too late to conduct a Tribal Council, Ian was verbally eliminated by Tom. The next day, Katie and Tom ceremoniously burned their shelter and everything that helped them survive the past 39 days. In the Final Tribal Council, Tom was commended for his dominance in challenges and leadership skills; but was berated for being overbearing and a sexist. Katie on the other hand praised for her honesty, but was lambasted for being two-faced, weak in challenges and riding on Ian and Tom's coattails. When Jury member Janu asked Katie to state 3 adjectives, both positive and negative, to describe her gameplay, Katie simply told Janu she didn't expect to get her vote and she was not going to answer her. Katie also responded sharply to a critical question from Caryn.