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Dive Review of Manta Ray Bay in
Micronesia

Manta Ray Bay, Jun, 2013,

by Michael J. Millet, CA, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 91 reports with 57 Helpful votes). Report 7024.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 4 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity 4 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 4 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This was my 3rd visit to Manta Ray Bay Hotel (MRBH). After catching the usual late night flight from Guam, we were greeted by a cheery staff person at the Yap airport. Our rooms were ready for us at this late hour with the paperwork waiting until the next morning. My AC drainage line was plugged up so there was a large puddle on the floor. The resort resolved this problem in short order.

With our very late arrival, we took the next day off from diving and enjoyed the start of the Yap rainy season. Our rooms were spacious with an private immersion pool outside the patio doors. The rooms are a bit dark and could use some additional electrical outlets. The water in the rooms is potable.

We had most of meals in the Mnuw Restaurant, an old sailing vessel from Indonesia; a very unique dining setting. The food from the restaurant is pretty average with breakfast being the most savory meal. We ate most lunches on the dive boat because we opted for the 3 dive package. The lunches were very forgettable. Dinners were at the Mnuw ordering from a menu that was mostly pub grub. 3 or 4 specials were offered each night but they did not seem to vary much from day to day. I usually had the fish sandwich of rare yellowtail tuna, which was quite good. The restaurant features Stone Money Brewery Beer that is brewed at the resort. The beer is tasty but sometimes a bit flat.

The diving is done from skiffs that offer cover, tank holders, lots of dry storage, towels, water, snacks and camera rinse. Our dive guides were friendly, helpful and well acquainted with the local reefs. Unfortunately, our manta encounters were minimal but it wasn't due to lack of trying. We spent several hours out at the Stamm cleaning station waiting in vain for the pelagics to appear, but they we no-shows. Apparently, they were gathering at the cleaning stations on the windward, northeast reef. Due to the currents and sea conditions, we were only able to dive here on one day; we did have a great, 25 minute manta encounter. The Vertigo dive site is a great place for encounters with gray reef and blacktip sharks. We did 3 dives at the Slow and Easy dive site, which is at least 1 dive too many.

The dive crew was flexible and accommodating moving our dive departure time a bit earlier since we were ready to go at 8:00 am. We had one diver that had trouble keeping this schedule so the dive shop accommodated all of us by assigning her to another boat. The dive shop has large rinse tanks for gear and cameras and a dive gear storage area.

MRBH has a very friendly, easy-going atmosphere that will probably get me back there for a 4th time. But next time I will not go in the rainy season (June-September).

Websites Manta Ray Bay   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Galapagos, Solomon Islands, PNG, GBR, Vanuatu, Palau, Philippines,
Indonesia, Yap, Kosrae, Truk, Fiji, Socorros, All over the Caribbean.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, cloudy Seas calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp 82-85°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 30-120 Ft/ 9-37 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No Deco
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? yes

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins None Whale Sharks None
Turtles 1 or 2 Whales None
Corals 4 stars Tropical Fish 4 stars
Small Critters 4 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 4 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments Manta Ray Bay Hotel (MRBH) offers diving thru Yap Divers. This dive operator provides fresh water rinse on the dive skiffs for cameras and has large, dedicated camera rinse tanks at the dive shop. The camera room is adequate with work stations, lights, and air. Yap has healthy reefs of mostly hard corals; the nudibranch photo ops did not seem has plentiful as previous visits.
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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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