(syndicated from https://www.taucher.net/edb/Manta_Ray_Bay_Hotel__Yap_b133.html )

Following for all foreigners, which only speak English, i´ll give you my experience with YAP Divers @ MANTA RAY BAY HOTEL

We’ve visited YAP in April. The trip was gone to Palau & Yap for 3 weeks. It was organized by Roger Tours Germany (but you can contact them trough their homepage). They made a perfect detailed program.

Arrived in Yap in the night, we got a friendy traditional welcome with flowers. The transfer was organized by Yap Divers/Manta Ray Bay Hotel and it was very fast. We got a bottled water during the drive. Arrived in the Hotel, our luggage was brought to the Dive Center and we were able to start our diving day at the same day (6 hours later). But we told them, that we will have a relaxed day of arrival and we would prefer an island trip without diving. So even during the night, they organized this change and our wish was fullfilled. After breakfast we could start our Tour.

The island tour was including traditional canoe preparation, beaches of the east coast, „Stone Path“ with way to the Men´s House. There we received our lunch box and after that, we went further more to the old airport (during war) with relicts from this time, to the Stone Money Bank and slowly back. For each stop for Pictures or kiosk we stopped as we want.

Back in the Hotel, we got a friendly welcome by Jan (2nd Manager Yap Divers). He explained us the dive center including dive plan. It seems all very organized and it was really like it seemed before: organized, friendly, recommened, with good insider tips. Many thanks also to Jan.

The Manta Ray Bay Hotel was completely and expensive new built a few year ago, so everything is very clean. The rooms are comfortable, nice decoration and a very good atmosphere (you could found manta rays in many variances: pictures, wood carving etc.). It´s a perfect hotel for a perfect vacation. The rooms were really nice, the bathroom clean and nice, balconeys with nice view and all very close to the dive center.
A next highlight is the restaurant: we prefered it absolutely. It´s an old indonesian shooner, the “Mnuw”. It was built into a restaurant with nice view and it stays in the bay. Eating on a restaurant-boat – like we never had before in this style. The food is really good – for everyone´s favour. Breakfast was enough with many variances and very good quality. You could also order a fresh omlette

Alex was our dive guide and we think, we could not find a better one there. With Henry, our captain, we built a perfect group. We had them nearly alone for us at this time. They were a great team, known eachother perfect for long years, so safety and helping their guest was everything. Both had so much xxxx(Lebensfreude), friendlyness and also the love for detail (macro) during the diving, even if the highlights should be the manta rays. We made 10 dives with them and we were happy as many as we could be. Our wishes were completely fulfilled: Manta reays, sharks, south trip to canyons, mandarin fishes and so on. Every highlight we got, before going back to Palau. So many of our nicest dives during the 3 weeks holidays in micronesia was done in Yap.

All the boat and dive crew was perfect, what we could see on the other boats. Bill Acker brought a perfect harmony into this dive center.
The divecenter “Yap Divers” do also have Nitrox, 12+15liter bottles (INT), three pools for cleaning of the equipment. They have xxxxx(Schränke) for put the closed for drying and a big space for foto-/video to prepare your underwater-camera with lights, xxxxx(Lupe) for an optimal control of your equipment. Also the offers small stuff for divers in a small shop. Further more they do have own boats – for small and bigger groups – and sometimes you were lucky to have a dive with Bill Acker personally.

The dive centre change the dive sites every day. Usually you do two or three dives a day. If there are additional enquires and enough people, they will do a night dive, south tour, shark feeding (but I don´t prefer and you don´t need to feed the sharks, even if the come to the dive site without the food in a very clear water and for a long time – like we had). They don´t have a “house reef“, but you don´t need, because most places are very close to the dive center/hotel.

Where it will be the best place there? We think, at Manta and shark place, but we did not had any bad dive there!

If you still haven´t enough positive information: Don´t be afraid, if won´t be able to come there.. it´s your turn and you could choose such a good holiday like we had.

I have to thank Roger Tours (Roger, Margit & Team) und direct Thomas (Rogertours Frankfurt) for offering us these beautyful holiday and I have to thank the whole team of the island Yap @ Manta Ray Bay / Yap Divers to make it perfect for Thomas & me.

Simone & Thomas