Maldives or Fiji ot Tahiti?

[Scubanomad]

For my BIG 40 I want to go Dive at a SPECIAL location. I dived around the globe just about everywhere except the real exclusive places. So whoever has been to the Maldives, Fiji and Tahiti, which would be THE BEST DIVE Islands?
I was set on the Maldives BUT hear from a few divers the corals have bleached and died out and its not as GREAT as hyped up to be.
So I am on the search again, thinking of the 3 MAJOR spots that are THE Dive paradise.
BTW, I dived the great Barrier, been to Indonesia most dive hot spot islands, Thailand (Similans, Koh Tao, Phi Phi, etc), the Carribbean, African East coast, South America, NZ, Hawaii, Red Sea.
Thanks to anyone who can give me some insight.

 

[cbm32]

I have not been to the Maldives or Tahiti. &nbsp;I have heard that the Maldives are great and Tahiti not so much and I have also heard from a LOT of sources that Tahiti is pretty darn expensive.<br><br>I have dove Fiji and found it to range from good, to great, to utterly fantastic, depending on where in Fiji I was diving. Not sure why you put Fiji in the real exclusive catagory. &nbsp;From the US it is expensive to get there but one you are in Fiji you can do choose exclusive lodging or you can choose lodging that is less so. Once you in in Fiji there is lodging and diving to fit every budget there is...you can pretty much spend as much or as little as you want to.<br><br>I LOVE it there and will be going back again this fall for a couple months.I never hesitate to recommend it to anyone (including friends and family). Just take a close look at what kind of diving you want, what you want to spend, and be sure to investigate which area and resort to go to in order to have your expectations met.

 

[Worldwide Dive and Sail]

I was set on the Maldives BUT hear from a few divers the corals have bleached and died out and its not as GREAT as hyped up to be.
Thanks to anyone who can give me some insight.

Hi Scubanomad

We thought it best to set your mind at rest in regards to the corals in the Maldives, it is true that in the far north the corals have been subject to the affects of rise in water temp and therefore have bleached, however the central an southern atolls are still stunning with many species of hard and soft coral to be seen.
A recent guest of our Maldives Siren, who is also a Reef Ecologist, has posted some photos on his website of the corals seen during his trip from Male to Laamu Atoll (central)
Latest trips | Ecological pictures

And then of course there is the guarantee of plenty of reef sharks, good chance for mantas & eagle rays and whale sharks. Many people also don;t know that there are the smaller critters too - so if you like the small stuff that you would have seen in Indonesia- its also there in the Maldives ;-)

That said the the soft corals in Fiji would be hard to beat! You could compare to Raja Ampat (Citrus Ridge for example) and would be blown away. Diving at Taveuni for soft corals is a must.

Both Maldives & Fiji would be great options for your 40th, the decision would then come down to timing, flights and budget. We don't operate in Tahiti so can't comment on the diving or lifestyle there. We of course would recommend diving either destination by liveaboard as you will get to see many more sites / regions! In the Maldives there are many to choose from but Fiji has fewer options. If you go land based in Fiji you should look at operators in Taveuni and also Viti Levu so you can dive the Somosomo Strait and Bligh waters - it would mean a flight in between the two areas though.

Good luck with your decision and best wishes for a fabulous birthday trip!
Siren Fleet

 

[robint]

Palau on a liveaboard.... you are pretty much guaranteed sharks and mantas, healthy fishlife, as well as stunning wall dives and WWII wrecks. Best trip we ever took.

Fiji on a liveaboard.... breathtaking coral and fishlife.

those would be my 2 top choices.

as far as Tahiti goes, I have heard that it has a few decent dives, but is very very expensive so not all that for a "dive" trip.

 

[paulw]

I have been to Tahiti, we stayed on the island Moorea and it is probably one of the most beautiful places I have ever seen but it is VERY expensive. I dove a lot and really enjoyed it and you will see sharks on every dive, lots of them. We had a good time but I wouldn't really call it a dive destination.