Questions for Maldives experts

Well, no sooner than I had confirmed some plans (after hours and hours of research) for a Sipadan trip, I learn that Hyatt is opening it's first property on Maldives, and I have an opportunity to visit.

Hyatt is taking over the Alila Villas, in Hadahaa / Gaafu Alifu Atol (I think in the far south?).

I have hundreds of dives (500-1,000 I'll guess) and I would be seriously disappointed only doing "beginner" or "tourist" level diving, or missing on seeing "great Maldives experiences"... but with my ND wife I can not do a LOB, and again the opportunity at hand is this specific resort.

Some questions for you experts:

1. Is Gaafu Alifu Atol a good dive destination, or am I going to be so disappointed by my diving that I'll be happier paying for a dive trip to Sipadan as planned?

2. Has anyone dove with this resort, and can provide feedback on the Hyatt's (Alila Villa's) dive op? There are other resorts in Gaafu Alifu, so does that mean I can dive with another op (I don't believe my hotel will include dives in cost so maybe I can use another op if Hyatt op is so bad)?

3. The trip would be very late October or early-/mid-November, I've read best time is Dec-May, but that Oct/Nov is pretty good, is that true (and for this specific atol)?

4. With ND wife, I would plan to do a lot of snorkeling right on the island. Does anyone know this resort/island/atol and can comment on the shallows for freediving (2-10m depth let's say).


Thanks!!

-Leo

Gaafu Alifu is part of Huvadhoo Atoll. i have not been there and dont know about the resort itself. but a friend of mine who did some research work there said the corals were in better shape than in the south (after bleaching) and there were good shark sightings. so i would expect some good diving around there. there are few resorts so few divers on the reefs and only a few liveaboards do special trips there. but this is due to the distance from Male, and not because the diving is bad.

definitely the best option for the Maldives is LOB but some resorts have nice house reefs. a lot would also depend on the operator and the type of guests. resorts that cater mostly to divers have better operators and dive a better variety of sites. others tend to just do a few nearby sites that are good for most guests who are more after an exclusive resort/spa experience.

as for Sipadan vs. Maldives its a tough choice. been to both and i found Sipadan to have a lot in one place. your diving around one island after all. Maldives will give you most of what you see in Sipadan except the same level of macro. Sipadan has some great schooling fish action but in general i find the Maldives "fishier". more turtles in Sipadan, heaps of mantas in Maldives. both are world class.

if i get more info will let you know. and if you dive in Huvadhoo would be great to hear back about it.

btw, you will most likely have to dive with your resort operator. except for a few islands each resort is on its own island. so you cant just walk down to another operator. and in places like Gaafu Alifu the resort isands might be spread around a fair bit. also check on costs. lots of resorts add a boat fee on top of the dive fee for boat dives.

Nishan, thanks for the info.
Maldives over Sipadan is close to a no brainer if hotel is free (although with a la carte charges for diving/boat/meals/spa, the latter of which our Sipadan hotel plans don't have, the free hotel may only be the same cost as Kapalai or Lankayan at rack).

I'll have to call the resort and get a feel for the op, if they only cater to the tourist diver and just do the same shallow spots repeatedly or if they will entertain a traveled/experienced diver. I read that their house reef is fantastic, and that will give me plenty of fun freediving with my ND wife (snorkeling with me or on the sand in distance).

if the house reef is good then it would be a better snorkeling option for a ND. neither Kapalai or Mabul match the good house reefs in Maldives for snorkeling. if there are great dive sites close by it wont matter what the operator is like because even the "regular" sites could be great. a highlight of Maldives diving are the manta cleaning stations. ask about them from the operator. usually a very good chance to see manta rays. and as far as resorts go Maldives probably beats Kapalai/Mabul, so a nice place to go with a ND partner.

btw, i meant Huvadhoo has better hard coral than the north.

With a ND wife.....Maldives is the place.

Sorry to chime in but although I suggested the option to Leo, with regards to comfort, I do not completely agree with your diving statement Nishan.

if the house reef is good then it would be a better snorkeling option for a ND. neither Kapalai or Mabul match the good house reefs in Maldives for snorkeling.

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Well... I simply can't see anyplace where snorkeling is better than off Sipadan walls.
As already explained to Leo, the non divers are also going on Sipadan island accompanying the divers, and as such they can snorkel everything they want, even from the dive boats if they like to.
And btw, have you dived Paradise 2 from Borneo Diver's pier : can you tell me a place where in the Maldives where snorkeling is better than that?

I don't agree as well with the statement that Maldives has everything Sipadan has, there is MUCH MORE fish variety along the Borneo coast than in the Maldives (this is even an UW naturalist fact, proven by fish species count), and I am not even speaking of macro. Maldives may be fishier but with same sorts.
On my own I have yet to be impressed with Maldives corals... if your wife wants to see hard coral fields between 5-10m, she will be a little disappointed with Maldives, while just have to put your mask anyplace around Sipadan.
Nishan you check my Sipadan/Mabul photo galleries and you tell what % of the images I could shoot in the Maldives : 30%, 50%?

That said, I also recommanded Leo to put the Maldives on his shortlist a couple of months ago, because in terms of comfortable resorts, sandy beaches and clear waters, it's certainly a great place. I would add that for a diver it's also a good place to see all sort of sharks and rays, as well as billions of blue triggerfish, but I feel it falls short in terms of variety and coral. Moreover there are too many dive centers that are far to be concerned with serious diving, oppositely to Sipadan's.
My opinion is that's a problem when locals are too little involved in the businesses (I challenge anyone spending a week in a resort to find a maldivian to discuss with, not even speaking about the dive guides who most of the times are europeans on a 6 months stint, like they would know the Maldives better than the local divers...).

Altogether, I do agree with your statement when you say that for serious diving, Maldives should be done on a liveaboard.

On my own, I am traveling with a non diving wife and daughter, we've been 5 times to Sipadan (and if it were only their decisions, that's the only place where we'd go), and only once to Maldives... although Maldives are much closer to our place.
Guess why.

Well, since it's posted, just to continue this conversation...

While my wife is ND, and will snorkel for like 30 minutes a day, finding a destination that has great snorkeling for her is not a factor - she can just do the spa or read... this part of the trip is all about me, if a paradise in all ways (except a mall or big city) bores her, then sorry wifey

But, so not to be away all day, I will forsake my afternoon dives and instead freedive while she sits on the beach, or drag her arond on a kayak with a 10m rope around my waist she's "with me" why I'm snorkeling (it's not as bad as it sounds).

So, I wanted a resort that does have great reef from shore, for our afternoons.

The question in this thread is about the Hyatt (formerly Avila Villas), and my research (here, tripadvisor, notes on the two other nearby reefs, phone calls to on property dive shop) have made me believe that it's a very good house reef.

Sure, LOB and others might be better, but this is a free accomodation, yet one I'd not take if the diving or house reef wasn't good enough.

Luko, by the way, Kapalai twice told me that they will not allow snorkelers on their Sipadan trips, as snorkelers also require permits and Kapalai will only allocate them to divers. (although as we discussed, my wife wouldn't want to take the boat to snorkel anyway).


*If anyone has done any diving in Hadahaa / Gaafu Alifu Atol, or stayed at Hyatt/Alila Villas please post comments.

Kapalai twice told me that they will not allow snorkelers on their Sipadan trips

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That's easily the silliest customer policy I have heard from Kapalai... it means that only 100% diving families are welcome to their resort, on the other hand they are also happy to accept the money from the non diving customers. What a bunch of i*£#ts !!!

Then go to SMART or SWV... I wouldn't propose them for you, but Borneo Divers for instance are very happy to bring their snorkeling clients to Sipadan and even provide snorkeling guides fo rtheir guests!

hi Luko, to begin with, i'm a big fan of Sipadan. if you check, what i said was that the Maldives will give you “most”, not “all” of what you get in Sipadan. i meant nice walls, good viz, good fish life, healthy corals (esp. southern atolls) and good pelagic action. of course Sipadan has more diversity, but Maldives has more pelagics. i find Sipadan more colorful but i also enjoy swimming with mantas and sharks in Maldives. there are also some very nice shallow reefs in Ari and Vaavu with healthy hard coral. and i have seen pictures from the south including Gaafu Alifu with excellent hard coral. also the Maldives is a very large area so depends where you are. I have at no point said one is better than the other overall. just that both have highlights and that both are world class. i would recommend both places to any diver.

my comparison for house reefs was that a "good house reef" in the Maldives was better than Mabul and Kapalai. of course Sipadan is fantastic but was referring to a place where someone could just swim off the resort beach anytime they wished. that doesn’t apply to Sipadan itself.

regarding the photos (nice images btw), yes some of those shots cannot be replicated in the Maldives. likewise can you get images of manta rays and a whale shark from Sipadan? my last trip to Baa Atoll we had about 30 mantas around us, some bumping into us. again, my point is only that each place has its highlights.

As for local staff, even in the Maldives, all the good LOB and resorts have local DM’s. they know the sites better than anyone else. dive centers also vary a lot depending on the clientele they service, a point i made in my first post. with the number of islands, resorts and LOB’s you are bound to get a wider variety of dive operators and visitors in Maldives than Sipadan.

Leo is getting a free trip to Maldives so wanted to know if there would be good diving. in that respect i think the Maldives has world class diving, and depending on the resort, easy access to good snorkeling. my intention was never to say Maldives is better than Sipadan or vice versa.

cheers

Nishan