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

 Bahamas, Caribbean, Cozumel, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Galapagos, etc. 

Dive Conditions

No decompression  

Cameras either bounced around on cushions in the bottom of the boat, or you
held them. Rinse container put on boat second day.  

Overall Rating

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.

 

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