Hello all, I will be in Hong Kong this summer and am planning to visit Maldives. Any suggestions of dive ops in Maldives? My son is newly certified, I'd like to go with a small dive group. Thanks in advance! Is CLubmed Kani a good choice?
Hong Kong to Maldives
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Hi fish10
Before getting into which dive ops to go with, I'd like to point out that with just about all of the resort islands, there will be only one resort/hotel on each island. That's because most "resort islands" are essentially large sandbanks covered in vegetation, and this restriction in real estate size determines the number of rooms/guests each island can accommodate. Thus you will find only one dive op per island (= choice of resort automatically determines the dive op) except in Male, the overpopulated capital island.
As for diving in small groups, I'd say it heavily depends on which resort you stay in. Generally speaking, resorts with more rooms/villas will have more divers, resulting in under water group tourism, while resorts with less rooms/villas will have less crammed dives.
My experience with Sub Aqua in Hilton Rangali (150 villas, now Conrad Rangali) in my view was the former, diving in large groups overseen by a number of dive masters. The guiding was efficient and service was superb. The dive dhoni was large and spacious too, so I wouldn't call this "cattle class diving", but it would be a lie to call this a small group diving.
Then, Soleni Dive School in Soneva Fushi (65 villas) was the latter. On a typical dive I had, there were 4~5 guests diving with one dive master + instructor, while the dhoni was manned by captain + two deckhands. Definitely a small group, but seasonality may have had sway on how (un)busy things were.
That said, I think you should first narrow down to a couple of resorts you may wish to visit, and then contact their dive op about their seasonality and busyness. I hope your dives will be memorable, and "the dive of a lifetime", especially for your son.
Regards
Kaza
Before getting into which dive ops to go with, I'd like to point out that with just about all of the resort islands, there will be only one resort/hotel on each island. That's because most "resort islands" are essentially large sandbanks covered in vegetation, and this restriction in real estate size determines the number of rooms/guests each island can accommodate. Thus you will find only one dive op per island (= choice of resort automatically determines the dive op) except in Male, the overpopulated capital island.
As for diving in small groups, I'd say it heavily depends on which resort you stay in. Generally speaking, resorts with more rooms/villas will have more divers, resulting in under water group tourism, while resorts with less rooms/villas will have less crammed dives.
My experience with Sub Aqua in Hilton Rangali (150 villas, now Conrad Rangali) in my view was the former, diving in large groups overseen by a number of dive masters. The guiding was efficient and service was superb. The dive dhoni was large and spacious too, so I wouldn't call this "cattle class diving", but it would be a lie to call this a small group diving.
Then, Soleni Dive School in Soneva Fushi (65 villas) was the latter. On a typical dive I had, there were 4~5 guests diving with one dive master + instructor, while the dhoni was manned by captain + two deckhands. Definitely a small group, but seasonality may have had sway on how (un)busy things were.
That said, I think you should first narrow down to a couple of resorts you may wish to visit, and then contact their dive op about their seasonality and busyness. I hope your dives will be memorable, and "the dive of a lifetime", especially for your son.
Regards
Kaza
Diving in Maldives is seasonal, make sure you choose the right area!!!
Liveaboard is my preferred choice as it cover a much bigger area rather than the "local". The dive group is probably smaller as well. But it might be too boring for a teenager to stay on a boat.
Why don't you look up with the HK diver operators to find out if there is any trip going to Maldives ?
Liveaboard is my preferred choice as it cover a much bigger area rather than the "local". The dive group is probably smaller as well. But it might be too boring for a teenager to stay on a boat.
Why don't you look up with the HK diver operators to find out if there is any trip going to Maldives ?
Hi Connie,
There are a lot of dive shops in HK.
The more established players(my understanding) who provide overseas trips are: Diving Adventure(divinghk.com), Diving Express(divingexpress.com), Pro-dive(sucks)(prodive.com.hk).
Travel agent: Sun N Sea Holidays(sunseaholidays.com)
Most of them normally only arrange long haul trips ie. over 6 days in Christmas, Chinese New Year and Easter but there are exception.
Good luck.
There are a lot of dive shops in HK.
The more established players(my understanding) who provide overseas trips are: Diving Adventure(divinghk.com), Diving Express(divingexpress.com), Pro-dive(sucks)(prodive.com.hk).
Travel agent: Sun N Sea Holidays(sunseaholidays.com)
Most of them normally only arrange long haul trips ie. over 6 days in Christmas, Chinese New Year and Easter but there are exception.
Good luck.
Hi! Connie
When we went to Asdu at North Male Atoll (the resort only has less than 30 rooms) 7years ago, we were the only divers. The European guests (mostly Italians) would usually read a book on the beach or just snorkel.
In Apr this year, we spent 3 nights at Biyadhoo @ South Male Atoll (the resort has about 100rooms). We visited the dive shop, it didn't seemed to be very busy. We were given free "vouchers" for a fun shore dive but didn't use it because we didn't want to get our equipment wet...
Kaza's suggestion is good! Select a few of the resorts which you are comfortable with in terms of budget, transfers etc, then contact the resorts or the agents. We use Vermillion for the Biyadhoo trip but they weren't able to provide the cost of diving etc... From what we saw, each dive would be US$50...
When we went to Asdu at North Male Atoll (the resort only has less than 30 rooms) 7years ago, we were the only divers. The European guests (mostly Italians) would usually read a book on the beach or just snorkel.
In Apr this year, we spent 3 nights at Biyadhoo @ South Male Atoll (the resort has about 100rooms). We visited the dive shop, it didn't seemed to be very busy. We were given free "vouchers" for a fun shore dive but didn't use it because we didn't want to get our equipment wet...
Kaza's suggestion is good! Select a few of the resorts which you are comfortable with in terms of budget, transfers etc, then contact the resorts or the agents. We use Vermillion for the Biyadhoo trip but they weren't able to provide the cost of diving etc... From what we saw, each dive would be US$50...
Central, I really appreciate the info, nothing beats local reviews. Thanks.
Xariatay- Thanks, I contacted Maldives scuba tours and they recommended Bandos. They qouted a resonable price (hotel and dive), with 10 dives costing US350. I cannot confirm as I await my flights confirmation! I really hope i get to go to maldives!!
Xariatay- Thanks, I contacted Maldives scuba tours and they recommended Bandos. They qouted a resonable price (hotel and dive), with 10 dives costing US350. I cannot confirm as I await my flights confirmation! I really hope i get to go to maldives!!
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