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Best of Yap Dive Sites 4 of 6

Slow 'n Easy 2

Courtesy of Bill Acker at Manta Ray Bay Resort

Best of Yap Dive Sites 3 of 6

Slow 'n Easy

Courtesy of Bill Acker at Manta Ray Bay Resort

Best of Yap Dive Sites 2 of 6

Big Bend 2

Courtesy of Bill Acker at Manta Ray Bay Resort

The Best of Yap Dive Sites

Big Bend

Courtesy of Bill Acker at Manta Ray Bay Resort

We book divers to Tawali Dive resort on Milne Bay, PNG. They always ask what are some of the dive sites like and what can I expect to see. Here are some of the most popular sites near the resort. Thanks to Tawali Dive Resort for this information and reef photo.

TANIA'S REEF

A large coral mount coming from 140 ft to just 8 ft from the surface. Divers are able to dive around the full circumference of the reef with a single tank. The South side of the reef is littered with soft corals of all descriptions. Large schools of fish feed off this face. The reef also plays host to giant clams and turtles.

COBB'S CLIFF

Steep drop off on one side down to 150+ feet rising to just 20 feet below the surface and dropping back in the center to a sandy lagoon to 60'. This site is frequently visited by large pelagics such as Manta Rays and Hammerhead Sharks. The reef also hosts a variety of macro subjects such as leaf scorpion fish, Rhinopious, Blue Ribbon Eels, Elegant Fire Gobys, and so much more.

WAHOO POINT

A small point located on the North side of the mainland with a shelf from 15 feet to 50 feet in depth and dropping with a sheer wall down to 200+ feet. This site is frequently visited by Hammerheads, Manta Rays, occasionally Whale Sharks, Minki Whales and on two occasions, Orcas. The site also hosts a variety of anenomies, a school of Barracuda and very large Elephant ear sponges. A great place for wide angle photography.

LAUADI

This dive site you could spend a number of days doing, this location actually has two separate dives, straight off the boat, no deeper than 25 feet of water you have an incredible collection of cleaning stations, divers are able to get their teeth cleaned if they wish. The site has a variety of octopuses and on occasions, the Mimic has appeared.

CHERIE'S REEF

This is a beautiful drift dive along a slope that's covered with large Gorgonians and littered with large schools of fish. Particular Gorgonians host the infamous Pigmy Sea Horse.

OBSERVATION POINT

A true rubble dive. Sand slopes going down 100 feet host snake eels, Star Gazers, Pipe fish, Flamboyant cuttle fish, Mimic Octopus, Spanish Dancers, Cuttle fish, Fire urchins with Coleman shrimp and the Bugs Bunny Scorpion fish.

SPONGE HEAVEN

A sheer wall starting at 2 feet below the surface dropping to 200+ feet. Honey combed with small caves. Huge variety of sponges and home to a variety of Nudibranchs, including the large Spanish Dancer. Beautiful night dive.

JASON'S REEF

A small coral mound located in 150 feet of water. This mound has large schools of Banner fish and Fusiliers as well as many pelagics. Also on this mound is the sought after Rhinopious or Weedy Scorpion fish.

LITTLE CHINA

A coral mound coming out of 150 feet of water. Typical of over 30 dive sites in close proximity. Large schools of fish over the front face, soft coral gardens where both macro and wide angle photographers can be more than satisfied.

MICHELLE'S REEF

Located on the North Coast, this dive site provides both macro and wide angle. A shallow wall dropping off to 25 feet. Beautiful swim-through with gorgonians growing off the wall and sea bed. Able to shoot up into the jungle canopy from 20 feet of water. Also ideal for macro, a large variety of nudibranchs, Pegasus fish and on occasions Mimic octopus.

CRINOID CITY

Coral mound coming up from 120 feet of water. As it's name suggests, it plays host to a variety of crinoids. The front slope of this reef is covered with a variety of black coral trees. Off the slope, huge schools of fusiliers, anthias and jacks circle. Excellent for wide angle photos.

PELAGIC POINT

This dive site has relatively strong current and because of this there are large quantities of fish patrolling a steep wall dropping off to 130 feet. Sharks are often sighted on this site. The top of the reef which is approximately 215 feet, has a large number of bommies hosting a magnificent variety of sea life, ie: crabs, and rays, not to mention all the fish.

North Male Atoll

The North Male Atoll is one of the most developed atolls in terms of hotel and resort development. There are at least 20 resort islands operating in the North Male Atoll. It is also home to some excellent diving spots.

Banana Reef

Banana Reef was the first dive site to be discovered in the Maldives continues to be one of the most popular. The dive, which ranges in depth from 5 to 30 meters, has several interesting characteristics including a pinnacle and some overhangs. Coral formations here are prolific and colorful, attracting an extensive variety of fish, including squirrelfish, bannerfish, and oriental sweetlips. Currents can be strong at times around the reef, with occasional turbulence around the overhangs. The use of a safety sausage is recommended.

Kuda Haa

Kuda Haa is a dramatic pinnacle, or thila, dive, which is widely considered one of the highlights of diving in the Maldives. Diving at Kuda Haa is at its best when the currents are not strong, when it is easy to navigate between the two parts of the pinnacle. Marine life to be expected at Kuda Haa is diverse and plentiful, including many macro species, including nudibranchs, flatworms, leaf fish, and frog fish.

South Male Atoll 

The Male Atoll is divided into two sections, the North and South. They are both located on the eastern side of the Maldives. The South Male Atoll is home to a number of tourist resorts and some of the finest scuba diving in the Maldives.

Cocoa Corner (Cocoa Thila)

Cocoa Corner is a dive site that can be explored in several different ways and with the right current and conditions, it’s is the best shark show around Male Atoll. Many dive guides consider crossing from Cocoa Corner to Kandooma Thila. With the right current, divers begin the dive from Cocoa Corner and while maintaining a depth of 25 to 29 metres, they swim across the current while parallel to the edge at 40 metres. This gives a natural reference that divers are maintaining the correct position while crossing to the Thila and divers are not taken too far inside the channel. The Thila lies in the middle of the channel about 15 metres from the channel edge. Here, divers will see schools of grey reef sharks from big mother sharks to newborn babies patrolling the edge of the channel together. Eagle rays and schooling jack fish are also common at the beginning of the Thila. By the time divers reach the Thila, their bottom time should be running out and the best thing to do is to swim to the top of the Thila and continue diving in shallower waters. A safety sausage is a must at Cocoa Corner and divers should be prepared to make an open water safety stop.

Guraidhoo Kandu South

Guraidhoo Kandu South is sometimes also known as Guraidhoo Corner. Currents at Guraidhoo Kandu are strong, making this a dive site appropriate for advanced, experienced divers. Gray reef sharks are common visitors at Guriadhoo Kandu when the currents are incoming, along with several pelagic species and eagle rays. Divers should be very cautious at this dive site, as the currents can pull you away from the reef and there is often underwater turbulence.

Ari Atoll

Located in the western part of the Maldives Islands, the Ari Atoll is one of the largest atolls in the Maldives, and as such is home to a wide selection of dive sites.

Broken Rock

Named for a large broken rock at the center of this dive site, Broken Rock is home to a beautiful array of soft and hard coral formations that attract a wide variety of reef. There is a channel that divers can swim through, giving the dive an interesting dimension. Broken Rock varies in depth from 40 to 100 feet. Sometimes, there can be very strong currents at Broken Rock. Among the marine life often seen at Broken Rock, common sightings include the puffer fish, trigger fish, moray eels, and Napoleon wrasse.

Gangehi Kandu

Recommended only for advanced scuba divers, the Gangehi Kandu dive site is located in the northern part of the Ari Atoll. Currents here can also be challenging, and the site should only be dived when the currents are flowing into the site. Gangehi Kandu is known as one of the best dive sites in the Maldives for spotting sharks, including gray reef sharks, white tip reef sharks and the occasional leopard shark. Coral formations at this dive site are particularly colorful, and divers here can expect to see moray eels, nudibranch, mantis shripm, and trigger fish. Large pelagic species are also frequent visitors to the site.

Hukrueli Faru (Rangali Madivaru)

Commonly known as Rangali Madivaru or just Madivaru, Hukrueli Faru is home to a very colorful coral reef. The site is named for the abundance of manta rays seen here (Madi means manta ray in the Maldivian language. Depths at Hukrueli Faru range from 8 to 30 meters (25 feet to 100 feet), making the dive particularly interesting and varied. Manta rays are attracted to Hukrueli Faru because of the strong currents that form a whirlpool effect in the deeper parts of the site, where they can hover over the currents. The mantas are also attracted to the cleaning stations located around Hukrueli Faru.

Kudarah Thila

Declared a Marine Protected Area (MPA) by the Maldivian government, Kudarah Thila is a popular dive site which enjoys many incoming currents. Coral reef formations at Kudarah Thila are bright and colorful, including a variety of soft and hard corals. Thila means “pinnacle” in Dhivehi, and at Kudarah Thila there are actually four pinnacles, which can be all visited in one dive. A swim-through at the south-east corner of the dive site makes this a particularly popular dive, as does the rich variety of marine life, which includes trumpet fish, snapper, gobies, dartfish, oriental sweetlips, and grouper. Further away from the reef, divers are likely to see gray reef sharks, napoleon fish and sea turtles.

Maalhos Thila

Maalhos Thila is only suitable for experienced scuba divers because the best part of the dive site lies deeper than 25 metres. Maalhos Thila is an attractive dive spot, featuring several coral heads about 28 metres below the surface, all of which are covered with beautiful corals. Common visitors to the reef here include oriental sweetlips, white tip reef sharks and blue-lined snappers. Because of the strong currents at Maalhos Thila, a safety sausage must be deployed here to ensure the divers’ safety.

Maaya Thila

Maaya Thila is one of the most famous dive sites in the Maldives and is known as a great spot for both day and night dives. The marine life seen at Maaya Thila depends largely on the currents, which vary greatly; when the currents are not strong, Maaya Thila is an easy dive site, suitable for less experienced divers, but when currents are strong Maaya Thila is recommended for only advanced divers and they will need to use a safety sausage.

Maaya Thila is most famous for the white tip reef sharks that can nearly always be seen here, both during the day and night. On a night dive at Maaya Thila, divers will likely encounter moray eels, turtles, octopus and stonefish.

Mushi Mas Mingili Thila (Fish Head)

Fish Head, or Mushi Mas Mingili is one of the most popular dive sites in Maldives. Prior to the site being declared an official Marine Protected Area by the Maldivian Government it was a common shark feeding spot among scuba divers. Marine life typically seen at Mushi Mas Mingili Thila includes gray reef sharks, white tips, Napoleon wrasse, jacks and tuna.

Pannettone (Kalhahandi Kandu)

Kalhahandi Kandu has earned the nickname Pannettone from the many Italian divers who believe it resembles the traditional Italian fruitcake. It is an attractive dive site, recommended mainly for advanced scuba divers, except for when the currents are not strong. There are some spectacular coral formations here, featuring a variety of soft and hard coral species, which attract a wide selection of fish including angelfish, basslets, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, trigger fish and puffer fish. The corals here are in good condition and weather conditions at Pannettone mean the dive site can be explored year-round.

The Maldives, an island republic with more than 1,000 islands and atolls offers scuba dives amazing dive experiences. The multitude of dive sites owe their abundance of marine life to the nutrient-rich currents that feed the coral reefs.

The channels between the islands and atolls can create strong currents that besides feeding nutrients to the marine environment, offer challenging drift dives along the reef walls. Other dive sites offer underwater pinnacles and protected lagoons offer calm areas that thrive with marine life.

The Maldives is an underwater photographers paradise. Macro critters are in abundance and for those who love encounters with large pelagics, sharks, whale sharks, grouper, eagle rays and mantas, and Napoleon wrasse are found. Shark species include tigers, hammerheads, and threshers.

Visibility is usually 20-40 meters (65-130 feet) and water temperatures range between 23-26 degrees C (78-84 degrees F). Dive conditions are excellent all year but November thru May are out of the summer monsoon season. Many of the dive sites throughout the Maldives are marine protected areas. 

Dive site map courtesy of Saipan Explorer 

The Grotto

This dive site in is sure to amaze you. After a giant stride into the water from a rock in the cavern, divers can take three different exit holes out to open ocean. Once outside, there are beautiful walls, swim-throughs, and caves to explore. Turtles and Clown Triggerfish are some of the many types of sea life to be seen at this magnificent dive site. Several resident White Tip Sharks lounge on the bottom during the day.

This site is one of the four dive sites most frequently visited by professional dive shops on Saipan. Because of its difficulty, it is typically used only for divers who have already been certified, though on rare rough-weather occasions when all other sites are undivable, open water students and even introductory divers are brought here.

The Grotto is possibly the most popular and most challenging dive in Saipan. It is a natural tunnel leading from the top of a high cliff down below sea level, then exiting into open ocean through three wide openings at depths between 0~60ft./0~18m.

Wing Beach

Wing beach is the beach/boat dive closest to The Grotto. Access is via a very poor dirt road, then to a small jungle clearing near the far northeast side of Wing Beach. From there, beach divers walk across a white pebble beach and follow the northeast rocky wall of the beach down a flat rocky slope, then follow the underwater wall around further to the northeast. Exit is by the same route. This site is not commonly visited by professional dive shops.

There are some great geographical features here, such as large crevices and breathtaking drop-offs. Rock formations include a 30m/90ft. tower and equally deep canyon in the underwater wall.

Tanapag

This shallow introductory beach dive site should not be confused with the Saipan boat harbor of the same name. The two locations are separate, with extremely different beach and water conditions.

Tanapag is possibly the easiest, most convenient, safest introductory dive site on Saipan.Moderate 30ft./10m visibility. Although occasionally strong longshore currents inside the lagoon may reduce visibility to near-zero and require that divers cling to a submerged, anchored rope "walkway" along the dive's route, typically the conditions are near-ideal, with near-zero currents.

The Korean/Japanese Troop Ship

This World War Two troop ship was owned by the Japanese, but sank while carrying conscripted Korean soldiers. It is a rare type of shipwreck since it is in shallow water and contains almost no overhead environment, making it a very simple, safe dive.

Controversially, in the mid-1990s Korean divers placed a memorial plaque on the wreck and a large stone memorial within a few yards of the wreck. The plaque, it's said, mourned the death of the Korean soldiers but made no mention of the other war casualties. This caused a minor uproar in the multinational professional dive community of Saipan. The wreck is located in the large lagoon outside Garapan/Tanapag.

Ice Cream

Ice Cream is outside the lagoon, slightly south of Garapan on the west side of Saipan . It is a very large submerged coral mound of staghorn corals rising from a bottom at about 50 ft to a baseball-diamond-sized summit roughly 40ft(16m) below the surface.

Visibility is typically 20m/60ft, and currents are rarely problematic, though divers should take care to cling to the anchor rope while descending, ascending, and making safety stops.

Obyan Beach

Pronounced "ob-ZAHN". This beach is particularly well used by professional dive shops, both for easy "fun dives" and for open water training dives. Occasionally, dive boats will moor and dive here and also visit the nearby site called "Mushroom rock/Boyscout beach/Secret beach". Located near Naftan Point. Visibility generally varies from 30ft(10m)~60ft(18m). On a good day, there may be 150 + feet of visibility.

Lau Lau Beach

This is one of Saipan's most frequently visited sites, and is an ideal dive site for beginners or people interested in smaller, more colorful animals. Lau Lau hasone of the largest reefs on the island.

Secret Beach / Boyscout Beach / Mushroom Rock

Boyscout 1 & 2 - Both Boyscout beaches are rarely visited by divers or anybody else for that matter, because they are hard to get to. Divers who take the trouble are rewarded with beautiful coral and white sand.Some of the largest clams can be found here.

Bird Island - WW2 Plane Wreck

B-29/Emily - Okay, so the wreck is not a B-29 the name led you to believe, but that of a Japanese H8K or Type 2 Large Flying Boat. The Allied reporting name for this type of plane was Emily. The Emily was an Imperial Japanese Navy Flying boat used during World War II for maritime patrol duties.

Managaha Island - Eagle Ray City

Eagle Ray City is one of the most unique dives in Saipan. Rising out of the sand at a depth 30 feet is a rocky formation that on a good day will have up to 40 Eagle Rays hanging out. While divers hold on to the rock Eagle Rays glide overhead.

Dimple

Suitable for all skill levels, this is a boat dive site seamount on the Western side of Saipan.

Naftan

One of the best wall dives in the CNMI, with amazing visibility and fish life located on the southern tip of the island. The top of the wall starts at 45 feet and goes down to over 130 feet

Chinsen Maru

Chinsen Maru is a large Japanese freighter that lies at 30 foot of depth in the lagoon. The ship has been in the water for over 50 years, allowing for some significant coral growth as well as becoming a home to thousands of fish.

Banzai Cliff

There is only a brief time during the year when conditions are suitable for diving, but it is well worth the wait if you like the big blue dives with a beautiful wall

Spot Light

This cavern dive is named Spot Light because when the sun shines through a hole in the top of the cavern, it is like a spotlight shining on a stage. This dive site is very close to Banzai and as with Banzai only accessible during a brief time period. The cavern has some of the largest lionfish you will ever see.

Palau is that destination in Micronesia of which dreams are made. Here are a few of the amazing dive sites you can experience around this island paradise.

Blue Corner

Blue Corner is very possibly the highest-rated and best-known dive site on Earth. It is home to large permanent schools of barracuda, large numbers of fairly harmless grey, white-tip, and black-tip reef sharks, and sea turtles.

The dive site can best be described as a large flat triangle similar to the top of a large office building. Coral is not especially dense on this triangle; rather, its high density of animal life is supported by the plankton-rich water carried over it by strong currents. The omnipresent plankton reduces visibility to approximately 20m/60 feet which is typical in Palau, but roughly 1/3 lower than comparable but plankton-poor sites elsewhere in nearby Micronesia. The edges of the Blue Corner are dramatic vertical drops from this 50'-deep plateau to dramatic, un-SCUBAable depths. Typically, divers will drift along the outer edges, making brief forays onto the plateau. Photographers typically arm themselves with a "reef hook," so that their hands are left free while they take photographs in the strong current. Safety stops are typically done "on the fly"-- that is, while drifting out into blue, open water and maintaining neutral buoyancy without benefit of an anchor rope or ladder. This is popular as a "last dive of the vacation" and pinnacle of the tour for dive guides leading tourists, since its unparalleled level of sensory overload "spoils the customer" for less spectacular sites.

Chandelier Cave

Chandelier Cave is remarkably different from Palau's other dives, in that it is 1) a well-developed cave system, 2) almost coral-free, and 3) less than 5 minutes' boat ride from the nearest SCUBA companies' docks. Near the cave entrance on the shallow, flat, sheltered harbor floor, divers may be able to spot rare, shy Mandarin fish. The first and second caverns are as wide and tall as a small concert hall, but almost entirely under water and drably colored. Moving further back, however, there is a far smaller group of hotel room-sized chambers that are largely above water. The walls in these rearmost chambers are bright orange and white with numerous fragile crystal growths resembling sugar frosting on donuts. Divers are regularly permitted to enter these chambers, remove their SCUBA gear, and walk and crawl about as long as the divers are respectful of the cave's fragility.

Divers should not attempt to enter this area without an experienced guide and two light sources per diver.

Because Chandelier Cave is shallow, near many docks, and not reliant on sunlight to provide enjoyment to divers, this is an extremely popular spot for SCUBA divers who wish to make a third dive on a single day. Because it's in a very sheltered, shallow bay, it is also popular as a dive site when weather conditions make other sites un-divable.

Siaes Tunnel

Siaes Tunnel (pronounced like the English word "sighs") is a natural formation in a submerged coral wall drop-off. It is comparable in many respects to the Blue Hole in Guam (not to be confused with Palau's "Blue Hole"), although Siaes Tunnel differs in having far more abundant coral. The tunnel starts at a fairly shallow point and dives down steeply to a moderately deep exit point, and is wide enough to accommodate several divers swimming shoulder-to-shoulder. The tunnel was discovered by divers fairly recently (roughly a decade ago).

Turtle Cove

Turtle Cove is a vertical, virtually bottomless wall and one of the most popular standard dives in Palau. There is a boat mooring at the beginning, close to the wall. This, coupled with the exceedingly shallow, sandy flat area between the nearby rock island and the cliff make for a perfect lunch/rest/snorkelling area between dives. The dive itself is typically conducted as a multilevel dive, with the first portion at 60'/18m where the larger life (sharks, rays, large turtles) are, and gradually coming up shallower until the safety stop which is done while drifting along near the top edge of the underwater cliff. The shallow areas are filled with their own collection of smaller but equally dazzling life: smaller turtles (one yard / 1m long), abundant reef fish, gorgonian sea fans and so on. The current is seldom strong, so photographers can pause and do macro-lens photography without unusual effort.

Ulong Channel

Ulong Channel (pronounced like "ooh-long", much like Asian "oolong tea") is an ideal drift dive. Typically, dive boats wait until a strong outgoing tide, then deposit the divers in a 30~40'-deep bowl-like sandy area surrounded by a shallow, dense coral reef. The divers then ride the strong outgoing rip-tide along a 10~15-foot-wide sandy channel through the reef, travelling in excess of 10mph without swimming. Along this 40 minute joyride, one typically sees handfuls of smallish turtles, cabbage corals, and harmless young foot-long reef sharks. The depth is limited by the shallow, sand bottom of the riptide channel until one reaches the end of the ride, where one must quickly grab at a boat mooring rope along a cliff-like edge. This mooring rope is sometimes visited by large numbers of relatively harmless grey reef sharks, so what might otherwise have been a relatively boring safety stop at the end of a dive becomes an exciting opportunity with minimal effort. Except for the possibility of drifting into deep water at the end of the dive, this is an idyllic introduction to drift-diving and one of the best dives in Palau.

Text about the Palau dive sites courtesy of Wikipedia. Dive site map courtesy of Palau Visitor Authority. Other information courtesy of Palau Dive Adventures.