working my way around the islands of FSM????

i am busy reading all the micronesian islands forum in an attempt to put together my own visit to the micronesian islands - i can already see this is not so straight forward!....i can also see some 'experts' who have gone 'before me'....help please?x

i am planning a trip to the micronesian islands to start this february 2011 - ish- i have no time schedule to abide to once i get there(thats the nice bit)...i want to include Truk, Kosrae, Pohnpei, Palau , Yap and Bikini Atoll (have been told this is closed to visitors/divers right now??? does anyone know anything about this?)

anyone dived these islandss got a recommendation for whether i should go liveaboard or with a dive shop package?

anyone 'backpacked' around these islands? ive heard there might be ferries?...i ask about backpacking etc as this gives me greater flexibility to move around the islands at my own pace. (is it pretty much all flights - all with continental airlines???)

Will i have any visa restrictions if i stay oneach islands for about two weeks ?

im also trying to work out the most logical flight/ferry route to follow - i will be flying from the uk - so its either Manila - Guam then ?????...or Hawaii - then 'island hop' ( just investigating another posting on this - but any help would be much appreciated.

I have friends in Hawaii and Japan - which i also want to 'tag onto the trip' if i can????

any help would be great - thanks to all

honeybee616

any help would be most appreciated xx

To see all the islands in FSM, you will want to look into the Continental Island Hopper. The tickets to all of these islands will be extremely pricey--I suggest you look at Continental so see if you can afford this trip.

With regard to diving in Yap and Palau, see the following posts:
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931231
http://www.lonelyplanet.com/thorntree/thread.jspa?threadID=1931212

Search this forum for warnings regarding Chuuk. The island is somewhat dangerous; all of the divers I spoke with recommended liveaboards (and some people on the forum mentioned a few safe resorts).

I am not aware of any kind of regular ferry service between any of the FSM islands or between the FSM and Palau (or the Marshall Islands).

Coming from UK we got a very cheap flight to Manila. From there you want to do Palau, then Yap. Through Guam to Chuuk, and yes generally liveaboards are recommended, then to Pohnpei, Kosrae and on to Hawaii. Several years ago they did open Bikini to diving- check around on the web to see what you can find. Don't know whether it stayed open or not but I am certain that they were. Coming back you can go Hawaii to Japan then back to UK. The only possible ferry is one from Yap to Chuuk, through the outer islands. I am desperate to take it, although it will not be a luxury trip. But you would get to stop for short bits on islands rarely visited. Look on the FSM gov website and see what you can find. But if you take you you have to PROMISE to come back here and tell us all about it. It will be a rough trip and you will need to bring your food and drink, the ship will be -uh-simple might be the best term for it. But cheap, and an adventure.

Sam's in Palau, we always went with Manta Ray in Yap, took a prvate trip in Chuuk, don't remember in Pohnpei or Kosrae. Others have been to each of them more recently.

Hi honeybee, I live in Majuro Marshall Is for 15yrs, have been to all places on your list many times.
First if you have Brit passport, get a visitors visa for FSM and Marshalls, you can do it online at both countries websites.
If your primarily doing a diving tour - the previous post saying go to Sam's divers in palau is correct. And the manta ray on Yap is very good choice. You can get cheaper but not better.
Are you into wreck diving or more the critters? Seriously everywhere here is full of critters & the best coral in the world and also some serious wrecks.
For getting here, I would look at going the Manila route rather than Hawaii. Pacific Flier airlines fly from Manila to palau with better pricing than Continental. You can also get to palau from Taiwan or Japan on scheduled charters. Continental also just started a Manila to Chuuk flight about once a month starting in March 2011. It would let you avoid Guam (a waste of time and money), in getting into the rest of micronesia.
Your idea of backpacking is moderately Ok, but a single Anglo woman on a FSM govt service vessel might be a bit hairy. The ships are fairly well maintained but very slow. The schedules are very loose you might hang around for better part of a week+ waiting for it to leave, do go to so interesting places - Ulithi, Satawal etc are good to visit but getting there is iffy. Pacific Missionary Aviation is in all the main airports - Yap, ChuuK, Pohnpei.
You must use Continental Island hopper for East to west travel within Micronesia. There is service once a week from Maujro Marshall Islands to Fiji with Pacific Air out of Nandi, You can connect on many flights from Brisbane or Sydney, not at all expensive. Philippine Airlines has very cheap Manila to Sydney ($700 US RT, last year) you might want to go to marshalls and start the island hopper going east.ending back in Manila.
Bikini is officially shut down as a dive resort due to sporatic air service. The diving almost anywhere in Marshalls is world class and a couple liveaboards have started operating out of Majuro this past year.www.indiestrader.com
Pohnpei is a good location with many small native type inexpensive stays, I go there often just to get away from Majuro. Great ruins of a ancient civilisation there. worth the trip, also has good mountains and jungle and waterfalls. Diving not great but good restaurants and night life
Kosae is very nice but kind of boring - to many missionaries. A interesting history , if your into Very slow but not a outerisland it's ok.
Chuuk is killer for diving, but lot's of bad boys & girls, so beware. Only land based dive operation is Truk Stop Hotel run by american/chuukese. Lot's of lIVEABOARDS, the Agressor fleet is prominent.
That's just overview of someone whose been there (still am) done that. Any specifics, just ask - pacficbldg@gmail.com or wofdser@ntamar.net
Good Travels

Beware of Pacific Flier--they are known to cancel flights on short notice and they randomly stopped operating last summer. If you can get a flight with them to work out, then it is definitely a bargain.

Pacificbldg: Can you verify that Pacific Flier is currently running flights? If so, we should update the FAQ on flying in the Pacific.

tilos- I think you are right. If you are there in Manila or whereever and there is a plane you are in luck. I certainly wouldn't book far in advance. They come and go, as is true of most lines except Continental in the islands.

I recommend spending the 12£ to by the new Micronesia and Palau (Other Places Travel Guide) - the first new guide in many, many years. Seems LP has given up on this region.

I'm looking forward to my Marshall-Kosrae-Guam-Marianas-Palau trip in february/march, but as others have mentioned, the single tickets in FSM are extremely costly - for us it was the cheapest to buy a RTW ticket with Staralliance where Continental is a part of this - it will also give you the possibility to visit your friends in Japan and Hawaii :-)

I just returned from Pohnpei and Kosrae and visited Palau and Yap two years ago, I will post more when I have time but strongly suggest that you DO NOT purchase the new guide mentioned above unless you already have all your accomodations booked, prices set and will be out on a pre-booked dive or surf boat all day. The new guide is only good for checking to see what restaurants are available and what tours might possibly be provided by those who give tours. It is was a great disappointment. Crucial information is omitted (tax rates on accomodations and meals, diving and activity permit fees in Palau.) The new guide does have info on "nightlife."

I highly recommend the 1995 Lonelyplanet. The 15 year old book was written in the old LP style - back when their books were good. (Interesting coincidence that the new guide features a photo of the very same resort gazebo as the old LP does on the cover.) The 1992 Moon is very good too. While some hotels mentioned in the old guides are no longer in business and some new ones have sprung up, of the remaining you will find useful descriptions in the LP and Moon. The old books will give you detailed information about hikes and sightseeing on your own. You will want the information from these books with you on your trip. (You will have to contact the Palau tourist office about their permit fees.) There's a lot more that I could say about the differences but wanted to drop a quick warning.

SC has just saved me from wasting a few bucks on that new guide.
I have the 2000 Lp (also great), the 1992 Moon (though the latest is from 2003), and the excellent Periplus diving guide, and those should then be enough to lug around. Both the old LP and Moon cover ALL Micronesian countries and territories, unlike the new guide that covers only 2.

As for airfares, it now seems to me that the cheapest way to visit several islands is to buy a RT ticket between Manila and the US, and adding Micronesian islands as paid stopovers for ca $100 each.
As of last quote (in Nadi's Continental office), a MNL-Hawaii RT with 2 stopovers each way cost ca $1300, which is by far the cheapest way I found to tour several islands in Micronesia.