So first, I'd like to thank Ken, again, for his report on Yap. We recently returned from a one week stay (12-21 December 2016) and the information that he provided on this thread was very useful. (See his links in the first post)
Pretty much everything he wrote remains true. Manta Ray Bay Resort was clean, comfortable and very friendly place to stay (emphasis on "friendly"). You are greeted at the airport by resort employees who identify you as a guest, inform you of your room number, then load your bags that have been tagged with your room number in one van and load you in another van while providing you with a nice cool washcloth and a bottle of water. Short drive to the resort while you receive a nice information brief and when you arrive, you are greeted by members of the management team. You check the whiteboard by the dive office to determine that day's dive schedule and off you go to your room, which is open, with the key inside and your bags waiting for you... along with Manta Ray-shaped cookies. Nom, nom, nom!
Breakfast on the "Mnuw" in the morning is very good with a decent selection that changes daily. Eggs or omelet to order as you enter. After the day's dives, lunch is enjoyable and pay as you go or bill to your room. Being a beer lover, I was overjoyed to discover that their own microbrewed beer was quite palatable. No IPAs available, but the Pale and Amber are both top notch. Bar is limited... mostly stocked for tiki drinks. Dinner is more of the same. We did not explore some of the other dining opportunities, although I understand that there are some good ones out there. Although you are situated in Colonia, the biggest village on the island, it is more village, than town. What you see is about the extent of it. No stoplights on the entire island.
As a guest, you're issued a gear bag for fins, mask and other stuff, that is stowed after rinsing in designated puka next to your BC & reg that is also rinsed for you. We rinsed our own suits, but they provide a space to hang them for drying. When you show up to your designated boat (remember the white board), your bag is under the bench with your BC and reg strapped to the tank above. I had my BP/W and had to show them how it went together initially, but all was good after that.
We didn't do the muck dives that Ken mentioned, mostly reef dives. Trades were pretty strong, so we stayed on the leeward side of the island with a couple dives inside the reef at the Manta Ray cleaning station, "Stammtisch". Ken had recommended a particular dive site to me, but the conditions didn't allow for that. Maybe next time. Our favorite reef dive sites this trip were "Magic Kingdom", "Spanish Wall", "Buena Vista" and "Vertigo" for some good blacktip/whitetip viewing. We drifted most of these dives, more for the one way trip and range value than for any strong current limitations. No reef hooks required.
The day of our departure, since we couldn't dive, we opted for a half-day island tour which was interesting and culturally enlightening. I'd recommend it.
Departure was more of the same. Loaded up our bags, management was there to wish us farewell, mwarmwars for the ladies and off to the airport. Word of caution... keep a $20 bill in your passport as you need to pay an airport departure fee when you leave and they don't take credit cards. Even though Yap is a protectorate of the US, you'll need to clear immigration and customs if you fly back through Guam.
Kamagar, Yap Divers and Manta Ray Bay Resort!
