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.
Give a big welcome to Kudakwashe “Kuda” Lusinga, Manta Ray Bay Resort’s new head chef, blends Zimbabwean and Yapese flavors with standout dishes like Stuffed Pork and Dovi Chicken. Inspired by his uncle and a passion for cooking, Chef Kuda brings creativity, culture, and fresh ideas to the Mnuw restaurant, delighting guests with innovative cuisine.
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!
Manta mating season has the reef swirling with courting rays and with the recent moon cycle, we’ve had outstanding visibility in the lagoon. Every spring the activity and the number of mantas seen increases during their mating season. The best way to view these animals is in small groups just out of arm’s reach and overhead.
With conditions like these, it’s hard to beat a dive at the local cleaning station with our resident rays.
Sometimes the mantas pass overhead so slow that not breathing isn’t an option, we try not to put bubbles in their path, but a hovering manta could be there longer than divers can keep from breathing.
A couple of guests from New York had a face to face Manta encounter that lasted minutes.
The ray being cleaned hovered over the finger coral long enough for me to snap dozens of photos of their moment.
An extended face-to-face manta encounter in clear blue water is an unforgettable Yap diving experience.
Right now is the time to be with these animals, every day guests are getting the whole Yap manta promise.
Diving here is as close as you can get to Manta Ray in the wild without touching it and the best part is, they come right up to you.
Once in a while the cleaning pass has a burst of action when a cleaner fish picks at a sensitive spot on the animal.
A couple of irritated flaps and the cleaners retreat to the finger coral to come back out after the manta returns to a calm hover.
While most of the action is on top of the reef in shallow water, the mantas approach from the blue and you can see them as they come and go.
When the reef is busy with manta activity there’s a ray coming in with each ray going back out to the blue.
These mantas have no problem flying right overhead when departing the cleaning station which make great photo ops.
As far as Manta Ray photography goes, this is the place to fill your SD card with graceful rays.
Having to duck a passing manta isn’t an uncommon move at this dive.
The guest in this photo spent several minutes with her head turned sideways looking up at the manta circling above.
You can get up close to the cleaning action and get face-to-face, or hang back and experience the transiting overhead passes, either way you position yourself you can almost be bumped by these animals on your dive.
This is not an exceptional day diving with these mantas and this is the activity that you can expect during your dive trip, during mating season.
Yap is still the dive destination where you are guaranteed manta encounters like these.
Bill offers a money-back guaranteed dive package that you get up close with a manta, all year round.
Finding Flights to Yap
Did you know that Air China connects Europe to Asia and can get you here with shorter layovers? If you weren’t told about all of your options on flight routes, you should ask Bill. He’s still offering anyone free itinerary options that you can purchase through an agent, online, through him or with a wholesaler. For Americans traveling to Micronesia there’s more than one way to cross the Pacific; via Tokyo or Hawaii and depending on your departing airport, you could reduce your travel time (and budget) by an entire flight.
Last week he was able to help a group traveling to Chuuk/Truk and Yap, who almost didn’t make the trip because they couldn’t find flights that worked with their travel window. After emailing Bill, they received multiple itinerary options which they chose and purchased on their own.
Every day Bill answers people’s email on creating travel itineraries to all of Micronesia. When you start thinking about your trip, ask Bill about travel so that you know all of your options before making a decicion.