Truk Lagoon recommendation?

[d3vin]

Has anyone dove in Truk Lagoon? Is it better to do a Live aboard or land based? what's the best season to go there?

 

[dvankirk]

Try the Blue Lagoon. You can get pretty much anywhere from shore that you can from a live aboard. It just depends on what kind of accommodations you are looking for.

 

[clownfishsydney]

Any time of the year appears to be okay, I have been 6 times at different times of the year. Possibly September to November may be a bit better.

Land based with 2.5 weeks there! However, if you are time limited, then may be liveaboard. Better to go for as long as you can on land and spend the same $ and do the same dives, but you get a better variety of dives as a week on a liveaboard will mean only 5 deep wrecks and maybe 19 shallow wrecks, of which there will be multiple dives on the same wreck. Shore based will give you about 15 or so deep wrecks and 17 shallow wrecks.

 

[Cavediver.rob]

There are 2 liveaboards and 2 land based operators in Truk. All of the wrecks are in one lagoon, max boat ride 30 mins, so liveaboards don't offer you any wrecks that cannot be reached by the landbased shops. One liveaboard anchors in a sheltered spot and divers go from there to the wrecks on small tenders just like the hotels, the other one moves around to different and you dive straight from the big boat......

For recreational diving any operator will do, and you'll have a great time because you're diving in Truk Lagoon. The dive operations on Odyssey and Truk Stop are run by expats/Americans and so they tend to give more indepth briefings and can give you more info about the wrecks (from the history to things to look out for on your dive).

For technical diving Truk Stop is the best way to go - they have the best prices for nitrox, oxygen and Helium, and have guides that can take you on extended tours (deep or shallow wrecks) and not just drop you on a wreck and leave you to find stuff on your own.

Any time of year is good - the air temp and water temp are the same all year round. Dec-Apr is the windy season where you will have a constant 25-30kph wind from the NE which causes the lagoon to be a bit choppy. From May-Nov the wind is less consistent, usually very low causing flat seas. For some reason inside the holds and engine rooms that have little circulation, the summer season tends to bring cloudy low vis while the winter time has clear water with wall to wall vis. This is only inside.....outside and spaces with good circulation are pretty clear year round.

Hope this helps, Truk should definitely be a "Must do" on anybody's list.

If you have more questions, shoot me a message.

Rob

 

[RJP]

I did Truk by doing three days at Blue Lagoon prior to boarding the Odyssey. Told Blue Lagoon I was going to be on Odyssey for two weeks and asked them to take me to places that the Odyssey doesn't hit. They were happy to oblige.

I wouldn't worry about "doing multiple dives on the same wrecks" from either liveaboard or land. Many of these wreck are massive... you could do FIVE dives on them and still not see everything there is to see.

Ray

 

[Peter69_56]

We just came back from Truk. What a great place to dive. We are going back again for 14 days next time. As previous posts have said, you can dive the same wreck a number of times and there is still things to see each time. On the deeper wrecks if on air you need a few dives to see all the wreck. We used the Blue Lagoon and they were quite happy to take us onto any wreck we required. Luckily we had divers who had been there before so we planned which wrecks to go on the night before. Best time of year according to the locals is Feb to April.

Wrecks We Dived At Truk

1. Yamagiri Maru – Truk Lagoon
2. Heian Maru – Truk Lagoon
3. Kiyosumi Maru – Truk Lagoon
4. Zero 2 – Truk Lagoon
5. Shinkoku Maru – Truk Lagoon
6. I-169 Sub – Truk Lagoon
7. Emily Flying Boat – Truk Lagoon
8. Fujlkawa Maru – Truk Lagoon
9. San Fransisco Maru – Truk Lagoon
10. Kansho Maru – Truk Lagoon
11. Aikoku Maru – Truk Lagoon
12. Betty Bomber – Truk Lagoon
13. Sankisan Maru – Truk Lagoon
14. Nippo Maru – Truk Lagoon
15. Rio De Janerio Maru – Truk Lagoon
16. Hoki Maru – Truk Lagoon
17. Patrol Boat 34 – Truk Lagoon

Additional Ones We Will Dive As Well Next Time

HIJMS Fumitsuki Destroyer (Truk)
HIJMS Oite Destroyer (Truk)

 

[electric_diver]

Has anyone dove in Truk Lagoon? Is it better to do a Live aboard or land based? what's the best season to go there?

If you are a 5 dive a day kind of diver then the Odyssey is where you want to be.

September features winds that push the dive boats away from the wrecks so there is a little bit of a swim to get to the dive site. Other times of year its just drop straight down off the back deck of the boat.

September also features lots and lots of jelly fish. They are everywhere.

 

[captsky]

Rob is right..

 

[Sir Barfalot]

Hi rob just a note to say thanks for the letter for the insurance on my camera it all worked out ok and thanks for looking after us at truk we are all keen to go back
i must agree that your pre dive information was great there is no substitute for a good diagram one picture is worth a thousand words
regards steve W

 

[Kevrumbo]

In Honolulu right now, waiting for the 5:25am Island Hopper (United 154) to Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei, and finally the wrecks of Chuuk Lagoon 17 to 29Nov, at the Truk Stop Hotel --my present hub for the Oceanic/Micronesia/Melanesia Region. Heading to Espiritu Santo/Vanuatu to dive the SS President Coolidge 01 to 12Dec, and then back to Truk/Palau 14 thru 31Dec.

Keeping fingers crossed for both my gear in my checked luggage (TSA "gorilla" damage), and for late start to those winter NE prevailing winds across the Lagoon. . .