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15th Annual MantaFest Photography School & Contest Yap, Micronesia, October 2- 16 2021

Since 2006, our MantaFest program has brought underwater photographers, both amateur and professional, to this small island and its protected reef to compete for prizes, attend workshops, take tours of the island, and experience the unique culture of Yap, which is considered to be among the best preserved in the Pacific region.

Workshops are led by experts in the field providing their knowledge of all things related to taking better pictures including, but not limited to composition, lighting and photoshop. They also offer advice during sessions with local models in settings that include the island’s unique stone money banks and traditional dance performances. Daily dive trips provide opportunities to dive with and photograph the manta rays, sharks and the plethora of small, colorful tropicals such as the brightly colored mandarin fish and many more wonders of Yap’s underwater world.

Don’t have a U/W camera yet? No need to worry, our sponsors will have some for you to use, free-of-charge, during the event. Our photo pro’s will be happy to teach you the basics and then have you join them on the boat for personalized hands-on experience

During the 15th MantaFest event, we will be joined by top U/W photographers like Andy Schumacher, David Fleetham, Frank Schneider, Ray Bullion, Steve Miller and Tim Rock.

Unfortunately, we had to cancel the 2020 event due to the COVID-19 crisis, Bill Acker and his team are ready to take your booking for next year’s event and the Photo Pro’s will be there to get your photography skills to the next level

Our 2021 MantaFest Photo School & Contest packages include

• Hotel room w/late check-out
• 2-tank dive days
• Free NITROX
• Participation in photo contest
• Seminars and workshops
• Happy Hour one on one sessions with the photo pros
• Evening Media Presentations
• Shark split photo opportunity
• Land/culture photo opportunities
• Beach BBQ
• 1/2-day land/culture tour
• Local dinner
• Breakfast
• Roundtrip airport transfers
• Free Wi-Fi
• Hotel Taxes
• Wake-up service with coffee or tea delivered to your room

MantaFest is much more than only diving and photography. There is a wide range of activities to join.

Package Prices

4 nights from $1,109
7 nights from $1,799
11 nights from $2,849
14 nights from $3,489

Photo Contest Categories

Digital SLR	Compact Camera	Video	Beginner
Big Animals	Big Animals	Best Submission	Best Submission
Behavior	Behavior
Land/Culture	Land/Culture
Fish/Creature Portrait	Fish/Creature Portrait
Open/Creative	Open/Creative

Best of Show Submission 2020 by Sheila Ott

Check out the 2019 winners by visiting this link

Although our annual MantaFest Photo School and Contest is all about learning, improving your U/W photography skills, fun, meeting new friends and discovering Yap’s underwater and topside beauty, you also have the chance to win some amazing prizes. From Live-Aboard Scuba Trips to gift vouchers to dive gear and many more. With prizes worth more than $20,000 our annual MantaFest program is one of world’s highest valued resort-based U/W photo contests you can participate in.

Can’t make in in 2021? Pencil in the following dates

2022 August 27-September 10
2023 August 26-September 9
2024 August 24-September 8
2025 August 23-September 7

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Availability & Reservations

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Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers

4.8

Michael Wüthrich

09:27 24 Jun 20

Awesom dive experience. we dived for a week with Yap divers and every dive was varied and very beautiful. We benefited from the pre-corona time in March which meant that there were very few tourists on Yap. (3...)read more

R. Frobhboese

06:21 13 May 20

We have been twice at Manta Ray Bay. The staff was exzellent dive guides as well as people on the Mnuw, not to mention the Amber👌 The sharks at Vertigo and the Mantas at Stammtisch are a must for every diver. We hope to be back!read more

Fariborz Zak

07:03 12 May 20

Wonderful lovely place worth to try it again

Keenan Woodmansee

07:09 04 Jan 20

This is "The" place to stay. Friendly staff and great hotel and restaurant.

Sandie Chung

13:30 11 Dec 19

My fourth time to Manta Ray Bay Resort in Yap since 1995. Hotel still very well kept, spacious room, good services and dive centre, very well run. Enjoy my dives very much with crystal clear water, mantas, sharks and even some macros. Wish they have better flight schedules to make it easier for visitors. Love to be back again.read more

Tait Brimacombe

04:31 18 Oct 19

Stayed at Manta Ray Bay as part of work travel to Yap. Excellent rooms and very friendly and helpful staff who were happy to go out of their way to assist guests and ensure they had a pleasant stay. Would highly recommend and look forward to staying again in the future.read more

John Yosh

11:27 18 Sep 19

My experience at the Manta RayBay Resort was once in a life time. We did not dive because we were in Yap for military purposes but if I had to choose a location in which to dive it would be in Yap and I would stay at the Manta Ray Bay Resort again. Bill and his family are just wonderful and made our experience on Yap such a memorable one. I hope to come back to Yap again and if I am so privileged I would visit with my adopted family and stay at the Manta Ray Bay Resort again.read more

Yann Faure

11:08 15 Jul 19

All the staff from Manta bay resort will treat you like family and make you feel at home The room was very spacious and decorated with taste The dives were very nice , especially Vertigo obviously ! Do not hesitate , just book your trip to Yap and Manta bay resort will do the rest and there will not be any bad surprise I highly recommend a stay with Bill's Acker great resort !read more

Bruce Tanner

16:13 27 Jun 19

Completed my 7th trip to Yap this past April and it is still one of the best dive destinations and operations around. Have led groups there for those 7 years and had several repeat customers go back with me. Great staff, dive operation and beautiful hotel. And the diving is diverse and just awesome. Many of the staff have become friends and it always a treat to be greeted by name upon arrival and around the hotel. Since diving is the premier attraction the island is a paradise of relaxation and laid back attitude. If you haven't been to this area of the world you should really consider it. Bill Acker, owner and all around good guy, can help you make travel plans for visiting Yap and other great destinations in Micronesia.read more

Jendrik Schroeder

15:18 15 Jun 19

It´s an excellent diving and a wonderfull cultural experience to visit Yap. The Manta Ray Bay resort provides you with friendly and skilled staff both in diving and in the hotel department. The underwater world is extremely beautifull and the island culture very interesting to explore! I enjoyed both the diving and the cultural experience to the maximum !!!!!read more

Chris Mars

18:28 26 Mar 19

This is my home island.. Iam just giving it 5 star review cuz i miss home.. Feels like forever since I Last visitedread 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

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

Doreen Korbl

19:09 10 Mar 19

incredible service, special thanks to Ruud the resort manager

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

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

Jan Toman

22:14 02 Nov 18

Great! GREAT! GREAT! Lovely place, lovely staff, great location for divers!

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

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

Jonathan Gapith

10:31 19 Sep 18

Best dive resort around, amazingly friendly staff and great food on the mnuw

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

Emily Caquelin

04:10 02 Aug 18

Manta Ray Bay Resort is a great dive resort with extremely hospitable staff.

William Myers

21:01 21 Jul 18

Great hotel. Have stayed twice.

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

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