What to see Maldives'underwater in late November?

[gbnet]

Hello!

I go to Maldives (Eriyadu Resort) next month, 8 days from the 23rd.

I just wanted to know if the season is good to see Mantas and/or whale sharks. Is there any chance to looking forward to meeting these wonderful fishes, or is it bether to hope beeing lucky?

Thanks for your answers!

Gilles

 

[gee13]

Generally the sites near Eriyadu are quite nice wall drifts but Im not aware of any manta cleaning stations. The op at the resort do organise longer boat trips to other areas in male or ari atoll where the target is manta and whalesharks. Nov is at the cusp of wet to dry monsoon so still chance of an encounter, though you can find mantas year round.

 

[hawksbillturtle]

It is very likely you will see mantas - although no guarantees. When I visited Eriyadu they organised day trips to Lankan (near Male) to see the mantas. Dive sites around Eriyadu were really good, not overcrowded, with nice corals, grey reef sharks, whitetip sharks, stingrays, eagle rays, moray eels, lots of fish etc. Whale sharks are a bit less likely in North Male atoll, AFAIK. Here is the link to a video clip from my trip in Sep 2008 - which included a liveaboard and Eriyadu resort combination (sorry not the best quality :
Maldives diving Sep-Oct 2008 - YouTube
Manta clips are from Lankan, the whale shark is from South Ari, which I visited on the liveaboard.
Eriyadu is a very nice resort, and the dive centre (Eurodivers) was well run, staff very friendly.
Have a nice trip!

 

[supergaijin]

Your DC staff will know the spots where mantas are spotted on the most regular basis. However without an established 'cleaning station' you have to be a bit lucky to see them on the fly.

November should still have mantas on the eastern side of the atoll, near the channel exit. High tide generally has better conditions for mantas to feed at (or close to) the surface.

 

[gbnet]

Thanks for your answers buddies!