Are you dreaming of sunshine, crystal clear waters and pelagics? I know we are! This week Destination focus blog will visit The Maldives. The inviting blue waters and all they have to offer the diving community. 

It’s not surprising really that Scuba Diving in the Maldives is hugely popular. The sunshine, crystal waters and the hundreds of deserted islands offer an enormous and magical playground for divers to explore. Meandering in between the Islands, channels are connecting the Indian Ocean to the many Lagoons. This water coming from the ocean is full nutrients which, in turn, attracts an incredible array of marine life. 

Diving The Maldives

Although the Maldives is renowned for its Robinson Crusoe style beaches and azure waters that typify the tropical idyll, its real treasure is the bustling life beneath waves. The islands have the most diverse and colourful coral reefs, but it’s the sheer abundance of marine life that sets it apart from other dive destinations around the world. Diving the Maldives can be done in two ways, Resort based or liveaboard. Scuba Travel offers either, or for the ultimate experience, you can combine both! We would probably choose a liveaboard for greatest marine diversity and a variety of sites but land-based for a luxury and more leisurely holiday.

Melissa Channe, Scuba Travel’s resident Maldives expert had this to say… “One of my favourite dives sites in the Maldives is Kudharah Thila in South Ari Atoll. This is a marine protected dive site, which means it has an abundance of marine life. The most striking thing about this site is the huge schools of both yellow and humpback red snappers, spectacular to watch as you drop down to the reef. The reef itself is full of colourful soft and hard corals, whip corals, overhangs to swim under and pinnacles to swim around. Just off the reef, you can spot turtles, Grey Reef Sharks and napoleon fish swimming by.”

What Scuba Travel offer in the Maldives

We offer a variety of diving in the Maldives, from the big pelagics to macro; drift dives, wrecks, channel dives and beautiful reef formations. Our Deep South itineraries run between January and March are great for shark lovers. 

Many dives in the Maldives are drifts from liveaboards where you allow the current to move you along. The many currents sweep and play throughout the island chain so that nutrients are always on the move. This accounts for the vast numbers of fish enjoying the passing feast. You can expect to see Napoleon wrasse, parrotfish, snappers, fusiliers, jacks and sweetlips at every site where the water flows. 

In the north, there are opportunities to dive with turtles, mantas, stingrays, eagle rays with softer corals colouring the magnificent reefs. In the more central Atolls, you will have the best of everything, there is the potential to see whale sharks, mantas, eagle rays, stingrays, nurse sharks, grey reef sharks, black and white tip reef sharks and much more. These itineraries run all year round. 

Hanifaru Bay is well known for its Manta gatherings during the plankton blooms. The Maldives Seasonal Sensations itinerary will take you up to Hanifaru. The Hanifaru and the North itinerary is scheduled around the moon phases to offer the best chances of sightings. This is a protected area so only snorkelling is allowed.  

Click here if you would like to find out more or book a £0 deposit holiday in the Maldives. Please contact Scuba Travel to find out what’s on offer.

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