Recent trip to Chuuk, FSM

Hey all, I just left from a trip to Chuuk, and since there isn't a ton of info on the forum, I thought I'd share. I stayed on Weno, which is the main island in the island group that makes up Chuuk State.

First off, I went primarily for diving, which is what Chuuk is famous for. I dove through Truk Stop Hotel and Dive Center for 5 days. I did mostly 2-tank morning dives, as well as two separate afternoon dives. I was able to complete my Advanced Open Water and also took Enriched Air certification. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Before I got there I had been emailing with Cindy, who answered all of my questions thoroughly. The dive instructor I worked with was Bryan, who was really cool. The other dive guide was Jursen, a local guy who was also really cool. The wrecks themselves are amazing - most in great shape, and tons you can go into and swim around. The ones I went to averaged a depth of 25-30m.

I actually lucked out and stayed with a expat relative during my time on Chuuk, who lived north of Truk Stop. Truk Stop was a good 30-40 minute walk from there, which I actually did a lot because there aren't usually taxis available that far north, or that early in the morning. I was lucky to get a taxi a few mornings. They cost $1, pretty much regardless of where you're going on the main road. There were usually more around in town, and in the middle of the day. I'm told it's not good to walk around at night as a solo female (due to alcohol issues).

The road is still being paved, so walking is kind of an adventure. Good shoes helped spare my feet from the mud puddles. The people are super friendly, and there are lots of little huts on the side of the road where you can buy fresh fruits and veggies, and delicious doughnuts (they're less sweet than American doughnuts). The country feels very underdeveloped, but the people are genuine, happy, and not prone to try to rip you off. It's one of the most relaxed, honest places I've ever been to. It was hard to find things like sunblock, but most everything else was available and pretty cheap. There are only 2 ATMs on the island, and one was broken during my stay, so I'd recommend getting cash before you arrive. The ATM I used, and the Post Office, are both near the airport.

In terms of prices, they use USD, and most of the fruits and stuff I bought was about $2. Splurged on $3 flip flops. Meals in most places were a bit expensive. Truk Stop's restaurant ran about $9 for a sandwich and tea, $5 for a beer, and a few other places were probably $6-8 for a meal. A side of rice was $1.50 most places, and a can of coke or other soda was $.80-$1.50 either in markets or restaurants. I got a decent haircut for $5. Hotels, as mentioned, are very expensive, and there's only a few places to stay. Kurassa's rates were about $60 a night (but they're the 30-40 minute walk from Truk Stop), whereas Truk Stop was $120. Not sure about Blue Lagoon, another dive center, but it's all the way down at the bottom of the island, far away from everything.

If anyone has more questions, please feel free to comment and ask.

Thanks.
Not only is there very little info on the FSM on TT, the country (and the rest of Micronesia) is no longer covered in a printed LP guide either. So any info about these islands is invaluable.

Wow, I didn't realize there was no LP for Micronesia. That's unfortunate.

Just to add a few notes:

United Airlines (formerly Continental) is the only airline to service Chuuk and the rest of the Fed. States of Micronesia. There are flights from Guam that leave every other day and make several stops, the first being Chuuk. E.g. to go to Pohnpei, Yap and Kosrae, your plane will stop at Chuuk first. R/T ticket was about $750. I've heard there is a once-montly flight from the Philippines, but I can't find any evidence of it. The downside of going through Guam is that you have to go through immigration in Guam before you can switch planes. I used frequent flier miles to go from New Zealand to Guam, then bought the ticket to/from Chuuk with a short layover in Guam on either side, but otherwise it would be extremely expensive.