Main Menu
Join Undercurrent on Facebook

The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975 | |
For Divers since 1975
The Private, Exclusive Guide for Serious Divers Since 1975
"Best of the Web: scuba tips no other
source dares to publish" -- Forbes
X
 

Dive Review of Manta Ray Bay in
Micronesia/Yap

Manta Ray Bay, Jun, 2013,

by Brian Morrow, GA, US (Sr. Contributor Sr. Contributor 21 reports with 9 Helpful votes). Report 7079.

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 5 stars
Dive Operation 5 stars Shore Diving N/A
Snorkeling N/A
Value for $$ 4 stars
Beginners 3 stars
Advanced 4 stars
Comments This was our first time to Yap and the MRBR but we traveled with a seasoned vet. We flew into Yap on the Saturday night/Sunday morning United flight from Guam after having a 20 hour layover in Guam after flying the Atlanta to Tokyo to Guam route on Delta. Upon arrival at the MRBR our luggage was whisked to the room and the paperwork all held until morning since it was about 2 a.m. or so. Our Ocean view deluxe room was a free upgrade with our early booking and the room was spacious, clean and had its own covered immersion pool on the deck. Grounds are well maintained and the resort is located within easy walking distance of town where there is a bank, grocery store and several other retail establishments. Our package included daily breakfast. Meals are served at the Mnuw Restuarant which is actually on a 100+ year old Indonesian schooner..very unique. Breakfast was the best meal served with a variety of standards, eggs, omelets, bacon, ham, pancakes, french toast. The lunch and dinner menu was largely made up of fish sandwiches, burgers and pizza with a fish or chicken special. Over the course of a week the menu grew a little boring. The resort also has its own brewpub and its brews served on the Mnuw.

We dove with Yap Divers which is associated with the MRBR. Due to the fact that June is low season in Yap there were only the three in our party on the skiff so we were able to decide where we were going to dive each day. The skiff was outfitted with sun protection, tank holders and dry boxes. We did the three dives per day package which included box lunches so we did not have to return to the MRBR for lunch. Unfortunately, lunch, except for the fruit platter was largely disappointing. Our diveguides were Nico and Tony who we enjoyed diving with very much. We dove Stamm, the shallow manta cleaning station, four times during the week but did not see one manta there. We did have a 45 second fly by encounter with two mantas at the deep cleaning station and then a 25 minute encounter with a large manta at a cleaning station on the windward side of the island, which due to wind conditions we could only dive once during the week. The Vertigo dive site has plenty of sharks whenever you drop in there and we did, three times.

Overall, it was a very enjoyable trip and we will likely go back at some point in the future.
Websites Manta Ray Bay   

Reporter and Travel

Dive Experience 501-1000 dives
Where else diving all over Caribbean, French Polynesia, Solomon Islands, Papua New Guinea,
Closest Airport Getting There

Dive Conditions

Weather sunny, cloudy Seas calm, choppy, currents
Water Temp 84-86°F / 29-30°C Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility 20-100 Ft/ 6-30 M

Dive Policy

Dive own profile yes
Enforced diving restrictions Nitrox limits
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 4 stars
Large Pelagics 5 stars

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

Subject Matter 4 stars Boat Facilities 3 stars
Overall rating for UWP's 4 stars Shore Facilities 5 stars
UW Photo Comments MRBR has a nice camera room set-up with several stations that include storage and electric outlets. Facility on the boats is a plastic bucket which was fine for us as there were just three on board. Rinse bucket could get tight if there were too many more on board.
Was this report helpful to you?
Leave a comment (Subscribers only -- 200 words max)
Subscribers can comment here
 

Subscribe Now
Subscribers can post comments, ask the reviewer questions, as well as getting immediate and complete access to ALL 470 dive reviews of Micronesia and all other dive destinations. Complete access to all issues and Chapbooks is also included.

 
Featured Links from Our Sponsors
Interested in becoming a sponsor?
Reef & Rainforest, Let our experience be your guide -- Reef and Rainforest
Reef & Rainforest
is an agency for travelers that scuba dive. Looking for sharks, wrecks, kayaking, tropical islands? We specialize in adventures to Micronesia.

Want to assemble your own collection of Micronesia reports in one place?
Use the Mini Chapbook Facility to create your personalized collection.

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.

Undercurrent Home


Get more dive info like these and other important scuba updates sent monthly to your email.
And a FREE Recent Issue of Undercurrent

Free Undercurrent Issue
Get a free
monthly email and
a sample issue!


Find in  

| Home | Online Members Area | My Account | Login | Join |
| Travel Index | Dive Resort & Liveaboard Reviews | Featured Reports | Recent Issues | Back Issues |
| Dive Gear Index | Health/Safety Index | Environment & Misc. Index | Seasonal Planner | Blogs | Free Articles | Book Picks | News |
| Special Offers | RSS | FAQ | About Us | Contact Us | Links |

Copyright © 1996-2024 Undercurrent (www.undercurrent.org)
3020 Bridgeway, Ste 102, Sausalito, Ca 94965
All rights reserved.

Page computed and displayed in 0.13 seconds