LIONFISH WALL
Depth:
15-130ft | 5 – 40 m
Visibility:
70-150+ ft | 20-45+ m
Current:
0-2 mph | 0-3 km/h
Dominant Features
This vertical wall forms the extreme southern tip of the fringing reef which surrounds Yap. It juts out into blue water and is washed by currents flowing past the island. Because of the steady flow of nutrients, the coral and fish populations are particularly lush. The wall makes an vertical drop to 130 ft. and then slopes to a 200+ ft. (60+ M) ledge before disappearing into the blue abyss. The concentrations of fish and corals make this one of the premier wall dives in the world.
Corals
The entire face of the wall is carpeted with a wealth of soft daisy corals, punctuated with brightly colored crinoids.
Fish Life
This area is named after the many lionfish that live in the crevices along the wall. But just off the wall, expect a full range of gamefish & pelagics that come to feed where the currents from opposite sides of the island meet. Mantas, Eagle Rays, Turtles, Sharks, Huge Tuna and other pelagics are commonly sighted. Near the top edge of the reef are schools of thousands of orange and yellow Bartlett’s Fairy Basslets. Highly camouflaged Leaf Fish are also present near the top edge of the wall, but it takes a trained eye to spot them.
Known Dive Sites
- Aliko reef
- Big bend
- Cabbage patch
- Cherry blossom wall
- Crescent reef
- Eagle's nest
- End of the land
- Fan dancer
- Gapow reef
- Gilmaan wall
- Goofnuw mini wall
- Kurrekurredutt dropoff
- Lighthouse pass
- Lionfish wall
- Magic kingdom
- Manta ridge
- Mi'l channel
- Millennium gardens
- O'keef's passage
- Paaw reef
- Pelaek corner
- Rainbow reef
- Sakura terrace
- Samakai wall
- Slow & easy
- Spanish wall
- Stonehenge
- Sunrise reef
- Telegraph reef
- Tradewind mini-wall
- Valley of the rays
- Vertigo
- Yap caverns
- Yap corner
- Buena vista
- Stammtisch
Availability & Reservations
Guest Gallery
Check our our gallery of guest photos,share your pictures of Yap with others on our website and our social channel.
Jim Reilly
11:27 21 Mar 18
We stayed at the hotel and dove with Manta Ray divers in early December 2017. The hotel is very comfortable, well run and staffed with wonderful employees. During our visit my wife came down with an illness and the consideration and support from the hotel and dive staff could not have been better.read more
Sandy Stinson
16:03 03 Mar 18
The staff couldn't be more friendly and accommodating. Food is good, (worth upgrading to include all meals). Diving is good too.read more
Alex Divinsky
17:24 01 Jan 18
The best place to stay in Yap. The resort is really nice and clean, the scuba diving is great, and the docked ship that houses the bar, restaurant, and movie screen is very cool. I really enjoyed my stay here.read more
ASALI
10:44 01 Jan 18
Offers one of the best accommodation service. It also has a uniquely designed restaurant.
Yi-Hsin Lin
00:53 21 Feb 17
The whole place centers around the scuba diving operation. Probably better to find somewhere else if you're not a diver.
The dive operation was generally good, but a little too laid back - schedules weren't always clear, and sometimes would change without any notice. Sometimes it was hard to tell if this was really because of changing tides/weather or because of the island pace of life.
Pizza is a surprisingly good option at the restaurant.read more
Emily Caquelin
04:10 02 Aug 18
Manta Ray Bay Resort is a great dive resort with extremely hospitable staff.
Daniel Granzer
11:40 23 Aug 18
We were from 11.08 to 18.08 at the Manta Ray Bay resort and had unforgettable days there 😍In total we made 12 dives with wonderful encounters. Highlights were, of course, the manta rays in the Goofnuw Channel and many white tip reef sharks in the Shark City 🦈 But also we saw eagle rays, turtles 🐢 and buffalo head parrotfish. The hotel is beautiful and the whole team does a great job there. The food on the ship Mnuw, as well as the home-brewed beer are excellent. Thank you again to the whole team of Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers 👏🏼We also did a one-day land tour to explore the many beautiful places of this unique island. The beach is like in paradise🏝, stone money and relics from the second world war very worth to see! You find there also culturally typical houses with different meaning and use! It would be nice if more visitors would come to this great island and appreciate the great work that is done there!
Anyway, we really enjoyed it and would come back anytime 🙏🏻✌🏼read more
Jonathan Gapith
10:31 19 Sep 18
Best dive resort around, amazingly friendly staff and great food on the mnuw
Rene Sten
04:06 12 Oct 18
Bill and his family run a great dive resort, rooms are spacious and comfortable. Restaurant and bar provide good range of food and drink. Bill and his dive guides know the reef intimately and the diving is spectacular. Bill and his family make for a very friendly and rewarding experience in Yap.read more
Ms. Malinda
13:52 14 Oct 18
Great place to stay while visiting the island. Lots of activities to do with places to see & people to meet.read more
Jan Toman
22:14 02 Nov 18
Great! GREAT! GREAT!
Lovely place, lovely staff, great location for divers!
Deb Roy-Stothart
13:55 06 Dec 18
The highest level of dive service ever experienced! Fabulous dive operation from crew, boats, snacks, hot tea and water, warm towels etc. etc. and of course the Manta Rays!! Thank you for making my 100th dive so memorable. Accommodations 5 star! Food was fabulous! Can't say enough about this beautiful Island and it's people. Loved Yap! Deb & Glenn, London, Ontarioread more
Michael Fusco
04:49 22 Jan 19
MantaRayBay Resort, is THE dive resort. It is so obvious that this place was designed for divers, BY divers. The concept that all of the guests are part of the resort family seems to be the cornerstone of MRB Resort. The dive service is top notch; the wait staff spot-on, the resort staff super friendly and attentive. The dive sites are great, especially the southern walls, and of course the cleaning stations visited so often by the Manta Rays. I have gone scuba diving all over western Asia and the Caribbean, and MRB Resort is at the top!read more
Shaun Suliol
11:48 12 Mar 19
The staff made sure our every needs were met! They were accommodating to my groups weird requests. We felt spoiled. They even remember our names. No where else but in Yap at the Manta Ray!read more
stacey blake
16:26 20 Mar 19
Beautiful resort and location, small and quaint with very attentive service from wonderful staff who were extremely friendly and helpful, and knew everyone's name (travelled with a group of 20 people) within the first day. Yap Divers staff were amazing, we were even offered hot tea during our surface intervals with some delicious snacks, and they ensured we had the best possible dive experience on each dive. I would return to this gorgeous island and absolutely stay at Manta Bay Resort again, it's well worth the trip!read more
