The Itinerary Wala
Micronesia in 9 days: Chuuk Lagoon, Nan Madol and Yap's stone money

Micronesia in 9 days: Chuuk Lagoon, Nan Madol and Yap's stone money

Four island states strung across 2,700 kilometres of Pacific, holding sixty Japanese ships sunk in a single raid in 1944, a stone city built on artificial islets six hundred years ago, and an island where money is a carved disc too big to move.

  • Pacific Islands
  • 9 days
  • ≈ AED 14,300 / person
  • The greatest wreck dive on earth, and a megalithic city built on the reef

Researched & checked by Nitesh Parasher Last verified

Before you go

The Federated States of Micronesia is four states — Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae — spread across 2,700 kilometres of the western Pacific, with about 100,000 people between them. They have little in common beyond the flag, and a trip here is really three or four separate trips linked by one air route.

That air route is the whole plan. United’s Island Hopper runs Honolulu–Majuro–Kwajalein–Kosrae–Pohnpei–Chuuk–Guam (and back), stopping at each, and stopovers are permitted. It is the only practical way to see more than one state, and it is a legendary flight in its own right — a 737 landing on reef runways five times in a day.

Chuuk Lagoon is the headline. In February 1944, Operation Hailstone caught the Japanese Combined Fleet’s forward base at anchor and sank around sixty ships and three hundred aircraft in two days. They are still there, in forty metres of warm clear water, with cargo holds full of trucks, gas masks, sake bottles and aircraft engines. It is the best wreck diving in the world and there is no serious argument about it.

Nan Madol, on Pohnpei, is the other. Ninety-odd artificial islets built on the reef out of columnar basalt “logs” stacked like Lincoln Logs, raised between roughly 1200 and 1500 as the ceremonial centre of the Saudeleur dynasty. It is UNESCO-listed and almost nobody goes.

And Yap keeps the strongest living tradition in Micronesia, including rai — stone money, limestone discs up to four metres across, quarried in Palau and carried here by canoe, which still change ownership without ever being moved.

Nine days. Figure USD 3,900 (≈ AED 14,323) per person excluding the international flight. Go December–April, the drier half.

Before you go: the 15-minute admin

The Island Hopper is the itinerary

  • This is a route, not a destination, and the flight schedule dictates everything.
  • United’s Island Hopper flies Honolulu to Guam (and reverse) a few times a week, stopping at Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk. Stopovers are allowed and are how you build a trip.
  • The direction matters. Flying westbound from Honolulu you gain stops in a sensible order; eastbound from Guam works too. Yap is on a different route — a separate Guam–Yap–Palau service.
  • There are few flights. Miss one and you wait days.
  • Build slack. A cancelled hop can cost you an island.
  • Book months ahead, and book the whole routing as one ticket so a delay is the airline’s problem.

Visas and money

  • Micronesia is in a Compact of Free Association with the United States, and US citizens may enter and work freely. Most other nationalities get visa-free entry for 30 days. Check your own case.
  • The currency is the US dollar.
  • Bring cash. ATMs exist in Pohnpei and Chuuk and are unreliable; Yap has very little. Card acceptance is minimal outside the dive resorts.

Diving Chuuk, specifically

  • Most of the famous wrecks are deep — 25 to 45 metres — and many of the best parts are inside the hulls. That is penetration diving.
  • Operators expect Advanced certification at minimum, and wreck and nitrox training for the interiors. Be honest with yourself.
  • These are war graves. Japanese remains are still aboard some ships. Nothing is taken and nothing is moved; the Japanese government and Chuuk state both take this seriously.
  • A liveaboard is how serious divers do it and is the better experience.

Culture, especially on Yap

  • Yap is conservative and traditional, and the customs are observed rather than performed.
  • Ask before entering a village, a path or a men’s house, and before photographing anyone. Many paths are private.
  • Thighs are covered for women in traditional areas; bare breasts are traditional and shorts are not. Follow your guide.
  • Do not touch or move stone money, obviously.
  • A small gift of betel nut is the customary way to ask permission.

Travelling with kids?

  • The flights are long and the schedule is unforgiving.
  • Chuuk’s diving is adults only in practice.
  • Pohnpei and Kosrae have easy snorkelling and waterfalls and work better.

Day by day

Day 1 — Pohnpei

  • Arrive on the Island Hopper. Pohnpei is mountainous, green and one of the wettest places on earth — the interior gets some seven metres of rain a year.
  • Afternoon — Kolonia, the main town, and the ruins of the Spanish wall from the brief Spanish administration.
  • Evening — A sakau bar. Sakau is Pohnpei’s kava — pounded on a stone, strained through hibiscus bark, drunk from a coconut shell. It is central to social and ceremonial life and it will numb your mouth.

Where to stay on Pohnpei (three nights)

  • Mid-range: the hotels around Kolonia and the Nett Point area.

Day 2 — Nan Madol

  • Morning — Nan Madol, on the south-east reef at Temwen.
  • Ninety-two artificial islets built on the reef flat from columnar basalt, naturally hexagonal, stacked in header-and- stretcher courses, some walls eight metres high. The main enclosure, Nandauwas, is the royal mortuary complex.
  • Nobody is certain how the stone was moved. The quarries are on the other side of the island and the largest columns weigh many tonnes.
  • Access is tidal and on private land. You need a guide and permission, and a fee is payable to the landowner — this is normal and not negotiable.
  • Afternoon — Kepirohi Falls nearby, and the Sokehs Rock climb above Kolonia if there is energy.

Day 3 — Pohnpei’s reef and ridges

  • Morning — Manta cleaning stations off Pohnpei, or diving the passes.
  • Afternoon — The Sokehs Ridge Japanese defences — guns and tunnels left from the war, with the view down over the harbour.
  • Or inland to Nanpil and the rainforest, where the endemic birds are.

Day 4 — To Chuuk

  • Morning — The Hopper to Chuuk, about an hour.
  • Afternoon — Weno, the main island, which is run-down and not the attraction. You are here for the lagoon.
  • Brief with your operator and check your gear.

Where to stay on Chuuk (three nights)

  • The options are few: the dive resorts on Weno, or a liveaboard in the lagoon.

Day 5 — The wrecks

  • The Fujikawa Maru is the classic first dive — a cargo ship with Zero fighter fuselages in hold two, a famous engine room, and enough coral on the masts to make it a reef dive as well.
  • The Shinkoku Maru, a tanker, is the prettiest — soft coral over everything, and an operating theatre still recognisable.
  • The Nippo Maru has a tank on the deck and artillery in the holds.
  • The San Francisco Maru, at 50 metres, has three tanks on deck and is a technical dive.
  • Two or three dives a day for two days is the standard.

Day 6 — The lagoon, and the story

  • More diving, or a surface day.
  • The context is worth having. Chuuk — then Truk — was Japan’s main forward naval base in the central Pacific. On 17 and 18 February 1944 American carrier aircraft caught the anchorage. The fleet had largely withdrawn, but the auxiliaries and transports had not, and they are what is on the bottom.
  • Japanese memorial services are held here. Treat the sites accordingly.

Day 7 — To Yap

  • Travel day via Guam to Yap, which is on a different service and usually needs an overnight connection.
  • Yap is low, forested and culturally the most intact of the states.

Where to stay on Yap (two nights)

  • Mid-range: the resorts near Colonia, which also run the diving.

Day 8 — Stone money, and mantas

  • Morning — A stone money bank — a village path lined with rai, limestone discs from a few centimetres to four metres across, quarried in Palau four hundred kilometres away and carried back by canoe. Value depends on the story of the journey — how hard it was, who died getting it — rather than on size. They are still owned and traded, and they do not move.
  • Also the men’s houses (pebay), the dance traditions, and the betel nut that everyone chews.
  • Afternoon — Manta rays in the Mi’l Channel — Yap was one of the first places in the world to build diving around habituated mantas, and the cleaning stations are reliable, particularly December to April.

Day 9 — Out

  • Fly out via Guam, which is the hub for everything here.
  • Leave real margin on every connection.

Costs and practicalities

Best time to visit

December–April is the drier window, though Micronesia is equatorial and genuinely wet in every month — Pohnpei is one of the rainiest places on earth.

  • December–April — the driest and the best for diving visibility at Chuuk and Palau-side crossings.
  • May–November — wetter, with the heaviest rain from July to October, and the typhoon season, which is a real risk in Yap and Chuuk.
  • Chuuk Lagoon’s wrecks are divable year-round with visibility generally best in the dry months.
  • Manta rays at Yap are most reliable December to April, when they gather at the cleaning stations in Mi’il Channel.

Pohnpei receives up to 10 metres of rain a year in its interior, which is why Nan Madol’s basalt is so thickly mossed — plan for rain whatever the month.

Travel tips

  • The Island Hopper is the only practical way in and it runs a few times a week. Missing a connection costs days, not hours.
  • Nan Madol requires permission and a local guide — the site is on Temwen Island and the chiefs control access. Arrange it through your accommodation, and pay the fee.
  • Chuuk Lagoon’s wrecks are war graves. Penetration diving requires proper qualification and a licensed operator; removing anything is illegal and offensive.
  • The US dollar is the currency. ATMs are limited and cards are accepted at few places — bring cash.
  • Yap has strict customary law. Ask before photographing, do not enter a men’s house, and in villages a mitmit or small gift is customary. Your guide will advise.
  • Cover shoulders and thighs — in Yap, women’s thighs are more sensitive than toplessness, which is the reverse of what visitors expect.
  • Bring everything, including medication. Supplies are limited and resupply is weekly at best.

What this trip actually costs

Two people, 8 nights, mid-range comfort, international flights excluded:

ItemCost
Hotels and dive resorts, 8 nightsUSD 2,200 (≈ AED 8,080)
Island Hopper and Yap sectors, twoUSD 2,600 (≈ AED 9,549)
Diving — Chuuk and Yap, two diversUSD 1,900 (≈ AED 6,978)
Nan Madol, guides, landowner feesUSD 300 (≈ AED 1,102)
Food and drink, 9 daysUSD 800 (≈ AED 2,938)
Total for twoUSD 7,800 (≈ AED 28,646)
  • Roughly USD 3,900 (≈ AED 14,323) per person, and the flying is a third of it. There is no cheaper way to move between these islands.
  • A Chuuk liveaboard costs more and dives more; for serious wreck divers it is better value per dive.
  • Dropping Yap saves the separate Guam routing and a good deal of money — and loses the most intact culture in Micronesia.
  • Bring all of it in US dollars, in cash.
  • Hotel picks here are chosen on location, not on commission — always check prices and recent reviews before booking.

What to pack

  • Your certification card and logbook — Chuuk operators check.
  • A dive computer, and nitrox certification if you have it.
  • A torch for the wreck interiors, and a backup.
  • Reef-safe sun cream, a rash vest and a hat.
  • Long, modest clothing for Yap’s villages.
  • US dollars in cash, in small notes.
  • Betel nut money — a customary gift when asking permission on Yap.

FAQ

Do I need to be a wreck diver for Chuuk? To get the most from it, yes — the best parts are deep and inside the hulls. There are shallower wrecks and good snorkelling on a couple of masts, but Chuuk’s reputation rests on penetration diving.

What is the Island Hopper? United’s Honolulu–Guam service stopping at Majuro, Kwajalein, Kosrae, Pohnpei and Chuuk. Stopovers are permitted, which is what makes a multi-island trip possible at all.

How was Nan Madol built? Nobody is certain. The basalt columns came from quarries elsewhere on Pohnpei, some weigh many tonnes, and the islets sit on the reef flat. Local tradition credits sorcery; archaeology has not improved much on that.

Can I buy stone money? No. The discs are owned, their value is bound up in the history of their journey, and they stay where they are. Do not touch them.

Is Kosrae worth a stop? If the schedule gives you one — it has the Lelu ruins, a smaller basalt complex contemporary with Nan Madol, and some of the healthiest reef in Micronesia.

Prices and entry rules change, and what you need depends on your passport; last checked 8 October 2026, so confirm with the embassy or your airline before booking.