Maldives vs Seychelles Diving?

[DaddyJr]

@DaddyJr, why do you limit yourself so explicitly to PADI Dive operations? Although I often dive with PADI shops, I have no doubt that other dive operations can also provide an equally good service.

Not really by choice, but by circumstance, the Maldivian island dive resort was PADI only and to the best of my knowledge, most if not all of the Seychelles dive resorts are also PADI only.

 

[Christian]

I have dived in both Seychelles and Maldives.

In the Maldives I twice stayed at one of its southern island resorts, so I was limited to diving at dive spots relatively close to that island resort, presumably, if I stayed at numerous resorts I would have had access to a greater variety of dive sites, but I didn't. That meant that my dive site options were limited. At the same time, given that Maldives are corraline islands only, it means that the undersea terrain is always coral and/or sand. Also, I was limited to only diving with the only PADI Dive Resort on the island.

This is true, so if you're staying on an island (not doing a liveaboard) you need to choose your island carefully. There are hundreds of resorts and some are a lot better than others for diving. First, the season needs to be right as there are two different weather patterns. Roughly -- Dec-May pick resorts on the Eastern side and the other part of the year on the Western side. Depending on the location of the resort, there can be different types of dives available ... also something to research so that you get what you want. As for the number of dive sites, in many places you will have 30-40 sites reachable whithin an hour so not a problem unless you plan to stay for more than 14 days. Just make sure it's the sites you want to visit.

 

[chillyinCanada]

Have you also read up on the type of diving you may well encounter in Maldives? There is often significant current.
I only mention this because on one of my trips, there was a new diver who had arrived solo. This diver was completely unprepared for the conditions and became quite angry with the management and crew because no one had told that diver what should be expected. Of course, the diver had no right to be angry. Nonetheless, that particular diver should have done more upfront research to avoid disappointment. This is not to imply that you haven't done your homework and is only to emphasize why I've brought this up at all.
Daddyjr, how do you compare the fish accumulations congregations between Maldives and Seychelles? How do you compare the fish schools and other expected fish and Critters? Thanks in advance.

 

[DaddyJr]

Daddyjr, how do you compare the fish accumulations congregations between Maldives and Seychelles? How do you compare the fish schools and other expected fish and Critters? Thanks in advance.

Since I dived only at the sites of 1 Maldives Resort, I can only comment on those sites (southern isles of Maldives near Dhaalu Atoll), the fish schools were not particularly large, maybe the largest school I saw had some 50 to 100 fish. But turtles were common, also reef sharks and eels. Didn't see any rays though, may have been unlucky..

Relative to Maldives, I have been to more varied sites in Seychelles. Some sites are truly great, I often dive with tourists and it's often to hear them say that "that dive was one of their best". Some of the best sites are those with granitic rocks rising in the middle of the ocean (e.g. Brissare Rocks, Dragon's Teeth, L'ilot), in a recent dive to Brissare Rocks a Spanish tourist said it reminded him of a dive he made in the Red Sea minus all the divers (he said that he dived in groups of 20 and then were joined by other groups of 20 in the Red Sea whereas typically you dive in groups of 6 to 8 in Seychelles). Sometimes there are schools of fish in the hundreds all around you, just moving slightly out of the way as you pass by. Solitary reef sharks are fairly common, also Hawksbill Turtles, Eagle Rays, Octopus. I've heard the instructors say that dolphins would often show up at Brissare Rocks or Dragon's Teeth, but I've not seen them under the sea so far, but have seen their fins in the distance from the boat. Encounters with bull or tiger sharks are very very rare, I've never seen any and instructors say they hardly see them.

 

[Christian]

The density of tourists in the RedSea tourist areas (Egypt) is fairly low nowadays. It started to pick up last year, but from very low numbers. Sharm El Sheikh is a ghost town. I dived a there in October and our liveaboard was the only boat on s/s Thistlegorm and also on Ras Mohamed... So the stories about crowded reefs in Egypt is not accurate today. Then if you venture further south into Sudanese waters ... you can find reefs which are still pretty much undived.

 

[npole]

I would avoid Sudan like plague today. This is happened to my dive buddies last moth: they booked a liveboard in Sudan last year, a day before the trip, the flight company decided to suspend all the flights from Cairo to Karthum indefinitely, the only way to reach it was by using another route via Arabia, only one decided to continue the trip. As soon he hits the Saudi Arabia, they seized all his diving equipment. He finally reached the place (without his equipment) ...well ended story? Nope, he has been repatriated last week bent (to an arm) as they doesn't have rechamber rooms there.
Surely a unfortunate chain of bad luck, but that's not the place to go nowadays if you want to pass a peaceful holiday... just saying.

 

[Christian]

Sudan has never been a place for peaceful holidays. It is a place for adventure and not suitable to most.
Sorry to hear about your friend, but you n e v e r fly via Khartoum. I'd rather go by bike. That was a big mistake to book that route and anyone with a little experience could have adviced him/her. You either go on the Royal Evolution out of Ghalib or fly to Port Sudan from Cairo. I have done both, but it was a while ago,

 

[Christian]

Derailed a little here, but just an addition to previous post: Dubai seems to be the preffered route into PS currently.

 

[npole]

I think I'm wrong and the tickets were via Port Sudan.. and all the flights are now cancelled from certain countries (including the Egypt) indefinitely for the 2018 (all companies), so he had to transit via Saudi (or via UAE) and still the issue with the sized luggage by the authority.
Yes Sudan it's not a peaceful place.. but I wouldn't call it "adventure", it is risky for your safety, your things and your freedom, to not talk about the other annoying consequence (like being "blacklisted" by the USA and if you want to travel there then you need to visit the consolate because you cannot use the ESTA anymore).

 

[Christian]

I heard about the ”black list”. Don’t know how that will play out. New rule.
And on safety, I think it’s up to each person to decide what they think. Personally, I don’t agree. I have been to the Sudanese Red Sea and Port Sudan several times and have never felt at risk. Nor have I ever heard of any personal safety incidents involving visiting divers. Inme the Sudanese people are very friendly and welcoming despite their circumstances. The Sudan (s) is a huge area and the coastal stretch is far away from any conflict zones.
But it is not a tourist destination. There are no infrastructure like health care. It has to be treated as an expedition and not a holiday.