Any Freelance DiveMasters/Dive Guides in the Maldives?

[scubaprincesslila]

Hi! We are planning to go to the Maldives around November 2009. We have a place to stay and we just need a DM or a guide to assist us around the sites.

Any idea how much would it cost per tank to dive in the Maldives?

Your help will be much appreciated.

Thanks!:blinking:

 

[Damselfish]

you might want to say what island. It's an awfully big place.

 

[scubaprincesslila]

you might want to say what island. It's an awfully big place.

Oh sorry... as far as I know we will be staying at the Soneva fushi...and I was told that it's in the island of Kunfunadhoo in the Baa Atol.

I havent been to the Maldives so your help is much appreciated.


Thanks.

 

[mantajohn]

I haven't been to this resort - but it has a reputation of being one of the most upscale in the Maldives. You should have a great time.

There's no way you will be using a free lance DM. All the dive guides in Soneva Fushi will be at the resorts dive centre. This appears to be run by a Company called 'Soleni'. Below is a link to their website - i hope this helps you with your research.

John

Soleni Dive School - Soneva Fushi - Maldives

 

[scubaprincesslila]

I haven't been to this resort - but it has a reputation of being one of the most upscale in the Maldives. You should have a great time.

There's no way you will be using a free lance DM. All the dive guides in Soneva Fushi will be at the resorts dive centre. This appears to be run by a Company called 'Soleni'. Below is a link to their website - i hope this helps you with your research.

John

Soleni Dive School - Soneva Fushi - Maldives

That link was helpful John, thanks! Wow! The dives are quite pricey!
Is there any other alternative to dive in the Maldives and still stay at this resort? We don't really have a 'sky's-the-limit' budget for this trip. We are staying at this resort on a special deal :blinking: So we are trying to look around if we can contact a guide directly and just rent tanks. We will be taking our own gear with us and was hoping that we could just dive. I would understand if this is not possible in the Maldives though. Any thoughts?

Much thanks,
Lila

 

[Damselfish]

The Maldives are a very different sort of place, so you might want to do some reading on the area. There are many islands and with the exception of the capital most, if inhabited at all, are basically dedicated to a single purpose. Some are dedicated to tourism, one resort per island, and the only people there are tourists and the people who work at the resort. Other islands are reserved for local people. There is a small amount of visiting from tourist to "local" areas but it's generally limited and by permission. I put "local" in quotes as I think most of the "local" places visited are still designated as the places tourists are commonly taken to and are set up for it. That was true of 2 of the 3 places we visited - the 3rd was our divemasters home island. You don't have islands where you have a choice of resorts, a town to go to inhabited by average locals, restaurants to visit, or some other dive shop or the ability to find a local DM.

It's a very interesting place, but different. Here's a couple things to start with if you haven't-
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Maldives
http://wikitravel.org/en/Maldives

 

[mantajohn]

As Damselfish says, what you are hoping to do just isn't possible on any Maldives Island. Each island has just one resort & it has just one dive centre. You are the ultimate captive customer.

Naturally different islands offer differing degrees of value - but the upscale ones certainly are not shy when it comes to pricing for extras, diving, drinks etc

Does your 'deal' on the resort include meals? if not, i would try to pre-purchase at least half board package - otherwise your check out bill might be quite large!

John

 

[Oceanic Dreams]

Scubaprincesslila,

I am from Maldives and like others were saying. Soneva Fushi is a five star resort so it is going to be pricey. There are resorts with reasonable prices, but it might not be a five star resort. Since each resort has one dive center it is probably going to cost you the same to hire transportation and go get the non expensive dive tanks.
How many dives are you planning on? In Male' the capital you will find plenty of dive centers which you could rent gear. But I believe Soneva Fushi is not so close to Male'.
It is a beautiful place to go, you will cherish the experience. Next time you visit Maldives I recommend a liveaboard. Somtimes for people with their own gear it would be cheaper to go that route. And mostly liveaboards are for hardcore divers in Maldives. As you can cover alot of dive sites.
Hope you have a fabulous time.
If any questions about Mladives, please feel free to ask.

 

[Quero]

My experience mirrors that of the other posters. I've dived both from island-based resorts and from liveaboards. The best way to make your dives more affordable is to stick to shore diving on the house reef rather than doing boat dives. The reason for this is that there is always a charge for boat trips in addition to the diving. Typically at Maldives resorts the prices are discounted after certain blocks of dives, say 10+ or similar. As far as I know, in the Maldives all dives must be guided, by law--at least that is what I was told by the DM on the liveaboard I was last on there. The resort will certainly make you dive with their staff rather than allowing you to bring your own hired DM. If you really can't afford the diving at your resort, consider just snorkeling. The snorkeling is usually magnificent in the Maldives.

 

[Aktun Ha]

The Maldives are a very different sort of place, so you might want to do some reading on the area. There are many islands and with the exception of the capital most, if inhabited at all, are basically dedicated to a single purpose. Some are dedicated to tourism, one resort per island, and the only people there are tourists and the people who work at the resort. Other islands are reserved for local people. There is a small amount of visiting from tourist to "local" areas but it's generally limited and by permission. I put "local" in quotes as I think most of the "local" places visited are still designated as the places tourists are commonly taken to and are set up for it. That was true of 2 of the 3 places we visited - the 3rd was our divemasters home island. You don't have islands where you have a choice of resorts, a town to go to inhabited by average locals, restaurants to visit, or some other dive shop or the ability to find a local DM.

QUOTE]

Well, you don't need permission to visit inhabitated island. You just get dressed appropriately and come back before six o' clock. Some islands are more touristic than others but they're not set up for tourists.