What I wish I had known about Chuuk (FSM) before going...

Tell people you are going to Chuuk and you are likely to hear all kinds of horror stories about the place. Kosraens, Pohnpeians, and foreign expats in the FSM alike had dished out all kinds of warnings to me. “Watch out for drunks! Watch out for drug addicts! Watch out for troublemakers! You will be assaulted! You will be shot at with slingshots!” etc etc. Chuuk really does have an awful reputation.

I stayed at the Truk Stop Hotel for 4 nights. The room was 110$ per nights, but apparently prices have recently been raised to 120$ per night for new bookings. My room was VERY large and quite comfortable, except for the tiled floor and the smelly bathroom. Definitely NOT good value for money, but I guess it’s hard for a hotel owner to run a business significantly cheaper than this in a place as remote and with such dire infrastructure as Chuuk.

The restaurant serves good food and there is (slow) WIFI as well which is free for guests of the hotel. A small fee is charged if patrons of the restaurant want to use it. The on-site dive shop is run by a British couple who act very professionally. Two tank dives are priced at 95$, full rental gear is priced at 25$ per day. Lights, Nitrox, etc are extra. If you do any diving while in Chuuk you also need to purchase a diving permit for 30$. It’s good for a month (or year? I forgot)

Acting against all the advice I had received I did dare to leave the hotel’s premises and walked around Weno a bit. People seemed friendly enough and I received lots of waves and warm smiles. Weno is in a sorry condition. Even the town’s main road is a muddy and potholed nightmare, forcing any vehicles to travel at snail’s pace. They are working on it these days so that's hopefully improving.There are a few shops, but nothing to see. I intended to do a more extended tour around the island on my last day on Chuuk but heavy rainfall throughout the entire day unfortunately prevented that.

As for the scuba diving, it was pretty interesting obviously. I dived a total of 4 different wrecks in two days, and it was a very worthwhile experience. Would I want to spend two weeks there just for diving? Definitely not, but that’s just me. There simply isn’t anything but scuba diving here, except if you manage to organize a homestay on one of the outer islands perhaps. As a location for wreck diving Chuuk may well be THE place to go in the world, yet personally I much prefer other places that offer similar for much lower prices, and in a much friendlier environment with way more alternative things to do if the wreck diving gets old. (Coron in the Philippines comes to mind…)

Well, been there, done that, won't go back...

Nice report, easy to read pargraphs. (both reports)