January/February maldives land based recommendations

[froggie01]

Hi,
Me and my wife are planning to head to the maldives end of January/beginning februray next year. I have 100 dives but she hasn't tried it yet so we'd like to find a spot which is interesting in terms of marine life and where an open water course can be taken. Opportunity for snorkeling would be great too. We're happy with low key accommodation, just good food is a pre-requisite! Thank you for your inputs/suggestions!

froggie

 

[Tippytoes12]

We have had a wonderful time staying and diving with Boutique Beach Dive Resort in south Ari Atol. This is a local island , so no alcohol, but the food and lodging and ambiance is way better than the resort we stayed in the previous year. The area is where the liveaboards go to find whalesharks , they are there all year round. The diving is really well organized, absolutely brilliant and very very friendly.

 

[froggie01]

We have had a wonderful time staying and diving with Boutique Beach Dive Resort in south Ari Atol. This is a local island , so no alcohol, but the food and lodging and ambiance is way better than the resort we stayed in the previous year. The area is where the liveaboards go to find whalesharks , they are there all year round. The diving is really well organized, absolutely brilliant and very very friendly.

Thank you very much for your reply. I'll look it up!

 

[mantajohn]

I find identifying the right maldives resort quite tricky as they all look equally wonderful at first glance.

One feature that i regard as essential is to have a good house reef - not all resorts have a house reef at all. This is especially important for snorkelling & would be a real plus for the OW lessons.

My knowledge of resorts is getting a bit out of date - I've mainly been taking liveaboards recently. But you might find the attached list a helpful place to start...

www.scubascuba.com/maldives/resort-holidays

There is a lot of good info under the 'more' button for each resort.If you take out the more pricey resorts & those without a house reef, you might find a useful short list starting to form.

I hope this is helpful

cheers

 

[travelem]

Have you though of Maafushi (local island)?

I went to Maafushi for scuba diving twice.
You may see my Maafushi photos.

2017 Maafushi:
Just dived & stayed in Maafushi again

2015 Maafushi:
Just dived & stayed in Maafushi local island

I dived with Maldives Passions dive shop on Maafushi.
It is a very nice and professional dive shop:
Maldives Passions (Maafushi Island): Top Tips Before You Go (with Photos) - TripAdvisor

Maldives Passion dive rates:
Open Water: 480 US$ (SSI)
Open Water: 535 US$ (PADI)

Packages:
5 dives package (tank & weight only): 190 US$
5 dives package (including equipment except wet suit & computer): 235 US$
10 dives package (tank & weight only): 365 US$
10 dives package (including equipment except wet suit & computer): 450 US$
15 dives package (tank & weight only): 515 US$
15 dives package (including equipment except wet suit & computer): 640 US$

(Unlike resort, there is no extra dive boat fees)

Maafushi has a bikini beach where you may also snorkel.

There is Kaalamaa Resturant at Velana Beach Hotel. It offers pretty good seafood platter.

 

[Christian]

Do not have a lot of Maldives experience, but I agree with Mantajohn. You'd want to make sure there's a nice and easily accessible house reef. Some info is a bit dated on this site, but it's a good tool for some general info on all resorts in the Maldives (not local islands): http://sevenholidays.com/

 

[PugHugger]

An OW Course in the Maldives is not cheap - but if that is not a major issue some resorts with reasonable house reefs that I have identified include Vilamendhoo, Mirihi, Baros, Komandoo, Angsana Ihuru and (for a more budget friendly visit, Bandos).

I have personally stayed only at Komandoo but am doing Mihiri in 2018. I'd recommend the TripAdvisor forums for assistance with a resort. Budget is key, if you are on a limited budget local islands are a cheaper option, but do not offer the stereotypical Maldives experience.

I'd also suggest you look at ScubaSpa. It is a luxurious but not hardcore live-aboard. Its a beautiful boat and it's lovely to socialise with other divers in stunning scenery. They do OW certifications, the instructors we met on our trip came across as very conscientious (we were not doing a course but our dive master was also very switched on, and I swear he did not actually need the tank of air...)