Advanced

Sharks & Mantas

Year round

Maldives

UD Rating – 3 Star

MV Emperor Explorer

Brand new contemporary and spacious liveaboard in the Maldives

The brand-new Emperor Explorer brings a class of her own to the Maldivian waters. She is a contemporary, spacious liveaboard measuring 42m and accommodating 26 guests in 13 well-appointed en-suite cabins all with air-conditioning.

Brand NEW in 2019, Emperor Explorer brings a class of her own to the Maldivian waters. She is a contemporary, spacious liveaboard measuring 42m and accommodating 26 guests in 13 well-appointed ensuite cabins all with air-conditioning. On the upper deck there are 2 king-size double and 2 twin cabins, the main deck offers 2 double cabins with a single bed, and the lower deck comprises of 5 double cabins with a single bed and 2 standard double cabins.

There is a spa and open-air dining for guests to enjoy at the stern of the main deck, and several sofas and tables inside the air-conditioned saloon for relaxing or watching TV. A complimentary glass of wine is served with dinner. The upper deck boasts a covered, open area ideal for watching photos and footage from your diving or just relaxing, star gazing and soaking up the wonderful Maldivian sunshine.

The sundeck is the perfect place for having a reviving nap or reliving the excitement of the day’s diving with your buddies. Nitrox is free of charge, and all diving is done from Emperor Explorer's large dhoni (tender), giving you more living space on board. Four dive guides are on hand to ensure everyone experiences the best diving and underwater encounters that the Maldives has to offer.

Lower Deck Double/Twin Cabin

There are 7 double cabins on the Lower Deck, 5 of which also have a single bed so can be booked as a twin.

  • Double and Single Bed
  • En-suite Facilities
  • Air Conditioning

Main Deck Double / Twin Cabin

There are 2 double cabins on the Main Deck, each with a single bed so can be booked as a twin cabin also.

  • Double and Single Bed
  • En-suite Facilities
  • Air Conditioning

Upper Deck Twin Stateroom

There are 2 twin cabins on the Upper Deck.

  • Twin Beds
  • En-suite Facilities
  • Air Conditioning

Upper Deck En-Suite Cabin

There are 2 kingsize double cabins on the Upper Deck.

  • Kingsize Bed
  • En-suite Facilities
  • Air Conditioning

Route Options

Look out for the Indian Ocean's larger residents on this trip around some of the gorgeous atolls of the Maldives.

February and March are the best times to sail to the southerly Maldivian atolls and dive into the shark action in these out-of-the-way southern dive sites between Huvadhoo and Addu (Seenu) Atolls. Spend a week away from the madding crowds and dive Foammulah and Huvadhoo on the lookout for the Indian Ocean's larger residents; tiger sharks, silver tips, grey reef sharks, whale sharks and many, many more.

From Male we take you to Laamu (Kadhdhoo) or Addu (Gan) by domestic flight to join your liveaboard, and then it's off on our adventure. Laamu is an oval shaped southern atoll, which has some of the top dive sites in the world such as Guraidhoo and Gan. In Foammulah you can expect to meet tiger and silver tip sharks. At Huvadhoo, one of the deepest lagoons in the Maldives, the currents are ideal for even more shark sightings including, hopefully, whale sharks and silkies, hammerheads, tiger and grey sharks spotted most of the time. There are swift channel dives with several kandus; Vilingilli, Nilandhoo, Mareehaa and Kondeey. Addu Atoll hosts the WWII wreck, HMS British Loyalty, as well as popular majestic Manta Cleaning stations with more relaxing sites to either start or end the trip with too.

This itinerary suits experienced divers (100+ dives) looking for 'away from it all and different diving' with quite a focus on drift diving.

Every thrill seekers dream... Sharktastic visits 4 Atolls from January to April. Enjoy whale sharks, beautiful pinnicles, grey reef sharks, nurse sharks, Eagle rays the list goes on....

In this period the clean ocean water flows in from the eastern side of the Maldives. That means currents running from Sumatra, Indonesia to the Maldives bring with them not just fantastic visibility up to 40m but also a variety of pelagic surprises coming to the reef for a quick feed.

The Channel dives of the eastern coast of the Maldives are the main order of the day. These Kandus, as they are known in the local language (Dhivehi), attract grey reef sharks, dog tooth tuna and eagle rays as standard but look out into the blue and you never know what surprises await. The outer walls and corners of the channels in Vaavu and Meemu have the added bonus of beautiful overhangs draping in the blues, yellows and pinks of the majestic soft coral.

After the adrenaline pumping channel dives of eastern Maldives we cross over to South Ari Atoll to look for the whale sharks and mantas at Maamagili and Rangali Madivaru (Dhivehi for Manta Place) among other great sites such as Kudarah Thila and Kudimaa Wreck known for its potential leaf fish and frog fish.

The Best of the Maldives offers what its name suggests - the best of the atolls and marine life in the Maldives!

This is the Best of the Maldives - and it delivers exactly that. This is where you dive the best and most famous dive sites of the Maldives in a week of wonderful liveaboard diving across Male and Ari atolls.

Enjoy a dive holiday that gives you all you could wish for from the iconic sites of North Male, South Male and Ari Atoll. Awaiting you are channels, drifts and pinnacles where you have every chance of meeting mantas, whale sharks and mesmerising marine life of so many varieties. We don't follow an exact itinerary; flexibility is the word so that no matter what time of the year you visit, this underwater world is yours (and ours) for the exploring.

Fantastic visibility in the southern atolls makes this itinerary ideal for photographing the incredible experiences had.

Looking for action? Speedy drift dives, mantas, sharks and diving several atolls? Our guides and crew make it their business to make sure you see mantas and sharks as well as potential magical creatures coming out from the depths of the blue.

January to March is the time to join us as this is when the current in the Kandus is largely incoming from the east. There's a good variety of diving from thrilling channel dives to more relaxed diving inside the atolls on Thilas or Giris.

The best thing? There are few other boats as we visit atolls that have very few resorts and lots of uninhabited islands so liveaboard competition is low.

Hammerheads are often found in Thaa as well as whale sharks who visit our boat at night attracted by the krill, which, in turn, are attracted by the lights. When the currents are running well, the channel dives here are outstanding. Abundant with schooling snappers, jacks, barracuda, white tips and greys, grouper, Napoleon wrasse, turtles, eagle rays and more.

You will either join your liveaboard in Male or Laamu (Kadhdhoo), and then it's off on our adventure.

This itinerary has a lot of drift diving so it's best suited to more advanced divers. With visibility being really good in the southern atolls, this is ideal for photographers and videographers looking for larger Pelagic action.

Fancy an extended trip? South Central matches up perfectly with Deep South Southern Sharks. Stay on board for a second trip and join us in the southern most atolls of the Maldives for even more exciting channels and adventures with pelagics from the blue.

Vessel Details

Year Built 2019
Length 42 metres
Beam 13.2 metres
Engines 700 Hp Doosan Daewoo
Generators 2 x 50 KW
Water Makers 12 Tonnes/24h RO Plant
Navigation and Communication VHF radio, GPS chart plotter, Telephone, Mobile, EPIRB
Air compressors Yes
Nitrox diving Available onboard
Dive equipment rental Full range on offer, must be arranged before arrival in resort. SMB, dive computer and reef hooks are required on all dives. For your safety, both SMBs and reef hooks are offered complimentary.
Safety Oxygen/Medic First Aid Kit
Dhoni Large diving dhoni tender fully equipped with compressors, tanks & oxygen kits.
Mask Pre-paid EUR15, on board Eur18
Fins & Snorkel Pre-paid EUR20, on board Eur23
Wetsuits Pre-paid EUR50, on board EUR57
Regulator Pre-paid EUR70, on board EUR80
BCD Pre-paid EUR70, on board EUR80
Dive Computer Pre-praid EUR15, on-board EUR18
Torch Pre-praid EUR50, on-board EUR57
Full equipment Pre-praid EUR160, on-board EUR183

Available Experiences

ITINERARIES AVAILABLE IN THIS DESTINATION

What Our Customers Have To Say

Reviews from our Clients, Journalists, Photo Pro's and our own Experts

Our reviews and blogs are an additional guide to evaluate of the holiday is exactley what you are looking for or not. Some love an Eco-Resort, some love air-con and a flat screen TV, we aim to ensure you get what you are looking for, at great value for money.

Maaya thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

A Protected Marine Area, this offers one of the best-known dives in the Maldives. There is a remarkable variety of marine life on the thila, including grey reef sharks, white tip sharks, turtles, stonefish, frogfish, zebra morays, batfish and many, many more species. At the edge of the thila, where there is a large coral overhang full of bright orange Tubastrea corals.The top of the rock, at 15m (50ft), is covered in colourful soft corals. The vertical side of the rock drops down to the atoll plate at 40m (130ft). In this channel between the satellite rock and the thila, grey reef sharks often patrol and we have seen guitar shark here on a number of occasions.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40m

Hukrueli Faru

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Madi means ‘ray’ in Dhivehi. In the northeast season this is a superb manta ray cleaning station. As with many good manta points, the reef slopes down gently from its top at 8m (25ft) to the atoll floor at 30m (100ft). Although there are many cleaning stations along this 1km reef, the area where the mantas are most active is midway along the northern side. This site attacts mantas, which hover like great spaceships in the current. To the east of the basin the reef forms a wall which drops steeply down to the sand floor at 30m (100ft). At a depth of 25m (80ft) there is a large cave running along the reef for 200m (220yd).

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Kudarah Thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

The topography here is quite complex. The thila is divided into four large coral heads, of varying sizes, that sit on a plateau rising from 40m (130ft) to 12m (40ft). The thila is no more than 100m (110yd) in diameter, and you can swim around the whole site in a single dive. Each of the blocks is undercut from 15m (50ft) to 25m (80ft) with superb caves jammed full of soft corals, gorgonians and whip corals.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25m

Broken Rock

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Beside Kudarah Thila this is most probably the most, well known dive site in south-Ari atoll. A 2m wide Canyon splits this small thila in two parts, from the west towards east side, which gives this reef its name. This Canyon is the main attraction, on this wonderful submerged reef, covered in soft corals. On the north side at a depth of around 25-30m are two big coral blocks with overhangs, and beautiful fan corals which (torchlight recommended!) are well worth a visit. The top reef has intact hard coral growth and with some luck, even a leaf fish can be spotted along with a variety of marine life. Depth and strong currents make this thila suitable for experienced divers only - watch your no-decompression limits!

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 35m

Manta Point

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Regularly an encounter with the giant manta rays is common on this reef, from December until April the big manta rays can be watched during there feeding and cleaning procedure in cleaning stations on the top reef. A close approach is possible, but don’t touch or chase them; otherwise they will disappear in the blue. The reef itself drops on the east side steep down to 25m where the sand bottom starts. The big overhangs at 20m are a good start of the dive before you go shallower and follow the reef edge on the 12m area where the mantas can be seen most of the time. The reef top has nice marine life, moray eels, octopuses, lion fish and a few napoleons make this place, even without manta rays a real adventure.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25m

Banana Reef

Male Atoll, Maldives

Banana Reef, named after the C-shape of the reef is around 100 meters in length. The reef is in front of the channel where fresh current enriches the reef with plankton it carries attracting also pelagic.The most exciting part of the reef is at the north-eastern side of the reef where big spectacular rocks starting from a depth of 30 meters rising up to 12 meters below the surface. Schools of Banner fish can be seen just at the start of the dive, the dog-toothed tuna and several species of Jackfish can be seen chasing their next pray. As you drift, the reef slopes down and after few minutes you will drift in the biggest overhang in Banana Reef where the top starts at 10m and drops to 20m. This overhang is fully covered with soft coral on its ceiling, huge schools of Blue line snappers is always inside letting you approach them very closely. It is both suitable for beginners and the most experienced divers and is a photographers’ heaven.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Lankan

Male Atoll, Maldives

This site is towards the southern part of the main reef of the Island Lankan Finolhlu.

The top of the reef is at an average of 12 meters of depth where it slopes down to the bottom to a depth of 25-30 meters. With an ingoing current you could start the dive while keeping the reef to the right hand shoulder. You have the possibilities to see white tip sharks and hawks bill turtles. Towards the south corner the dive site become exciting as there are a lot of red snappers and giant travelly. But this is during the months of May until November that the dive site will offer you its best: a lot of zoo plankton gets carried to the reef due to the reef configuration there is a “cleaning station” where the Manta Rays are often present.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 25m

Gangehi Kandu

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Gangehi Kandu is a channel in the north-west outrim reef of the North Ari Atoll. The boat trip is around 50 minutes. Divers will go down to a depth of 25-30m on the northwest edge of the channel and watch the sharks resting in the sand. Then swim along the reef on the left shoulder direction east and there we find an 80m long crack in the wall at 25-20m. In this crack you see soft corals in different colours, stingrays, groupers, and glassfish. Be careful with your buoyancy if you swim under the overhang and watch the computer for the Nodecolimit! After this crack: sometimes leopard sharks on the sandy bottom. Usually divers can spot white tip sharks, grey reef sharks, and stingrays on the sandy bottom in the middle of the channel. Sometimes there are lying leopard sharks on the sand. On the reef you may find turtles, mantis shrimps, slugs, different groupers, trigger fish, cleaner shrimps and boxer shrimps. There are glassfish, stingrays, moray eels and lobster in the caves.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Hafza Thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Hafza Thila is in the middle of the Atoll, 35 minutes south from Velidhu. Normally there is not a lot of current. You can easily dive around the thila two times during one dive, but take your time. There are nice overhangs on each side, in which you can find stingrays, morays and scorpion fish. Don’t stay too long in the deep area, because the top reef is not very shallow (10 - 12m) and you might run out of time! Save some time for the top reef, there are very nice hard corals!

A huge variety of marine life can be expected here. Batfish, blue striped snapper and barracudas are schooling in the blue. Big sharks, jackfish and trevallys are hunting in the current. Watch out for turtles on the top reef and try to find some scorpion fish and stonefish! You may find octopus, slugs and shrimps in the beautiful hard corals of the top reef.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Maaldhos Thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Two hours of boat trip in the southwest of Velidhu is Maalhos Thila, otherwise known as "Blue Caves". This is really one of the best dive sites in the Maldives! Plenty of caves and overhangs in the south part (20-30m) and the soft corals are overgrowing all! It looks like a huge cake with white and pink whip! The ceilings are covered in soft corals in a mixture of colours, mostly white but also blue and violet - the decorated caves make a surreal back drop for underwater photographers. In the south there are a few big blocks 20m apart of the main reef.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Kandooma Caves

Lhaviyani Atoll, Maldives

Those huge caverns are among the largest and the nicest of all the Maldives tourists’ atolls. 2 big caves close to one another are just 50m from the corner, one at 20m, and the other one at 16, the latest one is 70m long and has a curly overhang. Inside the pass you come to one cave at about 10m with a hole going all the way to the top reef at 5m. With a torch it is even better.

Inside the caves, we will see yellow sponges, seafans, blue soft coral, small tube corals and often giant morays, as well as squirrelfish, and many groupers. Along the reef we should see clown triggerfish, Napoleon, sweetlips, and angelfish, and this is a great site to spot many turtles, especially green turtles.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth:

Muli Corner

Meemu Atoll, Maldives

The Muli Corner dive site is a sloping hard coral reef down to drop-off into the big blue. Here divers can dive the aquarium with a cleaner station for mantas, huge variety of species of large coral fish; trigger fish, surgeons, sweetlips, fusiliers, white tip reef sharks, and the whale shark.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Guraidhoo Corner

Male Atoll, Maldives

The Guraidhoo Corner lies on the east side of the South Male’ Atoll, outside of the reef. Nearby islands are Losfushi, Guraidhoo and Kandooma. On the edges of the channel, at depths ranging from 25 to 30 meters, you will have the best chances to observe great many grey reef sharks, local school of eagle rays, large hammerhead sharks, whale sharks and. Guraidhoo Corner is also home to large schools of oriental sweetlips, bannerfish and large black-and-white striped snappers.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Fotteyo

Male Atoll, Maldives

Fotteyo is one of the best dive sites in the Maldives and a photographer’s paradise. Around bend near the entrance to the channel is a special place with many caves and overhangs. These caves have a thick covering of wavering soft corals in all colours. They look like blooming cherry, blossoms in spring time. Most of the cherry caves are found between 25 and 45 metres and there are few arches covered in soft coral, one of which divers can swim through.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Kuda Giri Wreck

Male Atoll, Maldives

Kuda Giri is a pretty ten year old wreck that requires a short swim to reach it. Here you will have the opportunity to see lots of glassfish in the holds,titan triggerfish, shrimps inside a funnel and lobsters hiding in the wreck. This excellent wreck is situated at about 25 metres from a well established reef with lots of small caves and overhangs.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 31m

Maamigili Faru

Ari Atoll , Maldives

The Maamigili Faru is located South Ari Atoll on the outer corner of Maamigili. This shallow platform extends from the corner to the outer atoll rim giving you the opportunity to see sharks, groupers, pelagics, stingrays and turtles.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30

Fish Head

Ari Atoll , Maldives

The square-shaped reef is about 80 metres wide and can be circled in one dive if divers wish, providing the current is not too strong. There are ledges and caves at different depths around much of the reef and for the most part, there is a big undercut from about 25 to 30 metres before the reef tapers to the bottom slopes. The north and north west sides have a particular interesting landscape at reasonably shallow depths, making it ideal for the less experienced diver, while at depth, are caves with all the usual features including sea fans and black coral bushes. Divers tend to stay shallower at Fish Head, hovering around the reef edge at about 15 metres as this gives the best all round view of a family of about 20 resident grey reef sharks.

  • Min Dives: 9
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

British Royalty Wreck

Southern Region, Maldives

This 420 ft tanker is the biggest wreck in the Maldives, torpedoed twice during WW II and eventually sunk by the British in 1946. The vessel rests on its starboard side at around 100 ft depth.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Foammulah south

Southern Region, Maldives

This place offers one of the most incredible drift dives in the the archipelago. Unlike other atolls in the Maldives this one has no lagoon. Surrounded by depths in the middle of the Indian Ocean the site offers unique conditions to encounter species like tiger sharks, oceanic mantas, mola mola, thresher sharks, hammerheads, grey reef sharks and other big fish.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Kalhahandi Kandu

Ari Atoll , Maldives

This site has earned the nickname Pannettone from the many Italian divers who believe it resembles the traditional Italian fruitcake. There are some spectacular coral formations here, featuring a variety of soft and hard coral species, which attract a wide selection of fish including angelfish, basslets, butterfly fish, scorpion fish, trigger fish and puffer fish. The corals here are in good condition and weather conditions at Pannettone mean the dive site can be explored year-round.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Rahdhiga Thila

Ari Atoll , Maldives

A beautiful pinnacle just 10 minutes from Rahdhiga Island, Rahdhiga Thila is impressive from the second you swim down to 30m to look at some grey reef sharks, then moving up to the overhangs with their beautiful dripping blue, yellow and orange soft coral between 8m and 18m. Then finish the dive at 3m to 6m with some impressive table-top coral for a pleasantly relaxing safety stop.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30

Bodu Miyaru Kandu

Northern Region, Maldives

Also known as 'Big Shark Channel', this is another top dive site and certainly lives up to its name. Dropping in at the south eastern corner you keep the reef on your left until you reach the drop off at the channel entrance which is approximately 30 metres deep. This site features small caves and numerous overhangs, and there is a sloping section on the left side of the channel covered in hard coral and some soft coral.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30

Laamu Atoll

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Laamu Atoll (also known as Haddhunmathi Atoll) is an oval shaped southern atoll. It measures 48 km in length and 35 km in width, and has some of the top dive sites in the world such as Guraidhoo and Gan; this Maldives Atoll is situated 32 southeast of Kolhumandulu Atoll and 95 km north of Huvadhoo Atoll. Laamu Atoll boasts numerous pristine dive sites with many different features like caves, steep drop offs, swim-throughs, not to mention the abundance of marine life and beautiful topography. Expect beautiful fish-filled channels with great shark encounters.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Rangali Madivaru

Male Atoll, Maldives

The northern part of the reef has many overhangs, caves, and cracks with an abundance of critters inside. Diverse marine fauna can be spotted at the Rangali Madivaru dive site, such as manta rays, shoals of cleaner wrasses, scorpionfish, leaf fish, and lionfish.Moray eels, firefish, basslets, Napoleon wrasses, and midnight snapper are also frequent guests. Beautiful sea plants can be found at Rangali Madivaru as well, including subtle sea fans and exotic table corals.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30

Maamigili Beyru

Ari Atoll , Maldives

11km of reef stretches along the south of Ari Atoll, which is home to whalesharks coming up for a feed. Thought to be a 'nursery' for whalesharks, the South of Ari Atoll is a place where you can find juvenile whalesharks all year round.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Guraidhoo Kandu

Male Atoll, Maldives

Grey reef sharks are common visitors at Guriadhoo Kandu when the currents are incoming, along with several pelagic species and eagle rays.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Alimata Jetty

Northern Region, Maldives

This is the perfect site for a night dive. Typically, Nurse Sharks, Black Tips, Marble Rays and Jacks are seen here.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 15

Vahhuravalhi Kandu

Southern Region, Maldives

Grey Reef Sharks and large pelagics can be seen at this site as well as manta rays, Napoleon Wrasse Eagle Rays and Sailfish.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Dhiggaru Kandu

Southern Region, Maldives

The best diving is on the outside corner of Dhiggaru Falhu, with lots of cavities and small swimthroughs, as well as lots of nice overhangs in the entrance to the channel. The area is covered in soft coral and hard coral groups grow up from the sandy patch, where white tip sharks and stingrays rest.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Golden Wall

Northern Region, Maldives

Expect to see Napoleons, turtles, moray eels and a lot of reef fish. In the blue water pegalics can often be seen passing by. There are caves and overhangs with walls packed full of yellow, blue, pink and white soft coral.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 32

Fotteyo

Northern Region, Maldives

The channel is narrow and features swim-throughs, small caves and large overhangs. The drop-off at the channel entrance is covered in colourful soft corals. Titan triggerfish are common here along with grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, tuna and barracuda. You might be lucky enough to get a glimpse of hammerhead sharks in the most outer side of the channel. This is also where eagle rays can be spotted, along with big groupers such as the potato grouper and the black saddle coral groupers. Look out for sting rays resting on the patch of sand and turtles on the channel walls.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 18

Rakeedhoo Kandu

Northern Region, Maldives

Situated in a channel between two islands its possible to encounter some larger species such as grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks, mako sharks and even hammerhead sharks. There is also the chance of seeing manta rays, eagle rays, barracuda, travellies and groupers. The corners and overhangs that can be found along the site are nicely covered with blue and white soft corals.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 40

Maa Corner Manta Point

Southern Region, Maldives

This site is a cleaning station located on the rays' migration route. The site is accessible throughtout the year and is an active site. The main cleaning station is at the bottom of the sloping reef. You will be able to spot rays around the main pinnacle but also at depths farther north or south.

  • Min Dives: 6
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30

Huvadhoo Atoll

Southern Region, Maldives

The Huvadhoo Atoll is located in the far south of the Maldives just above the equator. It’s the region’s second largest atoll and is divided into two separate administrative regions – the northern Gaafu Alifu and the southern Gaafu Dhaalu.

Huvadhoo provides an escape from the developed north, and its diving is less chartered. You’ll need to use local knowledge to explore the atoll’s 1,864 square miles (3000 km²) of ocean. Due to its distance from the country’s capital, the locals speak a different form of the Dhivehi language called Huvadu Bas. After a day spent diving, you can admire the red-hued sunset from the beach. The silhouettes on a traditional dhoni sailing by are more likely to belong to fishermen than tourists. If you decide to travel this far south, you might be rewarded by seeing a rare tiger shark. Just don’t swim away too quickly.

  • Min Dives: 20
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Advanced Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Kandooma Thila

Male Atoll, Maldives

Located north of Kandooma Island, this beautiful pinnacle lies at the bottom of a channel, with its top reef at 12m descending to around 40 meters deep on all sides. The eastern and northern sides are the most interesting with many overhangs and colourful soft corals. The many species you can spot there include big schools of fish, eagle rays, whitetip sharks, green turtles and grey reef sharks. During incoming currents, this fauna is mostly found on the plateau between the thila and the ocean. During outgoing currents, most sharks will be found around their cleaning station.

During outgoing currents, it is recommended for divers to place themselves at the Jack Corner, which is located in front of the thila at a wide overhang. The grey reef sharks’ cleaning station is marked by a distant block in the last part of the dive. Divers can end their exploration around the top reef where eagle rays and green turtles can be spotted. This dive site is accessible throughout the year but conditions can be very difficult. During outgoing currents, divers tend to be pulled to the bottom. They should not explore the cleaning station without at least 80 bars in the tank and being closed to the non-decompression limit.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Dhiamigili

Southern Region, Maldives

Located opposite the island of Dhiamigili, this reef stretches in a west-east direction along the atolls outer reef & falls relatively quickly & steeply downward. Large gorgonia sea fans are one of only a few attractions in an area which frequently experiences extremely strong current conditions. Marine life is typical of the outer reef & includes amongst others, eagle rays, tuna & turtles. Depth: 5 - 80m

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Laamu - Fushi Kandu

Ari Atoll , Maldives

Fushi Kandu has a fantastic channel with a relatively shallow entrance at 15m allowing for an extended channel dive, which permits crossing the channel to maximise the sightings. This dive site is commonly described as Fish Soup, and it rarely disappoints with its resident grey reef sharks, barracuda, big eye jacks, and abundant fish life.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Hammerhead Point

Southern Region, Maldives

Hammerhead Point - Popular dive site for Maldives liveaboards. Its proximity to deep waters lends the location the best chances of getting close to these magnificent creatures. Often considered to be the highlight of many Maldives liveaboard trips.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Cocoa Corner (Cocoa Thila)

Male Atoll, Maldives

Cocoa Corner is a dive site that can be explored in several different ways and with the right current and conditions, it's is the best shark show around Male Atoll. Many dive guides consider crossing from Cocoa Corner to Kandooma Thila. With the right current, divers begin the dive from Cocoa Corner and while maintaining a depth of 25 to 29 metres, they swim across the current while parallel to the edge at 40 metres. This gives a natural reference that divers are maintaining the correct position while crossing to the Thila and divers are not taken too far inside the channel. The Thila lies in the middle of the channel about 15 metres from the channel edge. Here, divers will see heaps of Grey Reef Sharks from big mother sharks to newborn babies patrolling the edge of the channel together. Eagle Rays and schooling Jack Fish are also common at the beginning of the Thila. By the time divers reach the Thila, their bottom time should be running out and the best thing to do is to swim to the top of the Thila and continue diving in shallower waters. A safety balloon is a must at Cocoa Corner and divers should be prepared to make an open water safety stop.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Kuda Haa

Male Atoll, Maldives

Kuda Haa is a dramatic pinnacle, or thila, dive, which is widely considered one of the highlights of diving in the Maldives. Diving at Kuda Haa is at its best when the currents are not strong, when it is easy to navigate between the two parts of the pinnacle. Marine life to be expected at Kuda Haa is diverse and plentiful, including many macro species, including nudibranchs, flatworms, leaf fish and frogfish.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Kurali Kandu

Meemu Atoll, Maldives

Kurali Kandu is a sandy channel with a maximum depth of 12-16m. Here you can find some smaller coral blocks, which appear to be cleaning stations for manta and other rays coming in for some cleaning.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m

Raadbandhihuraa Kandu

Meemu Atoll, Maldives

Raadbandhihuraa Kandu, a channel in the west of the atoll with an incoming current you will be swimming in fish soup with shoals of fusiliers, surgeon fish and snappers to name but a few. The reef slopes downwards in terraces with very healthy coral life mimicking a Japanese garden! Don't forget to glance out to the blue every once in a while, to check for sharks, tunas and jacks.

  • Min Dives: 10
  • Dive Type: Boat Dive
  • Diver Level: Open Water Diver
  • Max Depth: 30m
Dates Duration Route Room Type Price
26 May 2024
2 Jun 2024
7 Nights The Best of the Maldives Upper Deck En-Suite Cabin £0