accomodation in Yap an Kosrae

Hi,

I posted a message a few months ago about travelling in Micronesia. After good advice from all sorts of experts I changed my ticket and decided to skip Majuro and shorten my stay in Guam and spend time in Yap and Kosrae.

I looked at other messages posted but could not really find an answer. The time I spend in Micronesia I will be travelling alone. Is it easy to meet like minded travellers on Yap and Kosrae? And could anybody recommend a place to stay were it is possible to meet other travellers?

thanks,

Wouter

Like minded travellers. Hm....here that ranges from backpackers to high end rollers. Maybe you could define like minded a bit more.

That being said, I would recommend the Manta Ray in Yap, although I understand that there is a new place that might also work. And in Kosrae there is the Village? I may have that confused with Pohnpei. I will hunt around for the name of it. But these are not backpacker places, so if you are looking for that kind of like minded, there are other places that would work.

Oh- and I don't think you will regret the changes at all. I think you made the right decisions.

It is the Kosrae Village, but it is no longer cheap. The Nautilus is also pleasant- and they have great limeade. Not as picturesque as the Village. But not as expensive, either.

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>not backpacker places, so if you are looking for that kind of like minded, there are other places that would work. <hr></blockquote>What would they be?
LP has nothing that could be called a backpacker place pricewise, and I basically wouldn't expect to meet backpackers in the FSM.
I thought much of Micronesia was a preserve of wealthy holidaymakers or divers.

Ok- maybe not backpacker as such, but certainly less expensive places. In Yap there is ESA, a very nice place, but certainly not the Manta Ray. (In the interest of full disclosure- my kid is related to the owners. Nice people we met last time we were in Yap.) In Kosrae there are places in town- I really know nothing about them, but they are there. I think I went through "town" about once in my many trips to Kosrae.

There are a fair number of people who wander through the islands. There are peace corp workers on most of them, people who come to teach, or work in various other settings, people who crew on the boats drifting here and there. Folks from Asia who find reasonably inexpensive tickets down. Folks from other islands drifting around. Not everyone there is a wealthy diver.

With the like minded I mean that it would not be my first choice to spend all my time surrounded by Japanese honeymooners...

Sorry, that is not nice to say. I travelled alone to Samoa and the Cooks and there you had a few places were all the backpackers and independent travellers stayed and a few places were all the honeymooners and people who came with an organised group stayed. While typing this I realise it is almost impossible to compare FSM with Samoa or the Cooks, because it is much touristier.

When travelling alone I like to stay at a place which has a bar or restaurant were it is easy to have a chat and a beer with people.

So that is the kind of place I am looking for.

I had a look at the websites of the places you recommend but the indeed look nice, thanks for that!

Wouter

Uh- which is much touristier? The FSM? I'm not quite sure what your image is of Micronesia. Bali is touristy. Palau has a lot of tourists. Places like Kosrae have people coming through, but you don't have the kind of tourism that I imagine in Fiji, for example. You are likely to meet ex-pats working in Kosrae, or in the FSM, as often as tourists.

Anyway, I completely understand about not wanting to be surrounded by honeymooners and groups- but independant travelers come in all sizes and shapes, and more importantly, pocketbooks. That being said, if the price is not a problem, I would probably recommend the Kosrae Village as being a very nice place in a nice setting. I'm quite fond of the Natilius, but I was always there working. It is somewhat short on atmosphere. There are no organized groups that I know of that go to Kosrae- far too off the beaten track. Or Yap really, now that I think about it. These places are really too small for organized groups. And outside of diving, little of the touristy activities you see in many places.

I mend that the Cooks are much more touristy then FSM.

I already realised that the FSM are not touristy at all. When I tried to book my ticket here in Holland the people at the travel agency told me they never booked a ticket to FSM and it is almost impossible to find any information about it in Dutch.

I was in doubt between the Kosrae village and the nautilus. By what I read about it and what you told me I think I will go for the Kosae village.

Ah- I was afraid you were imagining somehow that the FSM would be touristy. Do have a lunch or dinner at the Nautilus- and have their limeaid, which is one of the things I most miss about Kosrae. I imagine it is hard to find info in Dutch. But you never know who you will meet in your travels throughout Micronesia- my daughter's first birthday party in Palau had an Israeli girl, two Dutch girls, a Palauan, and she is Tibetan. Imagine them sitting on a boat, all singing the I Love You theme song from Barney. Quite a picture.

Also- be careful of how you plan your days- almost everything is shut down on Sundays- until recently at least it was even hard to find a restaurant open. It is a VERY religious place and they frown on doing very much of anything except church. On the plus side- the Kosraen singers are quite interesting and well known- you should consider a church service.

Thanks 5waldos for al the advice on FSM.

I will be in Kosrae from Monday until Saturday, so will miss the Sunday.

On Kosrae I will definitely drink a beer on your health.

I would like that. And if you are over at the Nautilus, say hello to the owner for me- I was the doctor with the 3 kids- 2 tibetans and a palauan from years ago. We still think of him, and all of our friends in Kosrae, often and fondly.

I've noted a couple of homestays listed on the Yap Tourist Bureau website. Has anyone tried these and suggest any one in particular. Also what do they cost? Also I have seen some mention of camping although cannot find that now, I think I saw tents were provided? Does that sound familiar to anyone?

I only know one person who camped on Yap, at the Bechiyal Cultural Centre.
He needed his own tent, and to bargain 10 USD down to the 5 quoted by the books.

When I visited Yap in 2006 I stayed in a private house in Colonia. It was arranged by Danka Ledgerwood, a Slovak woman living on the island. She also arranged a bike for me so I could explore the island on my own which was quite enjoyable for me.
You can contact her at dankainmicronesia@yahoo.com

One other thing: I almost ran out of money on Yap because the ATM's on the island were not accepting foreign credit cards in November 2006 and the banks didn't accept them either. Bring enough US dollars!

I hope you enjoy your trip to Yap.

I just returned from Yap. I thought I had my arrangements made through Danka (who now lives in Palau). This is her Web site: http://www.dankainmicronesia.com I was supposed to camp at DJ Beach for $10 (with my own tent) but he failed to meet me at the airport at 3:30 am. (He tracked me down a few days later and when pressed told me he had fallen ill but I don't know.)

Did camp at Bechiyal. I had my own tent. I was quoted $5 there. The men's house is re-built, it's beautiful and was being used by men to hang out and sleep in. Will post more information and pictures once I get settled.

Re: OP's original question, the only other tourists that I saw in Yap were American divers. (I guessing the reason that we all were Americans is that we have the most opportunity to earn Continental frequent flyer miles and thus be able to fly there on mileage instead of paying the outrageous airfare.)

I don't believe that there are any real ATM's on the island (even if you have American ATM/credit cards). There is no currency exchange on the island.

Continental is very difficult to deal with!

They quoted me a fare of 750 USD or so for Manila-Palau-Yap RT last month, and I decided to go for it finally!
Yet a few days later, when I was ready to go and buy the ticket (means a special trip to their nearest office in Bali to me!), they said they could no longer find that fare in their system, only Business Class fares of 1250 USD!
That put me off for now.
I reckon this is what keeps Micronesia so lightly touristed...

Well, at least the islands are in no danger of getting"spoilt" by the time I manage to get hold of a ticket to reach them eventually! ;-)