An island with a name like a woofing dog!

A mere 40 minute flight east of Palau, Yap is a small island state that boasts a huge abundance of giant Pacific mantas. As they travel through the two main channels between Yap's lagoon and the open sea beyond the encompassing barrier reef, they congregate at cleaning stations where wrasse wait patiently to perform their daily clean. Here you can interact with these magnificent creatures better than anywhere in the world. Yet Yap offers more than just mantas; drift dives along the edge of the outer reef walls, encrusted with an assortment of soft and hard corals, sea fans and sponges, are a superb way of viewing schooling barracuda and jacks, grey reef sharks and a host of exotic and weird macro critters.

The charming and family run Manta Ray Bay Hotel is an ideal location from which to enjoy this lovely country, and excursions to local villages to see meeting houses and the famous Yapese "stone money" make this a wonderful destination for even the most seasoned traveller!

We would recommend Yap as a stand-alone holiday or as a short add-on from Palau.