Which island to visit?

I am planning a trip to Micronesia for either November or January next year. I have several United miles that I'm going to use on the island hopper flight and I figure I have enough to visit two island, provided one of them is within 800 miles of guam (i.e. Yap or Chuuk). I've pretty much decided to include Yap on my itinerary as it holds some personal significance to me (my parents took me there when I was 1 years old) but I would like some recommendations as to which other island to visit. It should ideally be one of the island-hopper stops, so Majuro, Kosrae, Pohnpei or Chuuk.

I'm not a diver (although I am tempted to try and learn in the next 10-12 months). My main interest in visiting the islands is to experience somewhere remote and beautiful. I love hiking and camping in the wild and seeing amazing scenery.

In addition I'd love to spend at least one night camping on an uninhabited island. I have no idea if this is possible, but if anyone knows of a way to do this from one of the islands mentioned above that would be amazing.

Thank you in advance for your help. Any and all advice is appreciated.

Very good explanation of what you want.
Pohnpei and Kosrae will be the islands that you want to visit, not Chuuk or the Marshall Islands that are highly focused on diving and snorkeling.
Both Kosrae and Pohnpei have many inland activities.
Kosrae is smaller, and is very beautiful and unique. Pohnpei is bigger with many many waterfalls, trails, and Nan Madol UNESCO World Heritage Site. Kosrae has also related site, but it's not as impressive as Nan Madol.
For Kosrae, I highly recommend you to stay at the Treelodge - it's fantastic, they are very sustainable, offer many activities to their guests for free, and the restaurant is very good. For a guide to take you to hidden places inside the island (an amazing experience) contact Salik Wakuk https://www.facebook.com/KosraeJungleTours/
For Pohnpei, there are a number of guides, I highly recommend Daniel Kenji Lopez but you can see a list of guides here: http://www.pohnpei-adventure.com/guides/

Hi roi_ki,
Thank you very much for your reply. I had actually been leaning towards Majuro so it's good to know that it is more geared towards divers. Do you know if this is true for all the Marshall Islands or just the Majuro Atoll? In particular I was thinking of taking a boat out to Arno Atoll, which seems far less inhabited.

Also, do you know if there is any way to spend a night camping on an uninhabited island near Pohnpei, Yap or Kosrae? My understanding is that Kosrae is pretty isolated and there are no nearby islands. For Yap it looks like the nearest island is Ulithi atoll, although I have no idea how to get there. So Pohnpei and the nearby And Atoll looks like my best bet. Has anyone else had experience camping there?

If I would have stayed longer on Kosrae, I would have gone to visit a nearby small island with Salik.
Pohnpei definitely has a number of outer islands, where some are not far away.

Not many people answer here about Micronesia...

Take it into account that prices are not cheap, and there aren't many tourists. You might not be able to find a boat that goes to an island, but you can always arrange one to take you there for a price.

Which island was that? I wasn't aware there were any near Kosrae?

Thanks very much for your information

Don't know who you are traveling with, but Chuuk is the least "safe" of the FSM islands and I wouldn't recommend it for a family trip. Even FSM Nationals are concerned about moving around the island alone. It's beautiful and I enjoyed it there for a few days, but I was traveling with dignitaries and got the red carpet treatment so to speak. For camping on a deserted outer island, Pohnpei is your island. However, it will involve a boat, and if the weather turns bad, your stay on the island could be extended. ;) And chances are good you will not have any communication on your deserted island, so make sure you let someone local know of your plans and your return plans (hotel maybe?). Kosrae is the sleepiest of the islands. You can't do ANYTHING on Sunday. No diving, technically no swimming, so if you are there on a Sunday, plan on bringing a book. ;) It's beautiful really nice beaches, a super fun canal system you can hire a boat driver to drive you through or kayak through and there's a great 3 mile hike to the Menke Ruins. That's about it. Tree Lodge has the best food on island, they are a sustainable resort and their garlic taro bread is incredible! All of the island have amazing dive sites, I highly recommend getting your certification before you come! I dive pretty much every weekend here in Pohnpei. Things are not "cheap" on any of the islands, expect to pay a surcharge for everything because it get's shipped here on a boat or a plane and it's expensive. In most places you can get a decent lunch for about $10 per person (think sashimi!) and about $15-20 for dinner, but some places it will be much higher. Spirits have a 50% tax (I think that's national, but not 100% sure) you are looking at $3-15 for an adult beverage depending where you are and what you are drinking. Also, make sure you have CASH, especially at the airport, each state has a departure tax, up to $40. And, although credit cards are accepted in many places (not at the airport), in Yap especially, the credit card machines are eternally "out of service", so even though the sign says they accept Visa/MC/Amex, etc. they don't. Also, make sure you get permission from the owner of any land you walk on. Walking to ruins, you have to get permission and generally pay the land owner. Want to play Gilligan for a night or two on a deserted island, get permission and plan to pay the land owner. All of the land is owned. And don't pick any fruit unless you have the land owner's permission, especially bananas. :) Let me know if you have any other questions and good luck with your trip! You will love it here!

Sadly Kenji is no longer on island, he and his family moved to France.

Oh no! What a loss to Pohnpei. They were such a lovely couple (well I'm sure they still are, but in France).

Thank you very much for your advice I decided to stretch the budget a bit and visit Kosrae, Pohnpei and Yap since they have all been so highly recommended. I have booked my flights now and will be travelling to the islands in September. Really looking forward to it!

I worked on Pohnpei for three months around 7 years ago, and can definitely reccommend it! It's very beautiful and tropical, and has outlying uninhabited islands for a night's camping.

To get to an island with minimum fuss you will want a guide to sort it out for you - it's not the sort of place that is set up for tourists, and it does (well, did) run on island time to a significant extent. A guide will be able to get things organised and keep you up to date with what's happening. The culture is significantly different and it can be sometimes difficult to understand, as a westerner, whether you actually have an agreement, what time a thing is going to happen, who to pay, and when :)

On Pohnpei you should definitely take a drive around the island to see it from all angles, and make sure to go to Nan Madol. (read about it here http://nan-madol.com/).

There are a few road tolls of sorts here - someone will approach you for money, at at least two points between Kolonia (capital of Pohnpei) and Nan Madol. These are legit, the land between the main road and Nan Madol has two ownership groups, but be aware that it's not sign posted, and depending on the day it could be a child, adult or elderly woman, and they may not speak English (or be willing to speak to you - shyness about language skills is a thing).

On the way to Nan Madol there are also Petroglyphs. Again, you may want a guide. When we went on a weekend, we were led up by local children who gave us hilarious stories about the petroglyphs (there was something on the adults were all attending). Fun but may have been more accurate from a guide :)

Last thing to know about Pohnpei - the coast is almost entirely mangroves. Don't expect beaches - there are almost none. There are gorgeous rivers and waterfalls though. Ask a local before swimming in the lagoon or any waterway - you need to check you are not downstream from any pigs, for your health. Also, it's best to keep covered when swimming, at least knee to navel for women and men - cultral thing.

Wherever you go, I hope it's great :)

I am planning to visit the islands of Pohnpei and Kosrae next year. I'm also not a diver. I want to visit ruins and do some trekking in the rainforests. I know these islands get a lot of rain and there are many rainy days. Which month of the year would be best to do these types I activities.

wow, this is AMAZING information, thanks so much. i'm planning a trip to micronesia because i won a united airlines ticket there and am lucky to have the options of where to fly, according to united:
guam
marshall islands
palau:
Chuuk (Truk)
Kosrae:

Pohnpei
Yap
mariana islands
jonston islands

i'm just starting research and plan to go for xmas and new year of 2018. again, thanks for your amazing info! any advice you might have on where to see in addition to what you wrote is helpful. i'm more of a cultural traveler and now want to take scuba lessons based on what you wrote and other research! i'm not into groups unless necessary. anyway, thanks again.

thanks for this info, i'm also planning a trip to anywhere in micronesia united airline flies, so thank you. very helpful!

hi, thanks for starting this thread. i'm also planning to visit micronesia in dec of this year & this helps a lot with research. best wishes for your trip - good luck & be safe with that island sleeping. sounds lovely, and...i'm sure you know are a smart. safe traveler. best of luck. feel free to PM me if you have tips or questions about micronesia and i can do the same. take care.

Hey, probably a bit late to reply, but just in case...
The weather, on Pohnpei at least, is the same, day in day out, all year. It's true tropical.

Hi,

Sounds like a great trip!

I didn't get to Yap, but it sounds truly unique. Be aware though, that to visit Yap (or parts of it) you used to need a special approval from the local government. It looks like this has changed, but check with https://www.visityap.com.

Only other advice I'd give is these two points.
1. Take cash, as while most services (like ATMs, banks, credit facilities etc) exist, be prepared for the power to be out, the bank staff not to be available, services to be closed. Chances are people won't tell you why, or when things will be up and running again. It's not people being rude, information sharing is very different there culturally. This is only an issue for things like paying for food, petrol, transport etc. Hotels will have a way for you to pay without cash.

1. If you are on your own, and you want to see a lot, and understand it, I'd consider getting a guide. Touristy things don't have tourist infrastructure. So you get to Nan Madol, and chances are there is no one there to tell you about it, and certainly there are no plaques or pamphlets or anything. The king for the Nan Madol region was keen to explain back in 2011, but it was luck he was there when I was. Most people are not chatty, because of language issues, but also the culture around information sharing. For the same reason the museum on Pohnpei is worth a visit, because there people will explain things to you.

Thank you. I plan to make the trip to Pohnpei and Kosrae the end of October 2019 ( I already have a trip this October to Australia). I have heard from a source in Pohnpei that towards the end of October to December is festival time in Pohnpei. It is a good time to experience the culture (Sakau ceremonies, traditional feasts, traditional dances, etc.). Every end of the year each chiefdom celebrates their chiefs by setting up a feast to honor them.

I'm fortunate enough to live on Kwajalein Atoll, which is also on the Island Hopper but you can't get off the plane without papers because it's a military base. We have a lagoon that is nearly empty and I've been told it's the largest in the world but everyone says that about where they live. We have the best burgers anywhere, etc. ;)

I'm originally from Portland, Oregon and have never even been snorkeling before living here. The water is a constant 84 degrees (except in the summer when it got into the 90's, which is terrible for the coral) and the wildlife is amazing!!! I've seen mantas, turtles, eagle rays, loads of black and white tip sharks, millions of fish, blue sea stars, corals, soft and hard (mostly hard), nudibranches, octopus, and of course, many green sea turtles!

I just finished my open water certification through PADI. I can't recommend it enough! Once you snorkel out here and get "used" to the water world, you'll want to stay down longer. When you snorkel, you can only stay down for a little bit. The underwater world is made up of so many smaller parts that you'll want to see but if you are only able to hold your breath for a short while, you'll miss out. If you can't afford scuba, at least come out and snorkel!

Bring an underwater camera with you, too. The Olympus Rough is a great camera for snorkeling and you can get an underwater housing for it as well without breaking the bank. If you have more money to blow, bring a Sealife 2000. It has higher pixels and is easier to bring on the plane than a full-blown underwater camera set up like a Nikon or Cannon.

Definitely bring your own high-quality silicone mask and high quality snorkel. There is nothing more frustrating than a mask that leaks, which they all kind of do anyhow but the cheap ones make it nearly impossible to enjoy yourself out there. A snorkel that lets in water is no fun, either. If you come from somewhere cold, you'll likely just want a rash guard and bring some workout tights for swimming to protect yourself from stinging creatures and the sun. If you are from somewhere warmer, you'll likely get cold in the water. Some companies make rash guards with neoprene middle sections that make it much more pleasant in the water. Your body, even though it's warm water, will still lose heat because the water is colder than your internal body temp. The warmer you are, the longer you can stay out. I was fine when I first arrived. Two months later, I was cold and now won't go out with out my neoprene shirt.

One more word of warning, don't touch the shells in the water! Some of them have a snail with a venomous tooth and I bet you don't know which one it is... Many of the really beautiful shells are protected species as well, so make sure you don't take them home.

Also, please be mindful of your sunscreen choices and chose coral safe sunscreen. There are loads of articles about this. I use SunBum mineral, which is coral safe. I only apply it to my face. They also make a sunscreen lip balm, you'll want that also because burnt lips swell like nobody's should and it lasts at least a week before they go down. Cheaper than collogene but it hurts to eat...

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