Not only did we see pelagics but also the macro is great. A few boats have single cabins, often referred to as a Junior Suite, and very few boats have cabins for more than two guests. Very good diving. It is your responsibility to check what depths your insurance policy covers before arrival. South Mal Atoll is on most Maldives liveaboard itineraries and often visited at the beginning and/or end of a 7 days 7 nights trip. The dhoni (support vessel) drops divers off at the beginning of the dive and will be ready (down current) to collect them at the end. Variable. Beaucoup de chose voir. Visibility in the range 10-40 meters, depending on currents and dive sites. Fantastic! But ofcourse needed to get the big fishes close. Its important for them to maximise the best diving opportunities for guests, while ensuring that the first dive site is easy for all levels. Not bad. Really friendly and helpful crew. But on the western side it is still good. Nice and challenging dives, due to the strong currents and down currents. Plus Noonu & Lhaviyani, which are on the eastern side and not as far from Mal. In such cases, you must have proof of a yellow fever vaccination. South Male Atoll, Vaavu Atoll, South Ari Atoll, Meemu Atoll. The fish life is healthy and abundant. Emperor Maldives advises divers to follow the agency recommendation for safety reasons. Diving Maldives in March on the Princess Haleema, Diving Maldives in March on the Scubaspa Yang. Southern Atolls are similarly quiet to those in the north. I thing the guides should prepare the divers better for these situations and consider other options if the visibility is low and currents are strong because it can make the dive a struggle instead of fun and can also create dangerous situations, Diving Maldives in November on the Emperor Leo. But its never the first atoll of a Maldives liveaboard itinerary, so even inexperienced divers will have had more experience by the time they arrive there. The slightly higher rates are due to the large & luxurious boats that offer week-long cruises around the areas which have the best diving. Due to the remote location Maldives liveaboard cruises always offer awesome diving. These months the winds go in the opposite direction and are much stronger. When compared to Ari & North Mal, there is not as much coral here. We are happy to help you with any questions about experience levels, suitability of dive sites and courses, contact[emailprotected]. However, some depart from Hanimadhoo in the north and spend their whole itinerary in that area. I loved every bit of the trip, diving with lovely guides and fellow divers, and relaxing with the crew afterwards. And had hoped to see more. Its very simple. It is possible to dive at The Maldives all year round. Some atolls are better suited to experienced divers, but most areas can be enjoyed safely by all levels of scuba diver. Many species of sharks & rays can be seen here. The trips to Fuvamullah Island were also a lovely bonus - you can see how the locals live and watch out for fruit bats, frigate birds and stunning sunsets on a glorious beach. Currents can vary from really gentle to extremely strong. If you have any questions about extra fees in the Maldives, please contact us directly. Which are the best places for Maldives liveaboard diving? Awesome, and leaving a lot of remembers fantastic. This is one of the best places to dive at all. For advice on Malaria and Dengue, seek professional medical advice before travelling. The choice of dive sites was good. Diving Maldives in March on the Emperor Explorer. In addition, Maldives liveaboard operators need to give their teams enough time to clean the boat & restock provisions for the next trip. Drift dives are quite common, but these are nothing to worry about. Jump off the plane and hop on a boat for a classic Maldives dive trip in the Central Atolls. Every diver also needs to independently purchase dive insurance before getting in the water. The balance is usually due one or two months before the trip. I liked it, but I had bad luck and didn't see anything super amazing - which is sometimes how it goes. The Emperor team is so certain that youll love learning to dive with us that, at the end of the first day of tuition if you decide not to proceed, well give you your money back. Highly recommended. South-west monsoon (approx. However, the good news is that this atoll gets lots of nutrient-rich water coming from the north east through half a dozen channels. However super dive guides made for some great diving, Diving Maldives in February on the Blue Spirit. Hanimadhoo can be reached by domestic seaplane from Male. Standard liveaboards departing from Male may visit North Male Atoll, Ari Atoll and Rasdhoo Atoll, and sometimes Baa Atoll as well. Your maximum diving depth will be dependent on your level of training and experience. And some people include Vaavu & Meemu in this area, although others claim them to be south-central. b: you have limited experience with diving places and expect to be happy with what you see in any case. Ari Atoll liveaboard itineraries will often include a combination of the above. Some dive sites have mantas. Overall we saw everything and more than we expected. Other liveaboards may head south of Male Atoll to include Meemu (Malaku), Vaavu (Felidhu), and Thaa (Kolhumadulu) atolls. The weather is either warm or hot, and any wind or rain in the monsoon season doesnt last all day, meaning that there is usually bright sunshine and clear skies every day of the year. You can decide for yourself whether you want to allow cookies or not. There are no compulsory vaccinations for travel to the Maldives unless you have been in a country with increased yellow fever risk sometime in the nine days previous to arrival. North Mal Atoll is one of the most-popular diving destinations in The Maldives. There are at least ten excellent dive sites at Ari Atoll, and the marine life is high in both quantity and quality. Mal is the countrys capital city, and where nearly all international flights arrive. Liveaboard SCUBA diving in the Maldives offers some of the world's most pristine and colourful reefs along with luxury dive boats that satisfy the choosiest of vacationers. From June to November, the monsoon season comes from the southwest and the weather is less predictable. $1,200 US is the average lowest price, and the upper limit in excess of $4,000. Crack the Maldives' best-kept secret- tiger sharks and oceanic whitetips in the Deep South. Getting to The Maldives can only be done by plane. Some diving in Baa Atoll is suitable for beginners, with moderate currents. Entry level divers can find offerings around Male, even though currents can be strong. Start searching our Maldives pages, do a date search or just contact us to find out which is the best Maldives liveaboard trip for you. The action is found at the point when the current is rushing against the thila (pinnacle) or into the mouth of a channel. Here there are drop offs, swimthroughs, drift dives and even some caves. Also saw lots of big stuff. Fill in the form below and LiveAboards customer service will get back to you as soon as possible. Too much human interaction. The trade off between current and seeing marine life was good. From the UK, expect at least a 13 hour trip. Sometimes it's frustrating to see schools of sharks in deep water as you're only allowed as deep as 30 meters but that's the rules. I photographed 171 different fish and other marine critters. But from June to November the situation is reversed. Diving Maldives in November on the Emperor Serenity, In general i enjoyed it. From the airport there are ferry services to the main island of Mal, which is where most Maldives liveaboard cruises depart from. But for trips that dont fill up, sometimes its possible to get a deal. What is the Adventure Deep Dive, and why do I need one? Good to see some very healthy soft and hard coral gardens. We recommend 30 logged dives as there is a strong current on drift diving. Got good practice diving in currents. I like the Maldives for the "big stuff" but not for the quality of the reefs. Quite good. Can offer something new or different. For the more intrepid diver, there are slow currents in many areas and extremely strong currents jetting through the atoll passes for the more experienced thrill seeker. Hanifaru Bay even enjoys world-famous manta and whale shark aggregations during the plankton-rich months from August through November. Lots of sharks, tunas, trevalleys and so on. From Germany or Australia, the flight duration is at least 12 hours. During this period, there are gentle winds from northeast. It is a trip you can not ignore if you have the chance. If the Cruise Director feels some dives are too challenging, you may be asked by the Cruise Director to skip dives. These tiny islands in the middle of The Indian Ocean all look very similar to the untrained eye, and zooming out makes most of them disappear. No minimum number of dives needed but you should be comfortable with drift dives as currents can be strong. The vis was a bit unpredicatable but we didnt get loads of current. Diving Maldives in September on the Carpe Novo. Great for shark lovers, Diving Maldives in July on the Carpe Diem. Maldives Liveaboard Availability, Booking Process & Promotions. The cost of a Maldives liveaboard diving cruise depends on the length of the trip, the level of luxury offered by the boat, and the cabin type. Macro life also not Very plentiful. Going in late May / early June is a risky time. Diving was great. However, there were occasions when it felt a little crowded and we observed and were unwillingly a part of whale shark chasing. Please fill in your contact details in the form below and LiveAboards customer service will get back to you. No need to book a hotel. You see so many sharks that you stop counting them =D, Diving Maldives in January on the Maldives Aggressor II, Lots of damage to reefs and markedly less fish life on the reefs than there were 10 years ago. Some atolls are prone to stronger currents than others. The diving was amazing. Also, there may be promotions for quieter times of year or last minute bookings. Very good, well-protected environment and full of wildlife. My second time diving Maldives highlights and its beautiful. However, some people prefer to avoid monsoon season, which hits the area in April and continues to bring rain through October. Beautiful diving with Sharks, Mantas, rays etc, etc. The country is located in The Indian Ocean, with Sri Lanka the nearest large land mass, 1,000 kilometres to the north east. Looking for a shark out in the blue is not our kind of diving. Diving is challenging due to sometimes really strong current. Trip lengths of Maldives liveaboard diving cruises are most commonly one week, which is often shown as 7 days 7 nights. In the Maldives, additional liveaboards fees usually include gear rental (not covered by your trip price), which can be in the vicinity of 40 USD per person, per night. But also saw a few very nice things. When currents are more than light, it makes photography much harder. Diving Maldives in November on the Carpe Vita. In general, December to May is the best time of year to dive at the Maldives. As for the Maldives government, I think they can do much more to preserve the marine life in general. North Male Atoll, Lhaviyani Atoll, Baa Atoll, Rasdhoo Atoll, North Ari Atoll. Great dives with lots of highlights, even in "off season", currents may be challenging. Unlike liveaboard trips in Thailand or other areas, special offers on Maldives liveaboard trips rarely include free rental equipment. Diving cruises at The Maldives are popular due to the luxurious boats and world-class scuba diving opportunities. Lots of channel dives and strong currents. Diving Maldives in December on the Emperor Explorer. So much to see, all the dives where spectacular in their own way, The best diving I have ever done. To dive with a dive buddy, you must be a PADI Open Water diver or equivalent and be able to complete each dive with your buddy or following your guide. And what is there is mainly made up of soft corals. Whatever your tastes, Maldives has the diving suited just for you, which can be enjoyed in mild outside weather ranging from 24 to 33 degrees Celsius (75 to 91 degrees Fahrenheit). The currents of the ocean bring the nutrient-rich waters that in turn attract abundant marine life. The most dependable Maldives dive sites for whale sharks and manta rays are located in this area. Nitrox is offered on virtually every Maldives liveaboard- some as a complimentary service, and some for a fee. Liveaboards in Ari Atoll come for its submerged, volcano-shaped pinnacles, which attract immense amounts of big marine life. Many agencies recommend a Skills Review if it has been longer than six months since your last dive. But at the same time, the more trips that can be squeezed into the year or diving season the better it is for business. Liveaboards diving in the Central Atolls set out from here. Visas to enter The Maldives are available on arrival for nationalities of any nation. Sea Conditions & Diver Suitability for Maldives Liveaboard Cruises, Maldives liveaboard diving often gives the chance to see healthy coral reefs photo by Johan Folmeus 3, Everything You Need to Know About Liveaboard Diving. Diving Maldives in September on the Blue Force One, Diving Maldives in September on the Amba Liveaboard, Good diving spots with plenty of sharks to see. I would love to see limitations on the number of dive boats permitted to operate or restrictions on the number that are allowed to be on specific sites at a time. Waiting to go back for more. On the eastern side of the atolls, the visibility is excellent. Most of the experienced divers I know would put the animals first, not their holiday. In the interests of safety, Emperor Maldives reserves the right to restrict diving activities if the instructor has any concerns regarding diver safety. This depends on the location of the atoll, the time of year, and the number and depth of undersea channels for the water to pass through. Diving Maldives in May on the Amba Liveaboard. Dive sites are less explored (including some not discovered yet) and further apart from one another. Maldives liveaboard cabins are nearly always for two guests. Beds are sometimes fixed as a large double or twin singles, but some cabins offer the flexibility of choosing between two singles or a double. I expected way more marine life, and healthier corals. Divers of all levels of certification can dive at The Maldives. Not always told upfront, it can be bad even with the reef hook. Therefore, most nationalities get 30 days stay for free on arrival. Many other Maldives liveaboards on the same route/itinerary, May require a domestic flight and/or local hotel booking. Some itineraries on a Baa Atoll-bound liveaboard include North Male and Ari Atoll. I enjoyed it. Really needs to be for experienced divers with good buoyancy control. Best of Maldives, Hanifaru & North, Northern Hi-Lights and Pelagic Magic, Deep South & Southern Sharks and Central South. Ari Atoll liveaboards depart from Male, reachable by short flights from nearby Singapore, Dubai, and Colombo, as well as longer flights worldwide. All rights reserved. However, due to the geographical location in the tropics, there are better & not-so-good times of year to join a Maldives liveaboard diving cruise. Liveaboards in Baa Atoll are mostly MV yachts and luxury yachts. 70%/30% mix of more channel dives than fish dives, Diving Maldives in April on the Blue Voyager, great experience overall, great diversity of species, warm water, my third time in the Maldives, Diving Maldives in April on the Carpe Diem, Our preference is for mild current with lots of corals, overhangs, and lots of fish. Diving Maldives in February on the Blue Shark One, Id been before to an island but the diving from the live aboard was second to non, Diving Maldives in February on the Carpe Novo, Some dives had medium-strong current but we were well equipped with reef hooks, Diving Maldives in February on the Carpe Vita.