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Dive Review of Blue Lagoon Resort in
Micronesia

Blue Lagoon Resort, Feb, 2007,

by Steve, AK, United States . Report 3332.

No photos available at this time

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 3 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 1 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments I dove Truk Lagoon after spending a pheonomal 2 weeks diving Palau. The difference in locations was extreme. The friendly clean environment of Palau was left behind. The Island state of Chuuk is dirty with the roads lined with wrecked and junk vehicles. The poverty is evident and though we had no altercations we felt uncomfortable when walking in the public areas. All of the guide books suggest that visitors do not venture out after dark. Evidently a combination of unemployment and alcohol creates an atmosphere of rowdiness amongst the young men.
I made arrangements to stay at the Truk Stop Motel, a three star facility. We arrived and were picked up at the airport. Airport transfers are $10 to $15 each way. Rooms at the Truk Stop were large and comfortable and went for $100 per night. They have a dining area with a large patio area and internet access. The food was local fare and good. There is a bar on the property but the main attraction is a pool table. The dive shop is not much. They barely had enough weights for a boat of ten divers and dives were $100 per two tank dive. They did not offer Nitrox.
I met the new dive shop manager who had arrived from the US only three weeks before. I boarded their larger (cabin style)dive boat that could easily handle 12 divers. their other boat had engine problems. There were 8 of us on board as we went off to dive the Nippo Maru. I had to stack 8 two pound weights to get my 16 pounds. They had nothing larger that 2 pounders at the time.
The trip was a disaster. The boat had one engine out and we could only get make about 7 MPH. The boat made a serpentine course due to the one prop running and we were engulfed in black diesel smoke for the whole trip. Before we left I told the dive manager that I did NOT want to do decompression diving and I would dive my own profile and stay above the DM. This was allowable since the DM would not go into deco. The dive plan was inefficient due to the fact that the DM did not speak compent English and the new dive manager did not know the sites. I however made the dives and used my computer backed up by my trusty old dive watch. I did a 90 feet for 25 minute dive and spent 10 minutes at 15 feet.
As we started our two and a half hour journey back to port I had made up my mind to leave Truk Stop and go to the other facility. I did not fly half way around the world to dive like this. I will give Truk STop one credit though. They let divers dive their own profile if they desired. There were 4 Scotts on board and they were all very competent deco divers. They were also dissappointed in the whole operation but they were leaving in a few days. They did ask for and received a credit for the poor performance of the operation.
I checked out after telling the owner that he had a facility that needed serious attention if he desired to stay in business. I went to the Blue Lagoon Resort. This is the only resort with a small beach and encompasses about 15 acres. It is self sufficient with everything that you need right there. Talk to Gloria at Blue Lagoon and she will take care of you. All of the staff were great and they gave me the same price per room as the Truk Stop did ($100 per day) and the rooms were better. All are ocean view with a lanai.
The dive shop was very local with small outboards that had a cover for protection from the sun. They took very good care of me and I went on my first dive with just the DM. I spent the rest of the week diving the famous wrecks of Truk. Nitrox was $19 per tank but they gave it to me for $15. I made 7 dives at the Blue Lagoon and the total for diving came to $455.00. I made a couple of dives without Nitrox and rented a back up computer for two days.
I had Truk Lagoon on my dive to do list for years but as I got older I decided that I was not a wreck type of diver. I will not do deco diving but I did enjoy the sight of these sunken ships and the artifacts that the local divers had placed on the decks. I left Truk wishing that I had spent that week in Palau.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving Palau, Manzanillo Mexico, Ohahu/Maui Hi. The Bahamas and the Carribbean.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas calm
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 5
Water Visibility 40-60 Ft/ 12-18 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions [Unspecified]
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks 1 or 2 Mantas None
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles None Whales None
Corals 1 stars Tropical Fish 2 stars
Small Critters 1 stars Large Fish 1 stars
Large Pelagics 1 stars

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Subject Matter N/A Boat Facilities N/A
Overall rating for UWP's N/A Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments [None]
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Note: The information here was reported by the author above, but has NOT been reviewed nor edited by Undercurrent prior to posting on our website. Please report any major problems by writing to us and referencing the report number above.

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