The world‘s finest diving

Maldives

I have to say that the range of dive liveaboards in the Maldives is so extensive today that divers’ choices are often made drawing straws ! But, the Maldives is a complex destination with much more to offer than many divers may guess. What we aim to do at Dive Advice to put you in the right place, at the best time, on the precise boat that will give you the underwater experience you’re looking for.

The Maldives has always a major European dive destination, but it’s only in the last 15 years that the rest of the world has really begun exploring these magical island atolls with a plentitude & variety of underwater life. Plus, new routes have opened up … particularly those to the south around the equator … which boast abundant pelagics and require advanced diving skills.

A word from Dom

Check out our favourite liveboards in the Maldives Diving after decades of exploring!

Most of our liveaboards are on Live Search. You can search for spaces, rates & other details. Choose your destination, apply the filters … and away you go!

To help you plan your trip, we’ve prepared a list of basic information you’ll want to know before you book.

Captivating Topography

Now, for most divers, the Maldives conjures up images of swimming & flirting with swarms of great Manta Rays. But diving in the Maldives is definitely more than that.

For starters, rising from the atoll floor, usually in the middle of channels, are ‘thilas’ or submerged reefs, which can be as shallow as 8-10 meters below the surface. Thilas make great dive sites as they are often small enough to swim around during one dive and have their own compact ecosystems, such as caves, overhangs, steep walls or cracks and crevices. Many are pinnacle formations.

You’ll experience gentle dives & strong currents and even a couple of very good wreck dives. The Maldives has diving for everyone from the beginner to the advanced diver and is a destination ideal for divers and snorklers alike.

Abundant Life

Do note that Maldives diving is more about abundant life than about colorful corals, but in most of the channels you’ll find caves, caverns & overhangs with lovely soft corals, colorful sponges, invertebrates & gorgonian fans.

These areas also host cleaning stations where you’ll observe the fascinating process of the small-fries cleaning large ocean species. Groupers, snappers, surgeonfish, eels, parrotfish, even Giant Napoleon Wrasse will install themselves in a quiet corner, while armies of wrasse, shrimp & other assorted cleaners pick at debris in their open gills & gaping mouths.

The rock pinnacles also provide rich diving & diverse life forms, while further afield from the reefs, you’ll marvel at the pelagic action.

Here on the edge of the open water, you find the manta rays & eagle rays in plentiful supply, along with multiple varieties of sharks.

Maldives scuba is known for “THE BIG GUYS” of the oceans, especially those alluring MANTAS & WHALE SHARKS, plus a wide variety of SHARKS, including the exotics such THRESHERS, OCEANIC WHITETIPS, even tigers in certain sites. A diversity of FISH SPECIES add color excitement – triggerfish, sweetlips, angelfish, anthias, Moorish Idols and LARGE SCHOOLS of snappers, jacks, barracudas & fusiliers. You’ll explore CAVES, CAVERNS & OVERHANGS with lovely soft corals & bright sponges. And, the energizing DRIFT DIVES through channels & passages into the atolls never cease to thrill divers. And, then of course, there’s all the TOP-SIDE MAGIC of these luscious, tropical atolls.

Liveaboard Advantages

The resorts in the Maldives are known for their sparkling white-sand beaches and elegantly romantic ambiance …. and we highly recommend a stay of 2 or 3 nights before or after a liveaboard trip. If it’s serious diving that you’re really after, the resort day-boats can’t get you to the sites you really want to experience. Those sites are too far away from most populated atolls to be practical. Liveaboard diving in the Maldives is the option for all serious divers.

Choose Your Maldives Diving Adventure ....

Far North - sharks, caves, wrecks & more sharks

Although there are only a few of the liveaboards which venture to the atolls of the Far North, this region offers tranquil surroundings and virtually guaranteed encounters with large numbers of sharks – white tip & black tip reef sharks, leopard sharks . . . and for the icing-on-the-cake . . . in the right season, hammerheads. And true to ...

Northern Atolls - coral gardens, critters and mantas

As in the Far North, there are few boats here in the Northern Atolls and you are likely to be the only divers on a dive site. The draw here is the abundance and variety of marine life plus the equally interesting topography. Along with swim-throughs and overhangs and large schools of fish, you also get some very beautiful soft ...

Central Atolls - channels, caves, drop-offs & superb pelagic action

Not far from the capitol, Male, is where most of the diving has traditionally been done, North Male, South Male & Ari Atolls. Without venturing far from your arrival point, you find channels & caves, massive coral tables & drop-offs, plus a great variety of marine life. manta rays & a variety of sharks, including whale sharks & hammerheads in ...

Far South - sharks, rays, plentiful fish & a great wreck

With superb visibility, the deep south offers warm waters & healthy corals, including hard corals & scads of anemones. The big draw, however, is the large quantity of ocean predators which are attracted into the channels to feast on the schools of smaller reef fish hanging out on the walls & submerged thilas: black tip, white tip, grey reef sharks, ...