Things to do in Yap
And where to stay, the best time to visit, what a day costs, and the traps to skip.
Best time to visit Yap
• a note or something on ✦ an occasion worth the trip
Drier window, Nov to Apr, with calmer seas and drier trails. Best all-round time to visit.
Manta mating season, Dec to Apr, the peak for dense manta encounters in Goofnuw Channel.
Wet season, May to Oct, heaviest rain around Jul, with typhoon risk roughly Jun to Nov. Diving and mantas continue.
What's on
- Yap Day 1 March
The island's biggest cultural festival, hosted by a different village each year, with dances, stone money carrying and craft demonstrations.
- MantaFest late August to early September
Dive photography festival at Manta Ray Bay Resort, with pro seminars, daily diving and a photo contest.
- Yap Canoe Festival November, dates vary by year
Celebration of Micronesian navigation hosted at the Yap Living History Museum. Confirm the current year's dates before planning around it.
Best things to do in Yap
Mangyol Stone Money Bank
The famous bank of large Rai discs along a stone path, seen on a guided village visit with permission and a local guide.
Tamilyog Stone Money Bank
A quieter stone money bank reached from the Tamilyog Trail, where each stone's history is a large part of its value.
Yap Living History Museum
Traditional houses, stone money and platforms in Colonia, and the gentlest context before visiting villages themselves.
Rumung Island
A boat-only island of traditional villages and stone money, visited only by advance arrangement with a guide and permission.
Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers
The top-end guided land tour for stone money banks, men's houses, stone paths and war sites, with permissions handled.
Where to stay in Yap
Colonia
every visitor, the only practical base
The small harbour town holds every hotel, restaurant, dive operator and the museum, and tours start from here.
Think twice about
- Village land and stone money banks without permission
Villages, banks and men's houses sit on private and traditional land. Enter only with a guide and permission, and stay on the paths.
Best restaurants in Yap
The Mnuw Restaurant & Nautical Bar
The island's top table aboard a moored schooner at Manta Ray Bay, with seafood and beer from its own brewery.
Oceania Hotel & Restaurant
The mid-range workhorse in Colonia, with a broad international menu and vegetarian and vegan options handled willingly.
Ganir Restaurant
The cheap local-style pick in Colonia, with Filipino and island dishes and fresh seafood at local prices.
Outdoor things to do in Yap
Goofnuw Channel
Yap's signature manta dive, with cleaning stations in the Valley of the Rays and mantas present year round.
Stammtisch
A shallow manta cleaning station at 5 to 7 metres, the main alternative site when Goofnuw Channel is quiet.
Beyond the Reef
A small Colonia operator for guided mangrove kayaking into quiet channels with birdlife, bats and men's house stops.
Tamilyog Trail
The old stone path across Yap Proper linking villages and stone money banks, best walked early with a guide.
Best hotels in Yap
Manta Ray Bay Resort
The island's main dive resort in Colonia, with Yap Divers, a spa and the Mnuw schooner restaurant in one place.
O'Keefe's Waterfront Inn
A small waterfront inn in Colonia with verandas over the bay, personal service and a quieter feel than the dive resort.
The Pathways Hotel
Traditional-style cottages in Colonia with bamboo walls, thatched roofs and private verandas in Yapese architecture.
ESA Bay View Hotel
The budget pick in Colonia, a family-run hotel on the bay with airport pickup and an on-site restaurant and bakery.
Is Yap expensive? What a day costs
| Budget | $90 a person |
|---|---|
| Classic | $180 a person |
| Splurge | $320 a person |
A day of food, drink, sights and getting around, before the room
What to book ahead
- Mangyol Stone Money Bank: a few days ahead
- Tamilyog Stone Money Bank: a few days ahead
- Rumung Island: weeks ahead
- Manta Ray Bay Resort & Yap Divers: weeks ahead
- Goofnuw Channel: weeks ahead
- Stammtisch: weeks ahead
- Beyond the Reef: a few days ahead
- Tamilyog Trail: a few days ahead
- Book flights and rooms months ahead for Yap Day on 1 March and for MantaFest in late Aug to early Sep.
- Arrange Rumung and village visits in advance through a hotel, an operator or the visitors bureau. There is no drop-in visiting.
Is Yap safe?
- Yap is calm and low-crime.
- Medical facilities in Colonia are limited and a major hospital is far away. Dive and medical evacuation insurance are essential.
- Dress modestly with thighs covered in town and villages, keep Sundays quiet, and ask before photographing people or stones.
Yap travel tips: tourist traps to skip
- Treating stone money banks and villages as open attractions. They are living, owned places, not fenced sights.
- Planning tight connections through Guam. Limited flight frequency means a missed connection can cost days.
Getting around Yap: public transport and more
- United is the only airline, with only a few flights a week from Guam. Build the trip around flight days and recheck the timetable.
- Colonia is walkable. Beyond it, use a rental car, a taxi or a hotel or operator tour.
Who Yap suits
| Solo travellers | Good |
|---|---|
| Groups of friends | Good |
| Couples | Great |
| Bachelor parties | Not ideal |
| Families | OK |
| Bachelorette parties | Not ideal |
Make Yap your trip
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