Trip Report - Deep South Maldives March 1st To March 12th 2016

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For me, Maldives is high voltage diving not a place to go for pretty corals. If that's your primary interest, there's much better places to go. Now having said that, I'm aware that there are some resorts (though I can't name them) that have access to nice sites. My only experience is by liveaboard.
 
"In general it was a very good trip and I would do it again but it isn’t at the top of trips I would do again...closer to the middle of the pack."

Where people choose to make dive trips often depends in part on where they are located; from Switzerland, the world's going to look a lot different to you than it does to me, in terms of sizing up potential options.

That said, the above quote has me curious about a few things:

1.) What made you choose the Maldives over other destination options?

2.) Did this trip being worth repeating, not not at high on the list to repeat, get limited by the destination itself, or the boat? Are you happy with the boat operation you went with, or wanting to try something different next time?

3.) What places are at the top of your 'let's do it again' list?

Richard.

1.) It was a bit spontaneous. I love seeing sharks and I got asked if I wanted to join this trip as it is good to see sharks and this route they only do a few times a year. So I didn't look at other options. It was either going there or staying at home.

2.) I was very happy with the dive operation and I liked the type of diving with lots of channel dives, blue water dives and they let you do your own thing with your buddy (within reason). the only thing I didn't like were the big groups we had for the blue water dives. It's definitely worth repeating (both boat and destination) but I was a bit underwhelmed by the shark action. there were lots of grey reef sharks but I was hoping to see more different types.

3.) Palau defintely. I just returned from Socorro and I would also do that over the Maldives. Always keep in mind that I love to see the big stuff. Then there are many destinations I have not visited I would like to do first.
 
Thanks for your report. I just got back from there. My understanding is, corals are better in the north and to watch big stuff you go south.

What I did not like was their obsession with safety. Maldivian scuba regulations are certainly an overkill in safety. Like, if I did not dive for 3 months I have to go through an orientation dive and demonstrate that I can clean my mask and find my reg if it fells out of my mouth. They impose their own max depth of 30 m (98.5 ft) and those guys who rented us tanks for shore diving threatened to check our comps for max depth we reached (though never bothered to). You fill endless questionnaire with 50 health related points and if you answer "yes" to any question they ask for doctor's statement that you can dive. And constant reminding from the DMs to stay near your buddy kills all the fun underwater.

Luckily I didn't have that experience. the max depth was 30m as well but they didn't care if you went 32-34 meters. During some channel dives we hooked in right around 29-31 meters. Also on most dives they let you dive alone with your buddy.
 
Hi chillyinCanada, thanks for the info :) In fact, it does help a lot cuz I am trying to dig up some info about diving Addu and Foamullah specifically. For instance, I had never read that there are good coral gardens in Addu - for the simple reason that I don't seem to be able to find trip reports about Addu and Foamullah at all! :) If you have any other impression/experience/memory that you care to share, I will be pleased to read them. In fact, my gf and I are debating whether to do a few days of land-based diving in Addu before boarding a live aboard to go back to Male: do you think it might be worth it? Thanks a lot again. Larry
 
Sorry Larry, I just don't know.
 
For me, Maldives is high voltage diving not a place to go for pretty corals. If that's your primary interest, there's much better places to go. Now having said that, I'm aware that there are some resorts (though I can't name them) that have access to nice sites. My only experience is by liveaboard.
Why not? They have excellent coral reefs in the north. As for "high voltage", where should you look for it? I felt adrenaline rush when I saw huge Tiger Shark 20 ft away from me, but this was in Hawaii, not in Maldives where reef and nurse shark types were plentiful but nothing new to me. Or maybe we were diving in the wrong spots? From what I hear, Coco Island is "high voltage" (still on my list)
 
High voltage because of the current tarponchik, not the sharks, etc. If a diver's main interest is coral, Maldives is not the best place to go. Yes, I saw some lovely corals now and then, but more often not or even if I did see them, we were going too fast to truly enjoy them. Far more often, whether zipping along or not, I was quite disappointed in the coral life. Many times, it was easy to ascertain that the damage was from development.
 
I see...For me, current was rather irritating cause it often ruined photo opportunities.
 
tarponchik, can you tell us more about your trip? I'm headed to the Maldives on the Carpe Novo in August. Any information or advice would be appreciated.
 

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