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Dive Review of Village Scuba/The Village in
Micronesia/Pohnpei

Village Scuba/The Village, Feb, 2007,

by Jeanne & Bill Downey, PA, US (Top Contributor Top Contributor 52 reports with 16 Helpful votes). Report 3260.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 5 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 3 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 2 stars
Advanced 3 stars
Comments Pohnpei was an optional add-on to our Chuuk trip, and our first time there. We stayed at The Village, an eco-tourism lodge set on a hillside 5 miles from the airport. There are 40 rustic cottages, each with two double beds, sitting area with couch, chair, coffee table, sink with plenty of counter space, shower with good water pressure and hot water. The cottages are perched privately throughout the property, some with fantastic ocean views. There’s no TV, telephone, or AC; there are screens on the window, mosquito netting over the beds, and ceiling fans. Although warm during the day, it cooled down nicely at night for sleeping.

The office, bar, and dining room are centrally located. Telephone and email access is available in the office. Breakfast ranged from $3.50 for oatmeal to $7.00 banana pancakes. Dinners averaged $12.00, including soup, salad, and rolls. The food was good, and the ice cream was excellent. Since we were diving, we had lunch between dives consisting of sandwich choices or bento, which was rice, sausage, hard boiled egg, and a large portion of tuna, all wrapped in a banana leaf—delicious!

We made six dives over three days. The coral was not impressive and there was some coral bleaching. One of the three dives we enjoyed were Manta Road, a manta cleaning station where half the group had an excellent 15-20 minute view watching angel fish clean a manta. When finished, the manta made a large circle so he could glide past us very slowly, making eye contact with each one of us. Unfortunately, the rest of the group was a short swim away waiting for a manta to show. With poor visibility in the pass, a manta can be nearby, yet not be seen.

Another good dive was where the wall made a sharp turn, so there was literally a corner. The sharks hang out and play in the current here, plus there were lots of anemone fish and tropicals to play with when the current died and the sharks departed.

Our last dive was a long drift dive. One small drop-off around 80’ had 40-50 mostly gray reef sharks facing into the current, just hanging out. We also saw a lion fish and a school of squid. We drifted by a mini-wall with lots of holes for things to hide. There were many crown of thorns wherever we went.

The diving was a bit arduous, as small 6-pack skiffs with pop-up covers were used. We sat on cushions on the bottom during the boat rides. Upon arrival at a dive site, we put our gear together and back rolled into the water. Between dives we were taken where we could get out of the skiffs and stretch our legs. The bumpy conditions were not the best for cameras.

Pohnpei is not a world class dive destination and The Village does not have a lot of divers that stay there, but it is a great place to stay, do a little diving, kayaking, hiking, and touring, especially to Nan Madal, 700 year old ruins. The staff went out of their way to accommodate our wishes.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience Over 1000 dives
Where else diving Bahamas, Caribbean, Cozumel, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Galapagos, etc.
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny Seas choppy
Water Temp 82-83°F / 28-28°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 100-150 Ft/ 30-46 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions No decompression
Liveaboard? no Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

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

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

Subject Matter 3 stars Boat Facilities 1 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 2 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments Cameras either bounced around on cushions in the bottom of the boat, or you held them. Rinse container put on boat second day.
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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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