has anyone dived the maldives

[pete taylor]

am off to Maayafushi in 2 weeks, the whole point (initially) in learning to dive was for this trip - anyone been their?

[daz]

I've not been to the resort you mentioned but I have been to North Male Atoll and South Ari Atoll.

Both very different, North Male was very gentle currents, easy diving, beautiful corals and loads of reef fish, some small reef sharks and Mantas.

South Ari had some ripping currents, larger pelagic species and still great corals and reef fish.

Regardless of where you go I think you will a great time learning to dive in the Maldives and even if there are some sites that have strong currents the dive centres will also have some sites with nice easy conditions for teaching open water and guiding novice divers.

Daz

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by daz

Both very different, North Male was very gentle currents, easy diving, beautiful corals and loads of reef fish, some small reef sharks and Mantas.

South Ari had some ripping currents, larger pelagic species and still great corals and reef fish.

They both have ripping currents. The strongest current I've ever dived in was in North Male. The over confident dive guide didn't bother checking the current. It depends when you go. The currents are strongest Jan-March.

I've not stayed on Maayafushi, but it is close to one of the famous Maldives dive sites, Maaya Tilla, which I've done several times. You normally see sharks unless everyone else has scared them away.

Jason

[BJ]

The currents depend very much upon the monsoon (season). Check with Maldives Scuba Tours or your operator for accurate information regarding the month and the island.

[KASHA]

Hi Pete
Have been 6 times and love it; I know the worlds a big placce but we love the place. Only reason we're not going this year is due to an earlier trip to Oz; and for us we rated the Maldives higher than Oz.

We've done some fantastic dives there:

On one dive we saw 14 mantas and they put on a great performance for nearly 60 minutes, made a return visit to the dive site and once again we were treated to a magical performance

Went off for a dive and on route to the dive site we saw: dolphins, pilot whales, all this meant that we were a little late getting to the dive site; anyway in we jump and off on the dive we go....and as if by things had been ordered we saw the awsome whale shark...we were blown away...what more could we ask for? back on the boat the conversations where in full speed until the boat crew then spotted mantas....now come on; what more could you ask for?

Alot of the dives are 'drift dives' which for us is great; in you go whilst the boat is mooving, down you go and then the boat picks you up so no need to turn around and head back to the boat....so much easier.

The fish life is much larger, you see more sharks than Egypt. Granted the corals took a bashing with El Nimo having said that they are coming back.

My computer tells me the water temp and I've gone night dives where the temp is 31....very nice. I only ever dive in a 3mm shortie and have no issues with cold....and I'm a bit of a 'wimp' generally.

Make sure you rinse your ears out with bottled water after every dive; then last thing you want is an ear inferction during your much wanted holiday.

We normally go aug, sept or oct and it can rain and some; but hay; if your on a dive your gonna get wet anyway.

Island life is great, the maldivians are really nice people and they will go out of their way to make your holiday a memorable one. It was our daughters birthday and they decorated our table and made her a cake which went down very well.

Our kids did their advanced course whilst out their and they had no issues with the diving conditions.

So what else is there to say other than.....any room in your suitcase for a small one....me.

Tell her she will only need one pair of shoes and no handbags.
Regards
Kasha

[pete taylor]

thank you so much for that

one thing I would ask - I have notched up about 16 or so dives so am still new, I have never drift dived - are they hard?
also did it cost alot to do the advanced open water?

cheers

Pete

[Narked@50]

Hi Pete

Drifts are easy, just make sure you are not over a deep wall while inexperianced - not too much of an issue where you are going - you litteraly just drift along, chill, and move very little, watch the world go by. The other thing you have to watch out for is that the drift does not get too strong and suddenly you find things moveing towards you rather quickly - this is an issue where you are going, but different days/seasons and other events make the tides here very difficult to predict accurately. Being land based does make it easier though, as they see them change daily, where as a liveaboard may not have been at a site for months.

An advanced open water price will not change too much from place to place, but you will be limited by the size of the place and it's isolation, so I would not worry about it being a bit dearer than you could get it in say Tenarife, as it is likely to be either take it or leave it. Of course, you could do the theory here and do a referal? This would mean more time in the water and less in the class, and you are on holiday. Just contact the local PADI school out there.

James

[JasonP]

Originally Posted by pete taylor

one thing I would ask - I have notched up about 16 or so dives so am still new, I have never drift dived - are they hard?
also did it cost alot to do the advanced open water?

Drift dives are normally very easy. You just do nothing and go with the flow. Occasionally you might have to swim against the current when going around circular reefs. It can be hard work.

AOW prices vary from island to island. All the islands have one thing in common. None of them are cheap. Nothing is in the Maldives. That's why it pays to go all-inclusive or pay in advance. You might be able to do that for your course.

Jason