Best dive sites and resorts?

Hi everyone,
My husband and I are AOW and we are terribly excited about maybe going to the Maldives in 2 weeks. We have never been there before (diving mainly in SE Asia and Egypt) and we would really appreciate some tips. Does anyone have suggestions of good dive resorts in the Maldives? What's the diving conditions like in September (weather/visibility/currents)? I read that there's a tradeoff between dive sites with good visibility and sites with the big fish . Is that true? Thanks so much in advance!!!
Sel

Diving in the Maldives depends a lot on where you will be based. The main atolls for diving are based around Male and the Ari Atoll. The trade winds are currently coming from the SW so islands on the southern or western sides of the atolls will be affected more by ocean swells. The eastern islands are generally more protected.
Ari atoll has a mixture of drift diving in the passes (called kandus) and diving on pinnacles (called thilas). Thilas are usually fairly easy and are much more compact (so that a lot of different species of fish/corals are close together). Drift diving in the kandus usually requires a bit more care and experience in sometimes unstable currents (depending on the topography) and blue water ascents/descents. With the current comes the bigger pelagics such as sharks and rays.

Thilas can also harbour sharks and rays- mainly whitetip reef sharks and the odd eagle ray. You get more schooling action for the big boys in the kandus.

I work in the North Ari Atoll but it is my first season during this time of year (Hulhangu or SW Monsoon). I've had 2 Hulhangu seasons in the South Ari and personally found the diving to be better than in the NE Monsoon (Iruvai) even if this dry monsoon brought the mantas. I found the diving better because of generally better visibility, stronger currents, more grey reef sharks and less divers. The divers who were coming were generally Divers (as opposed to people coming to the spa and maybe going on a dive or 2) and so they were willing to put up with potential rain, wind, swell for some great but challenging dives.

Depending on your experience level and what you want to see- the dive centers will normally be able to tailor the dive sites to match. Be realistic and honest with it though. Don't come expecting mantas and whale sharks in 30m viz- don't expect schooling sharks without current. If you can't swim- don't try diving in the kandus. It's sometimes fairly benign but sometimes it can really kick off.

If you want to see a lots of pretty little fish- the top 12m is amazing and you'll probably see turtles and whitetip reef sharks at this depth- especially early morning or later in the afternoon.

Most dive centers will give you an orientation dive. This is for you to get accustomed to the boat procedures, relax a bit, establish your breathing and buoyancy. Sometimes it's free-sometimes it's not. Normally somewhere easy inside the lagoon where yo can still see some fish (sometimes even mantas) but normally doesn't have the visibility of the outside dive sites. At the same time the DMs will be checking you out as well. If you can't put your own equipment together, if you can't properly hover, if you don;t know what a NDL is or what a pressure guage means in respect to depth and time- don't worry; you won't be the first or the last- but don't expect to be diving on the more challenging reefs either.

Wow! Thanks SO much for taking the time to write that extensive explanation!! I'm not sure if this goes against scubaboards's policy but what resort/dive center do you work at?

Supergaijin, thanks for the info.
We have been twice to the Madives now; last November on South Ari Atoll (Sun island). We loved it; we try to come back the first week of November (schoolvacation). We like the big fish; could you recommend another island that is not that expensive (our 12 year young son is now considered an adult - price-wise :-(. BTW our son got certified last year in the Maldives and he is just as keen.
thanks a lot
Herman
Belgium

With big fish- you can't go past the Whale Shark. There are many different locations around the Maldives for whale sharks- the most famous is of course Maamigili region at the bottom of South Ari Atoll, but as you have stayed at Sun Island you will know that already. We see whalesharks in the N Ari as well but definitely not as regularly as in the south.

Another decent island with a very good dive center for experienced divers is DIVA (formerly White Sands) which is close to Maamigili. Room prices are reasonable from what I hear but consider Nov to be already high season so rooms are more expensive. (I worked here for a short time before moving for another job opportunity) The manager is very experienced in this area and approachable. At the same time IMO this is not so good for the beginner divers as a lot of responsibility rests on your shoulders diving with this outfit. The groups can be large (well larger than 4/ guide, which many resorts practice) and the dive sites in the Digurah Kandu are fairly deep (15-20m to the top of the reef) and they are all exposed to current which at times is incredibly strong (stronger than you can crawl against). Descents must be co-ordinated with no fluffing about at the surface but the diving can be spectacular with colour and fish. Divers must be prepared to take control of their own dive with no hand-holding from the DM. Nitrox is recommended for divers with good breathing control.

For those less experienced, diving the outside reefs is usually easy but can be really rewarding though with whale sharks in the shallows, as well as the usual suspects (Whitetip reef sharks, rays, turtles) For the keen eye there are leaf fish, ghost pipefish, scorpion and stonefish. The current gets stronger at the corners but there are good chances to see mantas and schooling mobula rays here as well as Grey Reef sharks in the deeper areas. Just take care not to get pushed out in to the blue.

The outside reef around Maamigili is definitely not as colourful as the inside reefs as they get a proper pounding from ocean swells but the big boys congregate here in numbers. The big problem with Maamigil is the boat traffic. I stress when I'm there as there can be a dozen dhonis (local boats) doing figure 8's arounda whale shark with 40 people snorkeling with a shark. Common sense is not that common here.

In November you have more chance to see whale sharks around Bodu Finolhu Thila which is just a half hour east of Sun island or around 50 mins from Diva. The reef is fairly boring and it is a bit hit or miss- sometimes 50+ mobula, eagle rays, whale sharks but sometimes it's a no show. The thila itself is deep (top at 24m). Resting on the bottom are plenty of whitetips and if your guide is good he can show you the Halimaeda Ghost pipefish in one of the small overhangs at 27m. They are freakin small (maybe 4cm).

Mantas are fairly seasonal but every so often you get lucky out of season. Maybe a week back we had approx 20 on the west side of North Ari. According to local lore- they shouldn't be here at this time of year. However we are also experiencing unusually calm seas, warm temps (29 degrees) and lots of sunshine. We had a small baby manta in the lagoon yesterday (maybe 1m across) and another larger juvenile at the far side of the lagoon where we do DSDs and orientation dives.

Regarding the scubaboard policy about divulging workplace info- I have no idea but you can PM me.

thanks a million supergaijin; in the meantime we booked once more a week on Sun Island!
But will certainly bear in mind your info on Maamigili.

Hi Supergaijin, Gee I wish I had run into you on Scuba Board before I booked my trip. We just returned from a 10 day cruise aboard the Ark Royal. We saw no mantas at Hanifaru and none at all in the Baa Atoll. The only mantas we saw were at Manta Point near Male. And there we only saw one per dive. We did 2 dives there. We did see some mantas swimming in a sandy area in the Ari Atoll and some of us snorkeled with them, but they didn't stick around. I wish I had known more about the local conditions before I chose September to go.

Just came back from diving in the south Ari around Maamigili- mantas? Yep plenty.

I don't know why they are there but I'm not complaining!

Please note that Maamigili is both a physical island (where they are building a new airport) as well as a regional name for the south of the South Ari Atoll. Sun Island is physically next to Maamigili and so falls under that region. Diva and Holiday Isl are others in that region and so if you choose to stay there, there is an excellent chance to see both Whale Sharks and mantas on the outer reefs. I doubt you can swim there by yourself (the outer reef is pretty far from the island) but for sure the hotels will have snorkeling excursions.

There is an very good diving book written by Tim Godfrey on the Maldives with good information on the dive sites as well as the seasons and currents. Unfortunately he is from Australia but that aside- it's a great read and full of good diving tips.

This year the weather has been incredibly good during what should be the wettest and windiest months of the year. What this bodes for later in the year I don't know. The normal weather pattern in the Ari Atoll is a solid month of rain during September and strong winds during October. Today was flat and sunny- as was yesterday and the week before that. In fact I can't remember when it last rained properly. Water temperature is 29 C which is a bit of a worry as the corals won't tolerate much higher. There was extensive bleaching in the Maldives during the early to mid 90s and I hope this is not the start of another.

Maybe this weather has something to do with the fact that mantas are around in numbers at the moment. We saw 6 small mantas in a no-name lagoon a few km inside from Digurah Island (also Maamigili region) and then 4 more while diving around the outer reef of Didhoo Island (again the Maamigili region. We had a snorkel at the no-name lagoon and there was a lot of plankton at the surface which was stinging quite a lot. So the mantas were just milling around feeding with mouths open. Unfortunately I was guiding and not filming but it was great as we were the only ones there.

At Didhoo the mantas were double the size (maybe 3-3.5m across) but swimming up and down the reef so we saw them periodically during the dive but they are much to fast to keep up with. This is why cleaning stations are a diver's favourite as the mantas hover over the reef for a few minutes at a time allowing divers great photo ops.

From what I understand Hanifaru is a feeding lagoon when the conditions are right. Every couple of years or so the conditions are more than alright and the mantas and whalesharks arrive in huge numbers- possibly in the hundreds. This event may last only a few days but if you're there at the time- wow. Mantas are seen regularly but it depends on tide and luck.

Tide also plays a factor for the whalesharks around Maamigili region. It's not unheard of but it's rare to spot the sharks during low tide. Much better chance at high tide. This needs to be taken in to account when the daytrips are organised from resorts which are further away. Saying that- we were there today with a fairly full tide but saw no whalesharks. Need luck as well.

From my experience with mantas at the surface, it's only possible to approach them if they are actively feeding. If they are cruising or just playing they often keep their distance. Cleaning stations are usually the diver's realm as they tend to be deeper than snorkelers can get to. Madivaru (close to Conrad Rangali) has a cleaning station at 12m which is about the deepest for snorkelers to see from the surface.

I think I discovered a neat trick there. Often I move away a few metres from the group looking for some macro. Mantas would sometimes approach and for the fun of it I would roll over on my back. (beware that this is pretty tricky to maintain buoyancy as your sense of up and down get out of wack- so don't break coral or ascend) Mantas would often hover directly over me. One time a manta even put it's "wing"? on my head for a few seconds which I've never thought possible. Normally fish will not physically touch you as they can "feel" you through pressure changes in the water. Mantas have incredibly sensitive skin and can detect minute changes in pressure (which I think makes them able to move in to current without seeming to swim- they are riding on different densities of water..... maybe). Anyway, I think that this rolling on to my back thing made me stand out a bit from the crowd so to speak, increased their curiosity to us divers, and probably made them more comfortable as it could be perceived as a less threatening or vulnerable position.... maybe. I've since done the same with dolphins and it seems to create some interest as well.

Mantas are really cool animals and fairly intelligent (as far as fish go). A good film out there is Andrea Marshall: Queen of the Mantas. She is based in Mozambique? but the film also shows her at Hanifaru.

Good luck with the dives

I were in North Male Atoll (Kuda Huraa) for diving last September. Unless weather was not really great, all dives were marvelous!!!

Next time I want to experience a liveboat!! And of course... after October!!

Understanding the Atolls - Divernet


Here is an informative link for diving in the Maldives