Lily Beach Resort & Spa

Offering some of the top snorkeling spots in the country, Lily Beach is sure to quench your thirst for ocean adventure. The house reef offers a chance for beginners to snorkel around side by side with sea turtles and baby sharks, while schools of fish put on a show for you. Allow the Prodivers team to take you above and beyond, with over 50 dive sites in close proximity to explore for novices and experts alike, where whale sharks and manta rays frequent the excited divers.

W  Maldives

Step into the world underwater armed with your gear. W Retreat promises an experience of a lifetime in their house reef teeming with aquatic animals. Explore the nooks and crannies of the reef and the eccentrically coloured inhabitants within it. Here, you are bound to come face to face with angle, parrot and schools of other fish, while turtles and sharks circle the overhangs of the reef. Step beyond the reef with your dive guide, and close proximity, swim along with rare whales and giant rays – a thrill not to be missed.

Dusit Thani Resort

Venture into the depths of the sea in search of turtles with the in-house Marine Biodiversity Educator. Explore the house reef and see where the brightly coloured schools of fish lead you. To learn more, allow the instructor to educate you on ocean conservation with their marine life presentation. Try your hand at scuba diving, or any of the other adrenaline inducing watersports from jetski rides to wake boarding and water skiing. For a completely mesmerising experience, head to Hanifaru Bay and observe as hordes of mantas gracefully glide around you to feed. If you don’t wish to get wet, sunset fishing and sunset dolphin cruise makes for the perfect family outing.

Anantara Kihavah Villas

Dip in to the pool of possibilities here. Located within the UNESCO declared Biosphere Reserve, Baa Atoll, Anantara Kihavah’s waters hold many unspoiled mysteries within it. Enroll in a PADI certification course and become a certified diver right here in paradise. For an afternoon of leisure, take a canoe, kayak or wind surf out into the sea and bask in the sun. Contribute to the regeneration of corals at the Coral Adoption Programme and protect the habitats of its peculiar residents, and even monitor the fruits of your labour as they grow to house brightly coloured fish, mollusks and crustaceans.

Angsana Ihuru 

The snorkeling safari at Angsana Ihuru promises to leave you in awe. Swim through the underwater gardens and its residents and learn more about ocean conservation. The Marine Conservation Lab allows you to plant your own coral and contribute to protecting the habitat of the thriving fish species within it. Less than 100 metres away, the Rannamaari shipwreck beckons thrill seekers to explore it ruins. Try your hand at scuba diving with the expert team or enjoy a range of watersports from wakeboarding, big game fishing, to windsurfing with the team.

The post The Luxury Maldives Resorts With Best House Reefs in 2022 appeared first on Alpha Maldives Blog.

Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa,Maldives is located on Thilamaafushi, the southern pocket of Lhaviyani Atoll, the 141-villa resort. 35-minute seaplane journey north of Velana
(MLE) International Airport, Malé.

The resort is now welcoming the guests. Experience a New Luxury Destination in the Maldives.

The post Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa is open now appeared first on Alpha Maldives Blog.

There are two kinds of manta rays – the reef manta and the giant manta ray. Both are found in the waters of the Maldives and both are hard to miss. The reef manta can grow to 5m in width while the giant manta ray has a massive central disc which grows to an average of 7m.

Eagle rays are often found in the open ocean. Rhomboidal in shape with a slightly longer tail than other rays, the most spectacular is the spotted eagle ray. They grow to about 5m in length but their most dramatic feature is a dark inky body covered with white speckles.

There are seven species of sea turtle, of which five can be seen in the Maldives. The single most important thing you need to know is that they are an endangered species and are protected by law in the Maldives. The Hawksbill turtle and the Green turtle are the most common turtles sighted. Marine conservationists have embarked on a turtle identification process, gathering photographs from both experts and amateurs alike to try and establish the numbers and movement of these special creatures of the sea.

It is believed that 20 difference species of dolphin call the Maldives home. These include Spinner, Bottlenose, Risso’s, Spotted and Striped Dolphins.  The most common seen in the area are Spinner dolphins which are said to number thousands. They gather in droves to feed on the fauna and are a magnificent site when frolicking in huge groups in the waters around the islands. They may just be the first of the big marine 5 that you get to spot.

Probably the most feared and mysterious of the Marine Big 5 has to be the shark. The largest fish in the world is the Whale Shark. Growing up to 11 or 12 metres in length and weighing up to 19000kg in adulthood, they are a sight to behold. They live to about 70 years and are believed to be harmless to man. With a 1m wide mouth, whale shark are filter feeders (mainly on plankton) and are said to be able to have more than 300 rows of teeth at one time.

That’s what you are looking out for on your visit to the Maldives. Where best to see them? The Baa and Ari Atolls are well known for shark and manta sightings. The Sun Island reef is a good spot for whale sharks, while the reefs of Rangali provide ample sightings of both whale shark and manta ray. Ukulhas Thila and Panettone are also said to be great for manta ray viewing.  Dolphins can often be seen frolicking in the ocean throughout the island chain. The Marine National Sea Turtle Identification Programme has had sightings and photographic evidence of turtles spotted on 16 atolls.

Your tour guide will be able to let you know where the latest sightings of the Maldives Marine Big 5 have been. If you spot one or all five, it is sure to be a most memorable experience.

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