FSM and Palau trip

[BC nu diving]

We are getting close to April and this site has been invaluable.
We are set for Chuuk (Thorfinn) and Yap (Pathways Hotel and Natures Way Dive Shop) and need more info on Pohnpei. I am leaning towards the Village Inn and dive shop but personal experience would be appreciated. In Palau we are planning on staying at the WP downtown are are considering Sam's or Divepalau. If you have stayed or dove with these businesses or have any other words of advice, your info would be appreciated. Thanks to all, James.

 

[Diver Dennis]

Sam's is where I dive in Palau, they can also get a rate for you at WP. Email Russelle at samstours@palaunet.com. Excellent operation. Ask for the free Nitrox.

They will also pick you up every morning for free.

 

[cdiver2]

I dove with Neko Marine and was very happy with them, and I am hard to please

 

[Scared Silly]

We (2 people) stayed at the Village and dove with them last April. A fine operation, Pohnpei is good for around 8 dives (Ant Atoll with standing) and a couple of days of island exploring. My only complaint was I felt that they over booked and had a large group of 16 divers come in the day after us so they pretty much catered to their desires. 18 divers is alot for their operation (all of their boats all diving the same location). I would certainly reccomend them - just check to see how many others are diving as you might not have a lot flexibility.

 

[joewr]

We have dived with both Neko Marine and with Sam's. They are different critters. Both are good and, to be truthful, you do not have too many choices on Palau. Neko tends to hire younger DM's and many come from places like the PI. My opinion: sometimes you have to tell them to slow down...and they will...

Sam's seemed to have more experienced DM's and some were just a bit disdainful of the customer. This was not pervasive, but it was there. Never-the-less, the dives were great and a good time was had by all.

In truth, it would be darned hard to ruin a Palau dive trip!

Re Yap: I and many others who have been there feel that the Manta dives can be quite a disappointment. Frequently the vis is darn poor...not too surprising in view of the fact that big fellas are after plankton! However, you can hope to minimize the vis problems by NOT diving after a day of rain. After rainy days, do a little reef diving. A few years back a typhoon blasted a lot of the reefs around Yap, but many have come back. And look for sharks...they are to be seen if you look...

One more thing about Yap...take a walk to some of the old Japanese WWII base sites. My avatar is a picture of me on Yap next to a Japanese AA gun.

Finally, there is some very nice local art on Yap and, by taking a bit of a walk, you can find some interesting things for sale, including model Yap outriggers, vintage tools, etc. All good stuff...and not made in Thailand!

I hope this helps...

joewr

 

[joewr]

Oops, I forgot Chuuk...

I have only seen the Thorfin, with its neat old fashion steam engine, from a dive boat and so I am not certain about what books they have aboard. But if they have "World War II Wrecks of the Truk Lagoon" by the Bailey's, it is worth studying. There are other, older books that I have purchased at the Blue Lagoon Resort, but I think the Bailey's book is available online, if you want to purchase it.

On my first visit to Truk, I spent most of our first night there reading about the raid and was better prepared to really appreciate what I was seeing.

One more thing I will mention, but I am not certain how it pertains to diving from a live-aboard. We also dove some of the shallow plane wrecks. To do this we ended our "regular" dive with 500 lbs of air in our tanks. Then we dove these shallow (ca. 25 ft.) wrecks. At that depth our air lasted forever. And it was much more convenient to take photos by scuba diving than by freediving or snorkling.

joewr

 

[BC nu diving]

Sam's is where I dive in Palau, they can also get a rate for you at WP. Email Russelle at samstours@palaunet.com. Excellent operation. Ask for the free Nitrox.

They will also pick you up every morning for free.

I have read they are good. Free nitrox might just do it. By the way do you dive with Chico's in PV?

 

[BC nu diving]

We (2 people) stayed at the Village and dove with them last April. A fine operation, Pohnpei is good for around 8 dives (Ant Atoll with standing) and a couple of days of island exploring. My only complaint was I felt that they over booked and had a large group of 16 divers come in the day after us so they pretty much catered to their desires. 18 divers is alot for their operation (all of their boats all diving the same location). I would certainly reccomend them - just check to see how many others are diving as you might not have a lot flexibility.

I believe it was your post and story that originally made me think of the Village. I may be able to check on a daily basis for dives and then opt for tours or diving. Our days there are now set. Thanks silly! Any other dives you may recall being good?

 

[BC nu diving]

To joewr
I have heard and read that about Sam's and that is why I am interested in divepalau. I work in tourism and would appreciate good guides and people who are fresh and excited about the job. I have also done some reading on Chuuk and am a history buff so to put it in perspective is a good way to think about it. I will be visiting Pearl Harbour and the War Memorial Museum in Guam on this trip as well.

 

[joewr]

To joewr
I have heard and read that about Sam's and that is why I am interested in divepalau. I work in tourism and would appreciate good guides and people who are fresh and excited about the job. I have also done some reading on Chuuk and am a history buff so to put it in perspective is a good way to think about it. I will be visiting Pearl Harbour and the War Memorial Museum in Guam on this trip as well.

Hi,

I wish I could help you with Divepalau, but I know zip about them. In regard to Pearl Harbor, the Memorial is very evocative. Sometimes there can be a very long wait to get aboard the small craft that take you out to the Arizona. It is a very sobering experience.

The War Memorial Museum on Guam is very small, but nice. Also, take a drive around the park to get some feel for what an amphibious force would face. I think you will appreciate your time there. You will need to rent a car to get there...

If you have time, it is worth diving off Guam. I am hesitant to recommend a dive shop since we only dove with one of them. The dive we enjoyed the most was the Blue Hole. We did it twice and recommend that you not go into the hole. It was a fairly boring dive. However, the sealife at the top of the hole was fabulous. If it is anything like our time there, you are will see spectacular Lionfish. There is also a wreck dive with two wrecks side-by-side. It was okay, but compared to Truk, it was wanting.

I hope this helps...

joewr