Yap Caverns
Conditions & tides
Scored by DiveConnect's site-physics model
Marine forecast via Copernicus Marine. Score is a rule-based guide from swell/wind vs. the site's exposure — always dive your own assessment.
Dived here today? How were conditions vs. what we showed?
About this site
Yap Caverns is a wall dive on the southern tip of the reef at Yap in Micronesia, with swim-through caves and tunnels, a cavern amphitheatre, and a wall on each exit. Water is very clear, and Anthias crowd the tops of the reef and the coral bommies that guard the caverns from the open water.
Below the wall, the reef slopes to a white sand bottom a couple of hundred feet down. A grey reef shark cleaning station sits at about 30 to 37 metres (100 to 120 feet), where cleaner wrasse work on sharks hanging almost vertical with their gills open. Large stonefish sit near the edge of the drop-off, and any big pelagic passing by swims right in front of you. Anemones here hold anemonefish that lay eggs seasonally.
The caverns have seen schools of more than 100 bumphead wrasse, over 500 rainbow runners, whale sharks, pilot whales, dolphins, mating octopus, marlin and sailfish. Leaf fish, coral hermit crabs and ornate ghost pipefish also live here. A curious whitetip can come right up to the camera, and grey reefs gather in schools with a scattering of whitetips.
Marine life here
Confirmed by our research team, reported by independent divers, or observed nearby via iNaturalist — each entry is labelled with its source.
Leaf scorpionfishLeaf scorpionfishReported here · unconfirmed
Ornate ghost pipefishOrnate ghost pipefishReported here · unconfirmed
Oceanic whitetip sharkOceanic whitetip sharkReported here · unconfirmed
WrasseWrasseReported here · unconfirmed
ClownfishClownfishReported here · unconfirmed
Shadowfin SoldierfishMyripristis adustaReported here · unconfirmed
Bluefin TrevallyCaranx melampygusReported here · unconfirmed
Two-spot Red SnapperLutjanus boharReported here · unconfirmed
Black-and-white SnapperMacolor nigerReported here · unconfirmed
Lined BristletoothCtenochaetus striatusReported here · unconfirmed
StonefishStonefishReported here · unconfirmed
Bumphead parrotfishBumphead parrotfishReported here · unconfirmed
WhaleWhaleReported here · unconfirmed
Whale SharkRhincodon typusReported here · unconfirmed
OctopusOctopusReported here · unconfirmed
MandarinfishSynchiropus splendidusObserved near here · iNaturalist
Blacktip Reef SharkCarcharhinus melanopterusObserved near here · iNaturalist
Blue DragonPteraeolidia semperiObserved near here · iNaturalist
Whitetip Reef SharkTriaenodon obesusObserved near here · iNaturalist
Durable tips from divers — access, hazards, marine life, facilities. For day-of conditions, use the report tool in the conditions card above.
No notes yet. Dived here? Be the first to leave a tip.
Share a write-up or a photo. Submissions are reviewed before they appear on the page.
Nearby dive sites
Shops that dive here
No shops have listed this site yet.