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Dive Review of Aggressor and Traders Ridge in
Micronesia/Palau and Yap

Aggressor and Traders Ridge, Apr, 2008,

by Lin Gitterman, ON, canada (Reviewer Reviewer 5 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 3991.

No photos available at this time

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

Accommodations 5 stars Food 3 stars
Service and Attitude 5 stars Environmental Sensitivity N/A
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving 1 stars
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ N/A
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 5 stars
Comments We flew Continental from Toronto through Newark to Honolulu with one overnight at The Best Western (would FOR SURE stay elsewhere next time) and then on to Palau with the first night at Palau Pacific Resort. Very nice resort to help with the jet lag! Aggressor picked us up on time as promised and took us to the boat and we were immediately shown our room which was very spacious and clean with a good sized window. Gear briefing was done immediately and was friendly and professional. Rules of the dives and the boat were outlined to everyone and all staff was introduced. The boat was well run and all staff except for Leta (kitchen help and chambermaid) and Chad (chef) were divers who took turns diving with the guests. There were 8 staff and in total.Three dive guides were on every dive and dives are generally for 60 minutes or 500 psi. Mike, the Captain, runs a very comfortable, easy ship. Food was good, healthy and plentiful although the between dive snacks could have used a bit of an upgrade. This is really a quality operation and the dive team are great.I was a bit concerned about hook in because we had never done it before and the dive guide actually held my hand to the hook in! My computer flooded on day one and Mike gave me one of theirs to use - not "rent", to use free of charge. We saw sharks on most dives, a few people saw a whaleshark and there was lots of small stuff. Some current which was fun to ride with and the hook in was a great experience. I really can't say enough about Mike and his whole team. After the week finished we felt like we were leaving good friends. The only thing we were not crazy about was the land trip to Peleliu - it was not very well organized but this is the fault of the land tour person not the Aggressor. Jelly fish lake is an unbelievable experience.
Traders Ridge in Yap was next. Really pretty resort with wonderful rooms, a nice pool and again, a great dive operation. Mike Kuiper is the instructor/guide and he knows where the mantas are and, once you find them, he knows where they are going. He was very friendly, very helpful and found some really interesting stuff for us. Food-wise - it's best to eat elsewhere. There are two restaurants at Traders with the food coming out of the same kitchen. The cafe food is fine but the "high end" food is not - we ate there twice, hoping the second time would be better, and it was not. When we spoke to management about it they were very nice but, basically, unless they are there to check the food and the service, things seem to fall apart a bit. One morning we waited 20 minutes for tea and toast and we were the only people in the place! There are three other places to eat and Oasis is very good and much more reasonably priced.
We would not hesitate to recommend the Palau Aggressor or Traders Ridge to anyone.

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 101-250 dives
Where else diving Bali, Belize, St. Lucia, Little Cayman, Roatan
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, windy, cloudy Seas choppy, currents, no currents
Water Temp 82-84°F / 28-29°C Wetsuit Thickness 3
Water Visibility 10-100 Ft/ 3-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions 60 minutes on the Aggressor.
To 500 psi at Traders
Liveaboard? yes Nitrox Available? N/A

What I Saw

Sharks Lots Mantas 1 or 2
Dolphins 1 or 2 Whale Sharks 1 or 2
Turtles > 2 Whales 1 or 2
Corals 3 stars Tropical Fish 3 stars
Small Critters 3 stars Large Fish 3 stars
Large Pelagics 3 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 4 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 5 stars Shore Facilities N/A
UW Photo Comments The Aggressor has buckets on the skiff and large tubs on the boat. There is a dedicated photography area. Well set up.
No set up at Traders except for bucket on the dive boat.
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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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