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!
Texto de:B_rad
Os visitantes de Yap nesta temporada estão registrando uma dose dupla de mergulhos com grandes animais em seus logbooks – o que está se tornando, aliás, uma das marcas registradas do mergulho em nossa ilha.
As experiências mais fantásticas com as mantas estão acontecendo agora mesmo, já que esta é a temporada para se ver mais ação. Durante todo o ano as mantas estão presentes e podem ser vistas diariamente, mas a avistagem simultânea de mais animais e os encontros mais incríveis costumam acontecer durante a temporada reprodutiva, que vai de dezembro a abril.
Há um aumento de atividades nessa época, em que vemos mantas em maior número e distintos indivíduos cuja timidez é superada pela urgência do acasalamento.
Dica de Planejamento para sua Visita às Mantas
Tudo isso começa em novembro e dura até maio, com os shows mais espetaculares nos meses do meio desse intervalo.
Quando planejar sua visita, pense em priorizar datas entre a última semana de novembro e a segunda de maio para ver os “trens” e círculos de mantas circulando ao seu redor durante toda a duração do seu cilindro!
Já os tubarões, como as mantas, podem ser vistos ao longo de todo o ano. Esses bichos estão por aqui faça chuva ou faça sol, e o point de Vertigo tem essa cara das fotos acima e abaixo em qualquer dia da semana.
Não há necessidade de planejar alguma época específica para aproveitar esse point ao máximo – é sempre a calma do Mar das Filipinas ali.
É tanta ação com os tubarões que você quase não nota a criatura em bermuda de jeans em frente ao fotógrafo…
Dicas de Vertigo
Este point de mergulho está a uns 25 minutos do Manta Ray Bay Resort, se escaparmos da maré mais baixa – você preferirá chegar a esse lado do recife uma ou duas horas antes da maré mais alta para desfrutar da água mais limpa e traslados de barco mais curtos.
Diga ao seu guia de mergulho antes de zarpar que você gostaria de fazer Vertigo do mesmo jeito que você viu no Blog – eles sabem o que isso quer dizer.
A única coisa que pode atrapalhar o mergulho nesse point é o swell. Quando ele está muito forte, não é legal ficar sendo levado pra frente e pra trás sobre o recife como um pêndulo, e os tubarões não ficam tão próximos. A boa notícia é que esse swell, quando vem, nunca dura mais que um dia ou dois, logo é fácil planejar para evitá-lo.
Todas essas fotos são do mesmo dia de mergulho de dois cilindros – e mergulhos como esses são de dar inveja a qualquer um, já seja você um novato ou um fotógrafo veterano que já mergulhou pelo mundo afora.
Essa combinação de points de mantas e tubarões provavelmente erá seu primeiro dia de mergulho em Yap, e isso é o que os nossos clientes deste mês e a minha Canon estão vendo. Para aproveitá-lo melhor, fazemos o primeiro mergulho na maré baixa, que oferece a melhor visibilidade na estação de limpeza, e depois de um looongo mergulho com as raias-manta e nosso intervalo de superfície, Vertigo vai estar simplesmente brilhante com seus tubarões!