Maldives. Ever heard of it?

Maldives- ever heard of it before the big dust-up?

  • I had known that SCUBA Diving is done in Maldives before this

    Votes: 70 87.5%

  • I could have pointed at Maldives on the map

    Votes: 44 55.0%

  • I knew that Maldivian ministers had an underwater Ocean Level summit this last winter

    Votes: 29 36.3%

  • I know the airport gateway cities that a North American would fly through to get to Male

    Votes: 12 15.0%

  • I knew about the unique airport situation in Male and how one gets to diving from there

    Votes: 12 15.0%

  • I knew what features Maldives diving is best known for

    Votes: 23 28.8%

  • I knew the true relevance of past effects there such as Tsunami and Coral Bleachings

    Votes: 17 21.3%

  • I knew that diving was done from liveaboards

    Votes: 42 52.5%

  • I knew what a "dhoni" was and the specifics of how they operate

    Votes: 15 18.8%

  • I knew that there are resorts and what they offer, and how they are perceived in luxury level

    Votes: 23 28.8%

  • I had previously realistically intended to go to Maldives to dive

    Votes: 21 26.3%

  • Travel to that area is time/cost prohibitive for a North American

    Votes: 26 32.5%
  • Total voters
    80

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I've heard of it and know that Europeans often dive there, but I don't know where it is exactly, and it's never really been on my list of places I have to dive.
 
Yes, I have read a lot about the Maldives...but not from a diving perspective until recently.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-toQZUBdrEs

I would love to go there but looking at some of the resort prices..good god! $500/night for the cheaper places and that's just for the hotel room :shocked2: Maybe when I win the lottery. But from a diving perspective a liveaboard may be a lot more affordable.
 
I've researched it. I can do two trips to Indonesia for what one trip to the Maldives would cost me.

No brainer.
 
I first heard of the Maldives in 1981 after I got certified. I have been there 3 times in the last 8 years, all live aboard, up to 17 days at a time, and plan to return next year. It is not hard to get to from the West Coast, just take Singapore Air straight through. It is the BEST!!!! and diving there is fabulous. Just check my website.I was surprised at at the comments posted...
Daphna 130
 
triciamint:
i have been to the maldives twice now, going for the third time in june for three weeks (two weeks just not long enough!) absolutely love it. Three weeks of no shoes, very little clothes and spectacular diving! I am going to the same island (15 mins to walk round it), biyadhoo. It is a beautiful island, fruit bats flying around, herons fishing and baby blacktip reef sharks swimming by the jetty. There are no cars or trucks on the island so it is very peaceful.

The dive centre there is great, the staff very professional. I love doing shore dives from the island, the boat dives are great. I tend not to do some boat dives as the currents can rip a bit, but my buddy loves those dives as he likes the pelagics.

The last dive my buddy and i did there we saw a nurse shark sleeping surrounded by sweetlips, morays, bat fish, juvinille box fish, a huge marble ray, and my buddy was stroked by a honeycombe moray that decided to go for a swim around his bc.

Have seen loads of mantas, turtles and reef sharks both diving and snorkelling. Have yet to see a whale shark, mainly because i am not going visiting at the best time of year to see them on this atoll.

Regarding alcohol, yes, you are not allowed to bring in duty free alcohol but the islands are well supplied for tourists.
Click to expand...

you need to do a trip report !!!!

Did i yell loud enough ??????
 
I've been going to the Maldives for the last 10yrs and love it - :yeahbaby:

Our 1st few visits were land based and then we had a go at a safari boat followed by a stay on an island and for the last 4yrs we've gone with the safari boat option for the duration and would'nt have it any other way now.

For the last 3yrs we've gone with Maldives Scuba Tours; here in the UK they have are seen as a leading authority. They have over 15yrs experience in the Maldives and I would say that 85% of thier bookings are repeat guests - now that speaks volumes!

In all our visits we've never had any issues/incidents or met any other divers who have had any issues regarding diving health/safety what so ever - unlike our trip to GBR where we unfortunatley had a fellow diver tragically die on the 1st dive of our safari trip. The Maldives did recieve some bad press due to the tragic events of 2008 and without making light of the well noted tragedy the Maldives dosen't have anywhere near the number of incidents as in the likes of Indonesia/Australia/Egypt.

The giving can be challenging; thats a fact but that's not to say every dive is that way. Last year we did a dive where there must have been 65+ Mantas along with a 8m Whale Shark for 60 minutes - truly awsome and mindblowing. In March 2010 copy of Diver (divernet.com) theres an article "Manta Tornado" written by Michale AW where he experienced some 200 Mantas at the site Hani Faru - this was where we encountered the 65+ Mantas in 09/5 Whale Sharks for 2.5hrs (snorkelling) and 50+ Mantas(dive) in 08 and like many British dives he also used Maldive Scuba Tours

The Maldives is a long haul destination for you guys in the US but well worth it - check out some trip reports on MST website.

Anyway it's clear to see from me going on the Maldives really is a fantastic dive destination so on that note I'll wish everone 'happy diving' and dive safe
Kasha
 
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