Destination Fact File
Beautiful reef diving with a vast number of resident Manta Rays. Also take in the culture of Yap.
The reefs on the East side of the island feature gently sloping terraces with one of the most diverse selections of hard corals in Micronesia. The west side of the island is composed of a series of vertical walls starting in 5 metres of water and plunging straight down hundreds of metres. The visibility on the reefs usually exceeds 30 metres and frequently is over 45 metres.
Getting there:
There are daily flights from London Heathrow to Manila in the Philippines with various airlines. From Manila, Continental Micronesia airlines operate flights to Yap a few days of the week, with a transit through Guam. Please note that transit times through Manila and Guam can be long and sometimes in excess of 12 hours. Overnights and day rooms can be arranged to make your journey more relaxing.
Top Dive Sites:
“Lionfish Wall” offers a chance to experience the beauty of a pristine coral reef. One perpetual favourite of divers is the colourful clownfish. Five species can be seen in Yap. Some of the anemones they live in are over four feet across and host dozens of clownfish. Sharks are sometimes seen resting along the bottom of this wall. Lionfish can be found in the cracks and crevices of the wall. Groupers, snappers and soldier fish hunt within the coral growth along the wall.
“Yap Caverns” at the southern tip of the island offers a truly spectacular dive with an array of caverns, swim-throughs and pinnacles populated by lionfish and sleeping white-tip reef sharks. Large schools of huge bumphead parrotfish are often seen here. A unique feature of Yap Caverns is that the dive not restricted to advanced divers, beginners have no trouble negotiating the swim-throughs, and are able to share an experience of magical beauty otherwise reserved for more experienced divers. There are a number of cleaning stations in the area, frequented by sharks and Trevally Jacks. Grey Reef Sharks can be found at around 25 metres.
“Manta Ridge” is Yap’s most famous dive site and one that virtually guarantees manta sightings. Resting on the bottom are white-tip reef sharks. More active sharks, pacific greys, patrol endlessly up and down the channel. Divers move down the channel edge until they come to the coral mound that marks the manta cleaning station. Huge mantas, some of them nearly 4 metres across the wings, make their grand entrance swooping toward divers in a single file fashion.