Yap did NOT blow me away

[pilot fish]

It's all so subjective, really. I don't know where else you've been but in my travels it came up a tad short of wows. It was OK, just not as good as I had imagined it to be. I found the rooms at the hotel very comfortable but has no grounds. Dive op was very good as well.

Wow ... total opposite from our experience there. We thought the week on Yap was great!! Yes, we did go to see Mantas three of our five days of diving. And yes, the vis there in the channel was 40-50 feet at best. But every time there, we had them so close you could touch them (although that is against the rules). In fact, I had one come down so close to me that as it swam by, it was dragging across my strobe!!

I really liked the walls. I have never seen so many sharks in my life. The top of the wall was around 40 feet and we couldn't see the bottom. The longer we swam, the more sharks followed us to see what we were going to scare out of the reef. While we did see a turtle on the wall one day, it was a fleeting sighting and it took off so nobody got shots of it.

As far as the hotel, we stayed at Manta Ray Bay and it was very nice. Our room overlooked the bay on the second floor and even the garden view rooms overlooked the hotel gardens and the street. The hotel restaurant was great!! They had a world class chef on staff and every time we went to have a meal, we told him to pick something for us and he ALWAYS scored big!! Admittedly, it has been a few years since we were there and the chef's assistant at the time is now the executive chef. Bill, the owner, had just discovered brewing beer the year before so we always had lots of his "experiments" to sample at the evening get together.

All that said, six years can make a huge difference in what is available. For instance, besides the chef changing, they didn't have a pool then. The out door bar and barbecue area was located where the pool is now. Plus, there wasn't a brewery. The dive shop was located there. And the hotel restaurant was located where the offices are now.

Would I go only to Yap. Based on my past experience, yes. But then I like purty fissies!!

 

[Shasta_man]

Palau - pretty fishes?!

We went for the sharks and current!

 

[almitywife]

Originally Posted by rcontrera
Wow ... total opposite from our experience there. We thought the week on Yap was great!! ......

we too really enjoyed our time in Yap and that was last year

hubby had a manta itch and he got it scratched and after about 6 dives with mantas there were dives down south of walls, reefs, caverns

we too had a room overlooking the bay so sitting on the balcony chilling was a nice way to end the night

ive not been to palau... maybe one day but i agree, Yap isnt fun to travel to and from due to flight schedule and thats the one thing making me hesitate to go back

whats the big deal about 'hotel having grounds'??? lets see.... breakfast, dive, dive, lunch, rest, dive, rest, dive, dinner, bed and repeat.... what do you need grounds for??

 

[pilot fish]

whats the big deal about 'hotel having grounds'??? lets see.... breakfast, dive, dive, lunch, rest, dive, rest, dive, dinner, bed and repeat.... what do you need grounds for??

The same reson you don't stay cooped up in your room

Yeah, travel there and out of there is a bugger! That alone would keep me from returing.

 

[Allison Finch]

Didn't Think So!

Hmmmm, nasty temper???:shakehead

 

[SharkLover]

I went to Yap last January and I am going back the second week of May. I very much like diving in that area in general (been to Palau and Guam). The Corner at Palau is truly stunning!

From a flight standpoint my work takes me to Taiwan/China the first week and diving in the second week (I use my airline miles from Guam with my gear in tow). So I am flying at different times of the day and night and I am used to it. It is all about what you are used to I guess.

I went diving with Beyond the Reef and stayed at Pathways. The individualized service with Dave at BTR is awesome. It was myself and him all week, can beat that. Pathways is like staying at Gilligan's island of sort, very different, the staff was great.

For me the diving is one draw but it is the dive experience (dive op, people, culture etc) that really makes the trip worthwhile. I am in the tech industry so anytime I can get away to a place that has nothing (phone, paper, internet etc) I find it very relaxful and just the place that the doctor ordered.

Now you have my 2 cents.......

 

[pilot fish]

Your two cents is appreciated and valuable. Well, if you like NASCAR you'll think that sitting in Mil Channel waiting for the occasional manta sighting each morning at 7:30 is thrilling Just kidding. Your work takes you out that way so there is a reason it fits for you. MY recommendations, or non-recommedations, has to do with people traveling a long distance at weird horus, from US, Canada and UK, JUST to dive Yap.

What is interesting is your feelings about Beyond the Reef Divers and Pathway Hotel. Never heard of them? I thought Manta Ray Inn was the only game in town? I heard a recommendation about a bigger and nicer hotel [more upscale] on Yap, Traders Ridge Hotel but know nothing about it. http://www.tradersridge.com/ Has any one heard of it?

I went to Yap last January and I am going back the second week of May. I very much like diving in that area in general (been to Palau and Guam). The Corner at Palau is truly stunning!

From a flight standpoint my work takes me to Taiwan/China the first week and diving in the second week (I use my airline miles from Guam with my gear in tow). So I am flying at different times of the day and night and I am used to it. It is all about what you are used to I guess.

I went diving with Beyond the Reef and stayed at Pathways. The individualized service with Dave at BTR is awesome. It was myself and him all week, can beat that. Pathways is like staying at Gilligan's island of sort, very different, the staff was great.

For me the diving is one draw but it is the dive experience (dive op, people, culture etc) that really makes the trip worthwhile. I am in the tech industry so anytime I can get away to a place that has nothing (phone, paper, internet etc) I find it very relaxful and just the place that the doctor ordered.

Now you have my 2 cents.......

 

[SharkLover]

MR is not the only game in town. I happen to seek out the smaller dive ops as I like more individualized service. BTR (www.diveyap.com) is a very small op run by a guy named Dave Vecella a laid back American from the keys. They run a small 4 divers or less dive trips. Very individualized service (i.e. they spoil me rotten)

As far as Traders Ridge goes, although I have not stayed there I have eaten dinner there on many occasions. It is upscale and slightly British. I have have found the food and service to be good. If I had more $$ to spend I would stay there.

If you walk out of Manta Ray and take left on the road, walk down the street and you will see a hill on your right. It is on top of teh hill overlooking the bay. Pathways is directly across the bay from Traders Ridge. There are too many people for me at MR.

Getting back to diving, I only went diving for Manta's once. You need to experience Yap's walls, that is what I like the best. My favorite sites: Vertigo, Yap Caverns and Magic Kingdom. South of the island is best. Make sure you go hand line fishing for Wahoo too!

What is interesting is your feelings about Beyond the Reef Divers and Pathway Hotel. Never heard of them? I thought Manta Ray Inn was the only game in town? I heard a recommendation about a bigger and nicer hotel [more upscale] on Yap, Traders Ridge Hotel but know nothing about it. http://www.tradersridge.com/ Has any one heard of it?

 

[Damselfish]

Trader's Ridge is very nice, didn't stay there but we got a tour from the manager and ate there one night. The other nice thing is they have their own private A/C airport lounge which looks like a much better place to wait than the hellhole that is the rest of the Yap airport. I would consider staying there my last night just to be able to use that. They are up on the hill, not right on the water, good for views and maybe breezes but not a quick stroll from your room to the dive shop and dock like at MRB. Have no idea about the dive shop.

 

[pilot fish]

There is something to be said for smaller operations, although I have very few complaints about the dive op at MR. Now that I'm looking at Traders Ridge, I wish I had known about that before. No matter where you stay on Yap you get not get around the insane arrival and departure times for the island. That, to me, is a deal breaker and diminishes whatever joy you experience on the island.

I did dive Vertigo and remeber it to be a good dive but not any better than what I have done in the Caribbean. It was good, as I said, but certainly not worth the long trip to get there.

MR is not the only game in town. I happen to seek out the smaller dive ops as I like more individualized service. BTR (www.diveyap.com) is a very small op run by a guy named Dave Vecella a laid back American from the keys. They run a small 4 divers or less dive trips. Very individualized service (i.e. they spoil me rotten)

As far as Traders Ridge goes, although I have not stayed there I have eaten dinner there on many occasions. It is upscale and slightly British. I have have found the food and service to be good. If I had more $$ to spend I would stay there.

If you walk out of Manta Ray and take left on the road, walk down the street and you will see a hill on your right. It is on top of teh hill overlooking the bay. Pathways is directly across the bay from Traders Ridge. There are too many people for me at MR.

Getting back to diving, I only went diving for Manta's once. You need to experience Yap's walls, that is what I like the best. My favorite sites: Vertigo, Yap Caverns and Magic Kingdom. South of the island is best. Make sure you go hand line fishing for Wahoo too!