Info:

Climate: Average is 81 degrees year around
Dry Season: January – May
Wet Season: July – September
Water Temperature average: 80 degrees year around
Visibility:: Up to 150 ft
Currency: US dollars
Electricity: 110/120 volts
Language: English is spoken through the islands

Yap is famous for their Giant Manta Rays & Stone Money.  But there is so much more to Yap than just the Manta Rays.  Over the last 10 years Yap has expanded their dive sites.  Before when you would go to Yap it was just diving with the Manta Rays but the Yapese wanted the divers to come back so they started discovering new dive sites.  The sites that they have discovered are spectacular. The warm waters of Yap will dazzle you with over 30 dive sites and 200 species of hard and soft coral.  You can explore Yap Caverns and the beautiful outer walls where you will encounter sharks, manta rays, turtles, lion fish and much, much more.  Yap Caverns offer many swim throughs and spectacular pinnacles.  Also if you are a diver that loves to photograph nudibranch this place is for you, you can spend hours photographing nudibranch in the shallow waters of Yap.  I remember the first time I dove Yap, being a new diver at that time I was in awe.  We were sitting on the bottom just hanging out waiting for the event to start and then over the reef came my first Manta Ray, it was a magical moment as if time had stopped, the Manta was only a foot above my head, it was as if the Manta Ray liked the bubbles from my regulator.  I fell in love with Yap that day. 

The Yapese have held on to their culture.  As you tour around Yap you will see the traditional Men houses that are still used today.  You will also see some villages lined with stone money.  They still use the stone money amongst themselves.  Some of the stone money is as tall as you and me.  But that doesn’t make it more valuable.  The value comes from how difficult the piece was to come by.  The Yapese are shy but very warm and friendly people.  We are having more and more travelers wanting to return to Yap because of the people and the magnificence diving.  Yap should be on every divers must visit list.