This is one of the times of year to have a “Best of Yap” week… if Manta mating season wasn’t enough to get you  here, how about an island wide cultural party in full ceremonial color. If you’re coming to Yap in the spring, you might want to coordinate your travel plans to connect with this event.

Diving During Yap Day

It’s about as good as it gets for being up close with these Mantas, guests come back lit up about how many animals and how close they were, daily. Right now you see them in large numbers and dancing over the reef in mating interactions. The biggest number reported recently has been 20 Mantas on a single dive. You can watch trains of Mantas swoop in from the channel and flirt with each other over the cleaning station in the morning… and make Yap Day by 11AM. Jump right in and make yourself room with your camera, or even participate in the activities. I put together a web page about the Yap Day experience with pictures of the dances, traditional demonstrations and cultural presentations. From free local food to hand crafted Yapese baskets and clothing, there’s something to take home with you from this festival. This is a popular week in Yap and a busy one for the op, it’s recommended to get on the radar in advance for this part of the season.