When I planned my trip to Yap nearly 10 months before departure, I did so thinking that I was primarily going to scuba dive with Manta Rays. Now, after having dived 18 dives, I can declare that no one should primarily go to Yap to simply dive with Mantas. If you do, you MAY leave disappointed, and unless you VENTURE OUT FURTHER TO dive the OUTSIDE walls and reefs of Yap, you will have missed one of the best scuba diving destinations in the world.
In 2008, less than 4000 persons visited the island of Yap. The small amount of tourists on the island is probably for the best as I do not believe the infrastructure is built to accommodate very much more than that. This is a sleepy, relaxed and very non-commercial destination. This is part of the charm, but also CAN BE a source of some frustration at times IF YOU ARE UNPREPARED. For example, do not count on CONSISTENT OR HIGH QUALITY dining here, and especially do not count on shopping on Sundays OR LATER IN THE DAY ON THE OTHER DAYS OF THE WEEK. Indeed, most restaurants, and virtually all shops will be closed Sundays.
If you are going to Yap, you will be able to find suntan lotion, but only during the week (not Sunday). Not all convenience stores will sell what you may consider necessary, but surprisingly, some items are readily available (but not on Sunday). For example, souvenir T-shirts are not everywhere, but there is a good selection of wines available at the local liquor store in Colonia.
We dove with the Beyond the Reef dive operation, and were exceedingly happy with it. For the week of diving we had the boat entirely to ourselves so we could pick and choose our locations to dive in consultation with our experienced and very capable dive guide (Keuni). Keuni and Joe (our boat tender) were as enjoyable during the entire week (6 days-3 tanks per day) as they possibly could be. We saw mantas certainly, but so much more. I took over 500 underwater pictures, including macros of flat worms and nudibranchs, as well as of mantas, moray eels that posed for me, and reef sharks, sleeping white tips, etc. Oh, I wanted the picture of that 8 foot hammerhead, but he was motoring too fast and was just too far for the camera.... I would strongly recommend this operator, but would make reservations in advance for longer stays such as ours.
Favorite dive sites include Vertigo, Lionfish Wall, and Caverns, but there are many others nearly as good or perhaps better depending on the day or season you would dive them. Mil Channel is the famous dive site for mantas, AND WE SAW SOME THERE, but I would rename it "Why Bother" when there are so many other great dives around this island. MIIL CHANNEL IS INSIDE THE REEF AND OFFERED GENERALLY POOR VISIBILITY COMPARED TO DIVE SITES OUTSIDE THE REEF. ALSO, THIS WAS THE ONLY DIVE AREA IN YAP THAT WAS ALMOST ALWAYS CROWDED. WE PREFERRED DIVING IN THE CLEAR WATERS OUTSIDE THE REEF AND EVEN HAD OUR BEST MANTA EXPERIENCE OUT THERE AS WELL. OUTSIDE THE REEF, Walls were every bit as amazing as anything Grand Cayman would have to offer.
Water temperatures were ranging between 81F-84F on all of our computers, and we were comfortable with full 3mm wetsuits, although Keuni did not wear a wet suit for any of our dives. We dove with one other person for 2 dives on the last day of our trip, and she did not wear a wet suit. She was comfortable during the dives, but was chilled when we were moving from one dive site to another. If you plan to dive without exposure protection, I would recommend a dive jacket or windbreaker for transit between dives.
Would I return to Yap? Are you kidding? In a heartbeat.... Long trip to Yap, and long trip home, jet-lagged and all, I really think this destination is great! Easily comparable to Palau, although Palau has much more infrastructure and topside recreational possibilities.