Sel once bubbled...
Hi! My soon-to-be-husband and I are debating about diving in the Maldives on our honeymoon. We've never dived in this region before and would really appreciate some good advice. What are the "must-dive" sites and what sort of dives could we do there? THANKS!!
Hi Sel
Maldives is certainly a great place to go on your honeymoon. I was there for my 10th wedding anniversary and it felt like I was on my honeymon. It was paradise. I didnt want to return home.
There are almost 100 resort islands in the Maldives, each has its own unique qualities, so you have to pick and choose. Generally the ones that are closet to the outer edge of the Atoll are better for diving, as they have deep walls and more large fish i.e. whale sharks, mantas etc. You really need to look at each island and get a feel for them to see if them suit your diving requirements and have a sufficient romantic atmosphere for your honeymoon.
Off the top of my head some of the famous diver islands are Bandos (it also had a reputation for partying as well), Helengli (but in my opinion the bungalows are not nice enough if youre on your honey moon. Its purely a diver island) Ellhaido in Ari Atoll (great diving, cute rooms with outdoor bath, but a wall around the island to prevent beach erosion, which disturbs the romantic sunset views and that paradise feeling, Kuramathi Spa & Resort in Radsu Atoll (a huge island which offers a good dive shop, a decompressor, three resorts, mostly nice renovated rooms, several bars and restaurants and since the island is so large you can actually feel almost secluded on it. Ive head that about other large islands as well. Very romantic indeed. On the other hand Fesdu Island in Ari Atoll is small, but you can feel secluded on it as well. It's also within reach of my favourite dive sites.
I've taken two dive holidays in Ari Atoll in Late October till mid November and although it is not quite high season it was great. There was a bit of overcast sometimes, but generally no showers and when so only very short ones. The visibility for diving was good and generally around 15 meters. This seems to be the manta migrating in this season, and if you are lucky youll see a few.
My favourite dive spot "maayafushi tila" localed close to the middle of Ari Atoll, if I rmember correctly. There are so many huge schools of fish you don't know where took look. The macro environment is gorgeous and packed with colours, plus there are a few huge fans. You've also have sharks, turtles, eels, octopus and generally speaking fish everywhere you look. Another thing I like about the spot it that the top of the Tila a.k.a. brombie or pinnacle is roughly 5 or 6 meters so you can stay there and watch the octopus and small fish while doing your safety stop.
Other popular dive spots in the area are "coral gardens" and "fish head", Ellaidhoo house reef, as well as a few wrecks. Radsu Atoll, just North of Ari Atoll is famous for its hammer head sharks. I cant speak for the other atolls because Ive only been to Radsu Atoll and Ari Atoll as well as Male itself.
Aside from the other recommendations youre received, I recommend the following sites to get a feel for the Maldives:
http://www.malediven.at (one of my favourite sites in English & German with panoramic photos etc)
http://www.hellomaldives.com/maldives/
http://www.maldive.com/
http://www.malediven.com/malediven/
http://www.malediven.net/haupts.htm (in German)
http://www.visitmaldives.com/maldives/index.html (official web site from the office of tourism)
Have a great honeymoon.
Sylvie
I'm really excited to be able to start our research with a better focus. 
