Dive Review of Manta Ray Bay in
Micronesia/YAP

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Manta Ray Bay, Dec, 2009, by Tom Brumback, IA, USA ( 2 reports with 1 Helpful vote). Report 5304.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We spent a week at Manta Ray Bay diving with YAP divers after spending a week in Palau aboard the Big Blue Explorer. We found the accommodations and service to be very good. Pick up at the airport at 3:00AM went well and staff took care of all our gear. Diving consited of Manta ray hunting in Miil Channel and outer reefs. Diving in the channel had poor viz which ranged from an abysmal 30 ft to a respectable 50 ft. We saw mantas on every dive we made there and they were up close and personal----you couldn't see them if they were far away. A good wide-angle lens and some close encounters made for some good photo ops. When we didn't dive the channel, we made stops at Yap Caverns, Vertigo, Lionfish wall, yellow wall etc. These were excellent dives...much better than expected as we came to YAP to primarily see Mantas. We did 2 dives at Vertigo including an awesome shark feed. The divemaster took down a box of fish heads and placed it on the reef. Between 50-75 sharks appeared and created a frenzy when the box was opened about 30 minutes into the dive. Actually, shark viewing and photo ops were far better than we experienced at Blue Corner in Palau. Macro life was respectable with sightings of several Nudibranch species, ghost pipefish, crocodile fish, etc. Overall, I would rate the experience as good to excellent. Bill Acker's Manta Ray Bay Hotel is perfect for diving and located right on the water with a spectacular infinity pool. Staff were very helpful and friendly. They always made the best of tides, surf and weather conditions to give us the best dives. Dive operations were efficient, timely, and accommodating. The only shortcomings were the Mnuw restaurant and the dive boats. We ate several meals in the converted cargo ship which served as a restaurant. Ambience was great and the ship often became the hotspot for meetings and conversations after diving. However, we found the food rather ordinary and a bit pricey for what you received. We often ate across the street at Oasis. We sampled most of the local restaurants including Trader's Ridge, Ganir, etc. Oasis was the best value. The other shortcoming was the dive boats. Most of the boats were converted fishing boats that we not ideally suited to diving. YAP divers would do well to invest in some true dive boats with setups more conducive to diving. Having tanks and equipment simply laying on the floor of the boat along with cameras is mediocur at best. Other then these 2 improvements, Manta Ray Bay/YAP divers is a top notch operation.
Websites	Manta Ray Bay
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Belize, Roatan, Australia, Caymans, Turks & Caicos, Bonaire, BVI, Cozumel, Costa Rica
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	sunny	Seas	calm
Water Temp	82-86°F / 28-30°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-100 Ft/ 9-30 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	None
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	yes
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	Schools	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	1 or 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	Had nice lockers and benches for all photographic equipment. Area was safe and secure. I left cameras, batteries, stobes and all equipment on the camera tables all week with no worries about damage of theft. I needed some silica gel to dry out my fogging camera case and the shop rounded up a couple for me. In shop facilities for photographers were good, but I really didn't see any PC's available for downloading etc. Boat facilities for UWP were lacking. There were no on-board rinse tanks and cameras were simply placed on the floor on the back of the boat.

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Dive Review of Manta Ray Bay in Micronesia/YAP

Manta Ray Bay, Dec, 2009,

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

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

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

Dive Review of Manta Ray Bay in
Micronesia/YAP