Undiscovered Yap - above or below?

[ChrisM]

Due to some changes in Contintental Micro's air sked, we are in yap for 7 days before heding to Palau - before saying how bored out of my mind I will be, my wife and I are do-nothing-on-vacation types, unless we're diving. Plus we're meeting a large group in Palau, so this down time will be nice

That said, with this extra time I'd like to do some exploring. Anyone have any off the beaten track type cool things to see?

Chris

 

[champ]

I leave for one week in Yap and two weeks in Palau Nov 20th. I'll let you know what we do when I get back. We plan to spend the first few nights at the Manta and then we might go north or south ...

 

[h3o]

Why don't you dive in Yap?

Yap alone is definitely off the beaten track in itself. Here are some suggestions for killing time in Yap on and off the beaten track:

Rent a bike for the day and ride around the island. My cousin and I did this one day and it was very relaxing. I think it is the best way to see the island and roam around and check out the villages in the heart of Yap. You'll see a lot of nice scenery along the way, visit stone money banks, etc. You have to ask permission in some villages before riding on in. You can rent bikes at Traders Ridge Resort.

Kayak: you can rent some kayaks and paddle around on your own through the mangroves.

Hike: There are a few trails scattered around the island, there is a short hike up a big hill in the middle of the main town, and there are really nice views from up there...Really quiet and breezy too. There is a huge cell phone tower at the top of the hill, so the hill is pretty easy to spot. It is half through the jungle and half on a dirt road.

Surf: A friend of mine moved to Yap to start an eco surfing camp, if you're into that, check out his website: http://www.stonemoney.com/

Fish: Dave at Beyond the Reef has daily sport fishing tours for reasonable rates. Tuna, Wahoo, Mahi and other open ocean fish seem to be the usual catch.

relax on your own little secluded private beach. There is a guy in Yap that rents out a hut at a far end of the island. It is one of the only beaches in Yap, I think their are only 3 total, and none are near the main town. there is some info on his hut at: www.diveyap.com

 

[Otter]

followed by a week in Palua in January. We are planning to dive YAP as much as possible. Let me know what you do in your down time....the biking sounds great and we are already planning on the kayaking.

 

[ChrisM]

Why don't you dive in Yap?

Oops, realized I never said it in my post -- we are..... 5 days of it, at least that's what is booked. But aside form a dusk mandarin fish dive somewhere, it's all two tanks. That leaves plenty of day.

Thanks for the suggestions. just what I was looking for

Chris

 

[Otter]

that is advertised in Rodales among others? For similar reasons, we will end up longer in Yap that originally planned and are wondering what else to do. There is a Kayak dive (I think that may be the Mandarin dive as well) that is included in the package.

We share ( I think) a concern that there isn't enough reef to dive from shore after the two tank boat trips. I'd like to know if thats the case as well.

 

[ChrisM]

Hi Otter -

No, we're doing our annual NYE trip with folks over at the RSD board, this year it's Palau, with some add ons to Yap both before and after palau. We booked thru Ultimate dive travel, not sur eif it's better or worse than the special (and I don't wanna know ) .

I don't *think* the mandarinfish dive is a kayak dive, but it could be

This is an email I got from ken Kurtis of Reefseekers after making this inquiry:

".... you might find that 6/7 days in Yap is too much. Not sure. The mantas are fun, but generally a first-dive thing. They generally don’t show up (from what I was told) after 9AM or so. ......
In Yap, make sure you do the dusk dive (Mandarinfish) at O’Keefe’s Island, and make sure you do the “1 to 2” macro much dive. Also make sure you do Gillman Wall.
- Ken"

AFAIK, there is no shore diving in Yap. At least that's what Beyond the Reef's site says.

Not sure what MRBH offers, but BTR offers single tank afternoon third dives, so that is an option. I sat for an evening with all the Micronesia books at the local Borders, want to make sure that if there is a fantastic cultural experience, I don't miss it.

And you're aware that one of the local schools or libraries has free internet access? Check out the trip report on Reefseekers web site for spcifics on this, I think

I'll give a holler if I hear of anything else

Chris