Question Where to go for 1 week before central atolls liveaboard

[Jay_Remi]

We've done the north several times which was amazing ~15 years ago, but most of the sharks are now gone. The central atolls are okay, but not nearly a pristine as the south.

Yes the Northern atolls focus on deep thilas, not sharks. I personnally found the North the most pristine diving in the whole Maldives, simply because almost no LOB go there, and very few land based divers.
Now if shark are your thing, then the Vilingili channel is a prime spot. But there are sure dive sites in Central for sharks too.

 

[Jay_Remi]

Just pointing out the OP said December, with Fuvahmulah that is within the peak of hammerheads but Molas are generally in the summer months. We saw a lone thresher but we were 100' down and the thresher appeared to be another 100' down. Everyone is into different things, my personal opinion is I do not recommend Fuvahmulah if one doesn't want to dive with the Tigers

There is no "season" for Mola Molas in the Maldives. They are a very rare find. I know countless Maldivian divers who dived for decades and have yet to see one.

 

[Volleyball]

There is no "season" for Mola Molas in the Maldives. They are a very rare find. I know countless Maldivian divers who dived for decades and have yet to see one.

You're right that they're not seasonal so I stand corrected. My Fuvahmulah DM told me they are rare, you'll only see them during their summer because of the colder water and an article from SSI says the same. Yet there are more comprehensive sources that state year round. Have you ever seen them? I've seen them three times sunning themselves on the surface from dive boats (Capt refused to stop) off the coast of CA but have never been in the water with them

 

[cetacean]

Yes the Northern atolls focus on deep thilas, not sharks. I personnally found the North the most pristine diving in the whole Maldives, simply because almost no LOB go there, and very few land based divers.
Now if shark are your thing, then the Vilingili channel is a prime spot. But there are sure dive sites in Central for sharks too.

@Jay_Remi

We've been to the north 3 times (although not in the last 8 years). On the first trip to the Baa Atoll we dove "Shark Nursery" which was one of the most unique dives I've ever experienced. Juvenile grey reef sharks and juvenile eagle rays circling within a natural reef "bowl" - amazing dive, with a strong current the sharks and rays just stayed there, circling. We went back a couple of years later and the sharks had been fished out... quite sad.

 

[Jay_Remi]

You're right that they're not seasonal so I stand corrected. My Fuvahmulah DM told me they are rare, you'll only see them during their summer because of the colder water and an article from SSI says the same. Yet there are more comprehensive sources that state year round. Have you ever seen them? I've seen them three times sunning themselves on the surface from dive boats (Capt refused to stop) off the coast of CA but have never been in the water with them

I have lived three years in the Maldives and dived hundreds of times there, from the far north to the far south, and never saw a Mola Mola in these waters.
All my diver friends from the Maldives with thousands of dives have yet to see one. Extremely rare sight. Unfortunately.

 

[Jay_Remi]

We've been to the north 3 times (although not in the last 8 years). On the first trip to the Baa Atoll we dove "Shark Nursery" which was one of the most unique dives I've ever experienced. Juvenile grey reef sharks and juvenile eagle rays circling within a natural reef "bowl" - amazing dive, with a strong current the sharks and rays just stayed there, circling. We went back a couple of years later and the sharks had been fished out... quite sad.

When I speak about the North, I don't refer to Baa atoll, which is still quite central. I refer to the far North (Haa, Shaviyani)

 

[Blackcrusader]

As stated in the title, I'll be in Maldives in December, have a liveaboard already booked that starts/ends in Male ("Best of Maldives classic"). I have another week before and after, would like to do more diving the week before and relax the week after. I've read a lot about Fuvahmulah, I'm open to it but also not super thrilled to spend a week watching sharks being fed. Open to any suggestions, but avoid resorts and expensive areas.

I was there in May and dived in Fuvahmulah. It was better in May than the trip I did there last November December. Also dived in Male with Raajie divers and had a great time.

Diving with Tigers at Tiger Zoo and Tiger Wall is the highlight for many divers. I never had any diiver complain about it when I was there. I enjoyed the dives with Tiger Sharks. There are other sites and seeing threshers and hammerheads did mean dives deeper than 30m were done. We got lucky with a large whale shark that was cruising along at 45m depth. The dive ops will tell you that by law the max depth is 30m so any diving you do is on you. They then do deep dives on air and yes some are deco dives.

My dive buddy and I enjoyed our holiday there.

Thread 'Fuvahmulah 08 - 27 May 2025'

May 7, 2025

Heading off to Maldives tomorrow.

Started my journey having my BIL drop me off at the High Speed Railway in Chiayi Taiwan to get to the Hyatt Airport Hotel which has a lower price deal for those flying with China Airlines. IF you have not been to Japan or Taiwan or France or China taking a journey on trains that can run at 350km/h is nice. Super smooth. As I am 4 hours away from the airport and my flight is at 8am I stay a night at the airport hotel. They have free shuttle buses from early am and the ride is around 15 minutes to Terminal 1 or Terminal 2. I am flying China Airlines...

• Blackcrusader
• Replies: 25
• Forum: Maldives