Diving in Maldives

Every resort in the Maldives caters for scuba divers and international certificates of all types are accepted. The dive schools are well equipped, and regulators, BCDs, computers, masks, snorkels and fins are available for hire. For those learning to dive resorts offer a variety of dive courses are conducted in several languages, with courses conducted in English, German, Italian, French and Japanese in most of the For those learning to dive all resorts conduct open water and advanced courses such as night diving, rescue diving, underwater photography. Courses such as naturalist and shark specialist courses have proved most popular due to the growing interest in the marine environment. At resorts, diving is conducted daily all year around and it is only rarely that diving has to be cancelled. Most resorts would have access to a protected reef on the leeward side of the island that enables them to dive even during times of rough seas and strong wind.

Dive Sites of Maldives

Lion Head- Lion's Head" is a protected marine park situated in a channel. Subject to strong currents, this deep wall reef boasts many exciting overhangs and forms the perfect environment for a large variety of fish, ranging from small basslets, red tooth triggers and fusiliers to the larger pelagic species such as tunas, napoleon wrasses, sharks and turtles. You will encounter beautiful nudibranchs on the underside of the overhangs, magnificent sponges and some very pretty hard and soft corals covering the reef.

Kuda Haa - " is a protected marine sanctuary shaped like a two-humped camel's back. Rising from 35 meters below the sea to six, this beautiful reef is covered in sponges and corals. The abundance of fish living here simply takes your breath away. Large schools of blue-striped snapper roam the deep; clouds of basslets, fusiliers and butterfly fish swim all over, while sharks hover in the shallow areas. You might also come across moray eels, cleaner shrimp and the rare scorpion and leaf fish. This is truly a dive you shouldn't miss when visiting the Maldives.

Rasfari - "Rasfari" is a spectacular outer reef in the North Male Atoll. Its large sloping wall falls from ten meters below the sea to 25, levels out and then ledges off again dropping down to 90 meters. You will follow the sloping wall some 30 meters down to the reef and marvel at gray reef sharks, silver tip and white tip reef sharks circling right in front of you, while a large family of eagle rays dances in the current. Completing this magnificent show of underwater magic are some giant barracudas, tunas and napoleon wrasses, as well as schools of fusiliers, blue-striped snappers and surgeonfish.

Banana Reef - "Banana Reef" is a very well known dive site in the Maldives - one of the first, one of the best and one of the more treacherous due to strong currents. On the eastern side of the banana-shaped reef, some rocks have broken away and created a perfect habitat for a surprising variety of schooling reef fish and large pelagic. Amongst the large overhangs resides an enormous school of blue-striped snapper. As you carry on along this banana-shaped dive, you will discover a pristine reef wall bursting with life, from different species of moray eels to fascinating corals and fish.

Fesdu Wreck

This wreck is a 30 meter fishing boat situated off the southwest coast of Fesdu Island. It is encrusted with soft corals and sponges and now plays home to myriad small fishes including anthias, lionfish, batfish and many more.


Vaadhoo Caves

Located on the northern tip of the atoll this dive site offers a good drift dive over pristine reef with multiple overhangs and caves. All manner of reef fish are present and you'll often spot bigger visitors such as whitetip sharks, tuna and turtles. There is an impressive house reef at Vaadhoo where thousands of smaller fish can be seen.


Maaya Thila

This aquatic highway is called the Emboodhoo Express, it is the name of the channel entering South Male Atoll towards Emboodhoo Island Resort. This is a big fish dive with sharks being the highlight, grey reef and whitetip are the most common but you may also glimpse hammerheads in the depths.

South Male Atoll has far too many dive sites to mention here however a few of the better ones are Vaagali Thila, an isolated spot off Vaagali Island where sharks and mantas are often spotted. A small vessel has been sunk off Dhigufinolhu Island to provide an easy wreck dive site that attracts morays and batfish. Good drift diving can be experienced around Maafushi where eagle rays and turtles are often spotted on the sandy bottom. Gulhi Kandu, Lhosfushi Kandu, Medhu Faru, Embudhu Canyon, Bolifushi Thila and Velassaru Faru are some of the other good dive sites around South Male Atoll.