Maldives Diving

Scattered like rings across the Indian Ocean, the 26 atolls that comprise the Maldives are a diver's mecca.

Diving in the Maldives is colourful and varied, encompassing channels, pinnacles and walls, the sites here have lyrical names that match their beauty. While hard corals recover from recent coral bleaching, the reefs still thrive with vibrant soft corals, sponges and anemones.

Prolific fish life ranges from funny little blennies, to gentle turtles, to graceful manta rays, lean looking sharks to massive, friendly Napoleon fish.

Aquatours experienced staff will be happy to talk through the possibilities and advise on the best options, based on your personal requirements.

Maldives diving : Frequently Asked Questions.

• Water temperatures? Water temperatures in the Maldives do not fluctuate much, and range from 25°C in the winter months to 28°C in the summer.
• Wetsuit type? We'd suggest a 5mm shortie.
• Best time to visit? It is the monsoon period that has the greatest effect on diving conditions. June and July are to be avoided as the worst of the rainy season. As a general rule, the best time for diving runs from January to May and again from August to November although at this time visibility is typically reduced due to more plankton in the water, but gives a greater chance to encounter large plankton feeders such as manta rays and whale sharks. Remember that there are no absolutes when it comes to weather, currents, and visibility. This is a tropical paradise, you may experience some rain showers at any time.
• Type of diving? Reef and drift diving. Very few wrecks.
• Visibility? Visibility ranges from 15m to 40m. It is lowest during the times of high plankton content.
• Marine Life I might encounter? Hammerheads, grey reef sharks, white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, manta rays, turtles, frogfish, triggerfish, surgeonfish, jacks, trevallies, snappers, napoleon wrasse, barracudas... the list is almost endless!

The Maldives are particularly renowned for the large pelagics that visit the area, particularly sharks and rays. Reefs form channels and lagoons, but don’t expect many wreck dives as these are minimal.

The Maldives has a wet season is between May and August, which reduces visibility and may restrict the number of accessible dive sites. The hottest air temperatures are from April to June. December to March has the lowest humidity and the clearest water, so may be a good time of year to visit. However, a plankton bloom in early May causes lower visibility, but attracts whale sharks and manta rays.

Divers generally visit the Maldives for the life they get the opportunity to see as well as for the rapid drifts that dominate the area. The coral bleaching caused by the 1996 - 1998 El Nino rise in water temperature has not altered the quality of the diving here. The coral is recovering quickly and the life on the reefs is prolific and more than enough to keep you occupied on a dive. It even appears that the amount of fish life has even increased since the bleaching.

Always keep an eye out into the blue, away from the reef into the thermoclines below you - you never know what action you may drift pass! All boat dives are drift dives; shore dives are also possible if you don’t want to do two boat dives a day.

Diving may be in shallow reef gardens filled with fish, or round thilas (submerged reefs) in strong currents. The channels between reefs also make good drift dives. On drifts you will need an SMB and to pay attention to your depth.

There are a few wrecks to break up the reef diving, although these are dived more for the fish life found on them rather than for the wrecks themselves.

All divers are required to have a computer, these are available to hire from dive centres.

Hyperbaric chambers are located on Bandos (North Male) and Kurumathi (Rasdhoo).

If you are going to the Maldives purely to dive, a liveaboard may be the choice for you . They give you access to a wider range of sites and get you to best sites early to see maximum amounts fish life. You will be required to have at least twenty logged dives to dive from a liveaboard. Itineraries vary dependent on season and weather conditions.

View the list of Maldives live-aboards we offer using the navigation bar to the left.