Take a journey through the wonders of Yap. From stone money, to cultural dances, to Yapese "highways", to traditional fishing and anciant mariners, you will be sure to experince the richness of Yapese life.
Yap is belived to have been settled by a seafaring people from the area today known as eastern Indonesia and the southern part of the Philippines sometime around 1500 B.C.
Yap is probably best known among non-divers as the Land of Stone Money. Up to 12 feet in diameter these massive stone discs rate, without competition, as the largest coins in the world.
The Yapese have managed to maintain their ancient culture better than anywhere else in Micronesia. The heritage and traditions of the Yapese people are carefully nourished to preserve the Micronesian way of life.
Bill Acker, founder of the Manta Ray Bay Resort and Yap Divers, is proud to share his love of Yap and diving with guests from all over the world. A resident of Yap for almost 30 years, Bill is eminently qualified to make your Micronesian dive experience one that you’ll never forget. Bill and his family own and operate the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.
Welcome to The Manta Ray Bay Resort. We are a small, 4-star resort located on the wonderful island of Yap in Micronesia. Enjoy your stay in our luxurious, individually themed rooms. Delight your tastes at our floating restaurant, the Mnuw Restaurant and Bar. Dive in to adventure with our expericed dive team. Relax into bliss at our Taro Leaf Spa. Welcome to paradise.
Our resort offers many different package and activities for everyone to enjoy the wonders of Yap. From our hotel & diving packages to island tours to kayak adventures to spa treatments, our resort offers packages individually tailored to you.
There are many special times to visit Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Resort, like Yap Day, MantaFest, and during the manta ray mating season. Plus, we have partnered with the best resort operators and vessels in the region to offer truly unique and luxurious experiences.
The Mnuw is the most unique restaurant and bar in Micronesia if not the world. She is a 170ft (55m) Phinisi schooner from Indonesia with 3 dining decks, 2 bars and her kitchen all on board.
The Manta Ray Bay Resort was built FOR divers, BY divers. Our harborside dive center, Yap Divers, has everything you’d expect from a PADI 5-star facility and SSI Platinum Dive Center, and so much more. Yap Divers is a full-service facility with modern boats, rental gear, dive shop, camera bays, gear rinse and storage.
The Taro Leaf Spa takes the best of everything that is Yapese to bring you an experience that will, relax, energize, invigorate, revitalize and harmonize you.
Come experience all that Yap has to offer. From exclusive, world-class diving to vibrant mangroves to pristine beaches to a fascinating history to a rich, anciant culture, Yap truly is a wonder to behold.
Serving only 1,000 divers a year, we offer our guests crowd-free dive sites and VIP service. Yap has a resident population of manta rays and several shallow cleaning stations where divers can see mantas year-round. And, Yap is more than just mantas! We have great blue water diving, shark diving, wall diving, critter diving, black water diving and large schools of big game fish!
Among the mangroves you will go were none can go but by kayak. There are no roads, no way to bring a powered boat in and no habitation, there is but you and nature. This is the perfect way to explore one of the few ecosystems on this planet that remains untouched by man.
Imagine looking over the side of the boat into ink blue water so clear that you can see fish swimming 100 feet below you. Imagine being on a boat 20 yards from the edge of the reef, looking across the turquoise colored lagoon to the verdant, green tropical island in the background. You cast your lure into the surf breaking on the edge of the reef and then boom – a huge black Giant Trevally comes from the surf line and attacks your wooden bait. The fight is on.
The Manta Ray Bay Hotel’s Concierge staff offer a complete range of land tours specifically designed to showcase the unique island culture of Yap. Everything from the famous stone money and stone money banks, to traditional thatched roof men’s houses, centuries old stone paths which are still used to connect the various villages, to the flora and fauna.
On Yap you can spend all day on a private beach with your partner, dive buddy or group in the village with no one else around. We arrange private beach trips, group events, parties and BBQs.
The Taro Leaf Spa takes the best of everything that is Yapese to bring you an experience that will, relax, energize, invigorate, revitalize and harmonize you.
Here you will find out the latest goings on in Yap, photo galleries of visiting pros and visitors alike. Plus, a library of wallpapers for your desktop and mobile devices.
Swimming with manta rays is a life-changing experience for many divers. Yap's Manta Ray Bay is one of the world's premier destinations for these encounters, providing scuba divers and snorkelers a rare chance to experience manta rays in their natural habitat.
Throughout the years we have been honored to host several top professional photographers and videographers. From Paul Tzimoulis to William "Bill" Macdonald. From Marty Snyderman to Andy Schumacher. From David Doubilet to David Fleetham plus many, many more. We are very honored to be able to share some of the images captured in Yap by these great friends.
Imagine the thousands of divers who have visited us over the years. Now imagine the wonderful memories they captured via photographs both above and below water. We want to share these with you and ask you to consider posting your memories of Yap and the Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers.
We know it can be a daunting task to book travel to Yap with diffeent time zones, the International Date Line and often confusing flight schedules. Let us help you make getting to Yap a warm, tropical breeze. Ask Bill!
Here you will find the latest information about the latest on flights to Yap. There are both international and regional carries currently servicing the island. And, for flight help you can always Ask Bill!
Um de meus grandes sonhos desde que conheci Yap em 2007 com a Nalu era poder um dia trazer minhas duas filhas mergulhadoras, Lara e Júlia, e quem sabe depois o resto da família, para visitar esse que é um dos últimos paraísos do Pacífico. Pois bem, com um enorme quebra-cabeça envolvendo uma viagem de trabalho e várias rotas para trazer as gurias do Brasil e da Austrália, acabamos por concretizar este sonho ontem, quando a última da turma, Lara, chegou em um vôo extra da United Airlines, pela rota Porto Alegre/São Paulo/Houston/Honolulu/Guam. Júlia veio de Melbourne, eu de Canberra e Nalu também de Porto Alegre, mas de Etihad via Abu Dhabi e Manila. Haja milhagem!
Todos esses vôos valem a pena quando, ao chegar ao aeroporto de Yap, os grandes Bill e Patricia Acker nos esperam no estacionamento com a chopeira montada na caçamba da caminhonete. A fabulosa cerveja artesanal da Stone Money Brewing Company, produzida ao lado do lobby do Manta Ray Bay Resort, começa a fluir – na foto abaixo, a turma desfrutando o final do barril já no dia seguinte!
Nosso primeiro dia, por incrível que pareça, não foi dedicado ao mergulho. Como eu já disse em outros posts por aqui, Yap tem muito a oferecer também através de sua cultura única, e tivemos o privilégio do convite para assistir uma celebração de dança de uma das vilas tradicionais da ilha, Adbuwe´Weloy, na qual a família de Bill e Patricia estava participando. Existem a cada semana demonstrações de dança para turistas, feitas em uma das vilas tradicionais da ilha, mas em geral esse evento anual que acontece em julho é restrito ao povo local; foi mesmo uma grande honra termos sido convidados, e mais ainda termos sido tão bem recebidos pelo pessoal da vila.
Claro que fizemos muitas fotos, uma delas está aqui, mas é muito difícil conseguir retratar a beleza de uma festa onde meninos e meninas dançam celebrando as tradições das ilhas que compõem o Estado de Yap. Um esforço das lideranças locais, em especial dos chefes das vilas, para que a cultura siga viva através dos mais novos.
Aproveitamos o restante do dia para por a conversa em dia com nossos amigos de Yap e descansar para estarmos prontos pro mergulho na manhã seguinte… e, claro, mergulhar aqui não decepciona o visitante nunca. Nosso primeiro point da estada aqui foi Vertigo, na parede externa da laguna de coral, visitando os tubarões que se concentram ali na borda do azul.
Depois de um segundo mergulho em Slow´n´Easy, com direito a polvos, peixes-cachimbo e a diversão oferecida pelos góbios e seus lagostins “de estimação” que fazem a manutenção das diminutas tocas, retornamos ao Manta Ray Bay Resort para receber os chefes tradicionais responsáveis pela celebração de ontem e agradecer a gentileza do convite. Foi uma oportunidade de aprender mais ainda sobre a cultura de Yap, em que eu pude passar um longo tempo conversando com vários deles, em especial com o Chefe James que me contou histórias locais e explicou o esforço conjunto dos líderes para manter a cultura local viva através das novas gerações, e também para preservar o ambiente marinho da laguna de coral através de uma área protegida que é gerida e fiscalizada pela própria comunidade.
Um par de dias realmente cheios em nossa chegada, em que a saudação de Welcome Home – Bem-Vindos de Volta à Casa, que ouvimos de tantos amigos aqui, foi para mim e Nalu mais uma mostra de que escolhemos bem nosso lugar preferido no planeta.
Bom, hora de parar de escrever e encarar as “dificuldades” de nosso apartamento no Manta Ray Bay Resort… onde a plunge pool de nosso jardim privativo nos espera. Nossos anfitriões não cansam de nos mimar, estamos mais do que nos sentindo em casa. Mais notícias ao longo da semana!
What others say
Demais Truda! Obrigada por compartilhar essa experiência maravilhosa que faz a gente sonhar em estar aí um dia. Abraços!