3 days which island, which operator?

Hello all,

I can only afford to be in Maldives 3 days weekend May 14th diving Sat, Sun and Mon then fly out late Tues night.

Having had a few dives (~200), am reluctant to dive with beginners, so can someone recommend a "smaller" operator that can customize my needs for: whale shark & manta ray sighting. Of course a dive or two in ripping roiling currents with a washing machine experience will be good too!

Thanks all...

for a short trip it would be practical to stay close to Male. Bandos Island Resort is a nice place, is close to the airport, has a good dive shop (including one of the 2 deco chambers in Maldives), a decent house reef and a good variety of dive sites close by. good manta cleaning station at Lankanfinolhu, Banana Reef, Lions Head, Nassimo Thila etc. there are some cheaper resorts if your looking for more budget options.

North Male atoll is not the best for whale sharks though. South Ari is better for that, and has very good dive sites also but its a longer and more expensive transfer from the airport so might not be worth it for a short trip.

Thanks Nishan, would Baa Atoll be feasible?

Day 1: Dive Bandos, then fly out to Baa in the afternoon last flight
Day 2: Dive Hanifaru
Day 3: First flight back to Male, then fly back

Only challenge is decomp time prior to the two flights, assuming these are low alt seaplanes should be no problem correct?

nofinsdiver:

Thanks Nishan, would Baa Atoll be feasible?

Day 1: Dive Bandos, then fly out to Baa in the afternoon last flight
Day 2: Dive Hanifaru
Day 3: First flight back to Male, then fly back

Only challenge is decomp time prior to the two flights, assuming these are low alt seaplanes should be no problem correct?

Click to expand...

The middle of May might not be the best time to try and do a one day dive trip to Baa for a dive in Hanifaru lagoon. It is a little early and the logistics of such a trip won't be as easy as the last flight out and first flight back. You have to make sure you arrange transport to the resort you are going to dive with and work with that schedule.
You can check with...

Four Seasons Resort Maldives at Landaa Giraavaru - Diving

They may be able to tell you if it is even worth considering.

Fact is, if you can afford to hop over to Baa for a quick day of diving, you can afford a weeks live aboard here probably.

PS...for what it's worth, I heard a while back that the "local" dive operations in Baa were meeting to consider limiting or even not going into the lagoon. That would leave safari boats that didn't agree or go along with this the only option.

agree with Jon about Baa. not worth for such a short trip. anyway the peak time for mantas is usually July to September. for 3 days your better off diving in N. Male. you have a good chance of seeing mantas at a cleaning station. try Lankanfinolhu. i have always had good luck there.

Interesting, maybe someone can comment on my proposed program:

I have a week or so to do Hyatt which is in very south Maldives (Hadahaa Island of Gaafu Alila Atol). While it should be pristine condiations, as the south is not yet developed, I understand it is not the location for mantas or whale sharks. I also am an experienced diver and always avoid "tourist" or crowd diving.

This thread has me wondering... do my week in south, but before (or after) do a 3-4 night segment closer to Male... maybe somewhere mid-priced and I might also avoid a costly second transfer flight (or use hotel points which I have for Sheraton/W/Westin or Hilton/Waldorf)... (has to also have great house reef to freedive with ND wife), with the goal being to broaden my dive sights with what I'll likely miss in south (mantas, whale sharks).

My timing (late-October to mid-November), so that probably rules out a focus on whale sharks, but mantas?

Would Bandos be the best mid-priced (not low price, not over the top luxury) candidate? Any others?

Or what about instead the chains where I have points I could use (Sheraton/W/Westin or Hilton/Waldorf) - any of those fit this program/objective?

Thanks!