Manta Rays and Stingrays in Maldives

Manta rays and stingrays are rather popular sea creatures in Maldives. Thousands of tourists travel long miles from their hometowns just to experience these marine wonders themselves. These two exotic species of rays not only occur in this tropical paradise, but are also surprisingly common.

Maldivian Manta Ray

Maldives Manta Rays are fascinating sea creatures, attracting scuba diving and marine enthusiasts worldwide in this tropical paradise. There are numerous dive sites in Maldives  that feature sightings of these spectacular creatures. This largest species of rays can grow up to 20 feet and weigh 4,000 pounds heavy but is very friendly and harmless to scuba divers despite their frightening  size.

Maldives Diving with Manta Rays

Manta Rays in Maldives are very popular attractions to scuba divers because of their majestic appearance and unique habitat. These creatures migrate across the 26 atolls of Maldives with the changing monsoons, following seasonal shifts in their planktonic food source.

Maldives Manta Ray Project

The Maldives Manta Ray Project (MMRP) is an organization dedicated to data collection and marine research of mantas in Maldives with the purpose of caring and preserving for the population of these precious creatures. With only 3 years of existence, the project has already gathered data that identifies over 1,500 manta rays in Maldives and counting.

Sharks and Rays

This non-profit research organization also aims to promote greater awareness and understanding of manta rays in Maldives. MMRP conducts education initiatives and other marine conservation activities as part of their responsibility towards a better and safer marine life in Maldives.

Stingray Feeding

Stingrays often dwell on shallow waters in search of their prey. This is the perfect opportunity for you to feed these tooth-less and velvet-like creatures with pilchards and other small fish.

Maldives Stingray Feeding

There are numerous resorts in Maldives that holds nightly stingray feeding events. Before allowing their guests to feed these graceful and gentle sea creatures themselves, a resort professional will give a short orientation about stingrays and their habitat.

Want to know more about Scuba Diving in Maldives? Visit www.maldivesdivetravel.com for special deals, liveaboard information, and other tourist concerns.

Maldives Scuba Diving Liveaboard Expeditions

A Maldives Scuba Diving Liveaboard Expedition is a 14-day dive safari in the magnificent underwater world of this tropical paradise. Liveaboards have developed strategic itineraries for marine enthusiasts to discover the spectacular waters of Maldives in such a brief period.

Maldives Liveaboard

This scuba diving cruise will allow you to explore the 7 different atolls of Maldives, at the comfort and luxury of a liveaboard. If you want have the best and complete scuba diving experience in this country, then going on a Maldives liveaboard expedition is the way to go. These high-tech vessels are capable of carrying out even the most difficult and challenging dives that Maldives has to offer.

Maldives Liveaboard Deck

Maldives Scuba Diving Liveaboard Expedition Sample Itinerary

A typical Maldives liveaboard expedition begins with a check dive, before heading out to the South Male Atoll for some basic cave diving. Here you will experience a variety of overhangs and caverns, as well as encounter a bunch of colorful species particularly found in Vaadhoo and Vellasaru.

Maldives Grey Reef Shark

The scuba diving liveaboard expedition will then head out to the North Ari Atoll of Maldives to explore the exotic underwater world of Ellaidhoo and Fesdhoo, taking short breaks to visit some uninhabited islands along the way for some extra curricular leisure activities. Next stop for this Maldives liveaboard diving expedition is the South Ari Atoll, which also has a couple of must-dives, where sightings of eagle rays and octopus are quite common.

Maldives School of Fish

After completing these Ari Atoll dives, the Maldives scuba diving liveaboard expedition will take you to the lesser dived atolls like Wataru, Mulaku and Felidhoo. Diving these tiny atolls are excellent for more advanced and expert divers. This will be one of the memorable highlights of your Maldives liveaboard expedition, before the final leg of your scuba diving trip back at the South Male Atoll.

There are numerous liveaboards in Maldives offering scuba diving expedition packages like this. To see a more comprehensive list of available liveaboards in Maldives where you can spend the most memorable holiday of your life, visit www.maldivesdivetravel.com.

Special Galileo Diving Safari

Maldives Dive Travel is organising a once-in-a-lifetime, 11-night safari begins with a 50-minute flight from Male to Kaadhdhedhoo in the Huvadhoo Atoll (also called Suvadiva Atoll), the largest atoll in the world.  This is a particularly untouched part of the Maldives with only a handful of exclusive resorts operating here and very few dive boats exploring the area, meaning that there are many dive sites just waiting to be explored.  Guests on this safari will have the opportunity to dive at many undiscovered dive sites and visit many pristine islands – some inhabited and others completely secluded.

Galileo Explorer Tour of the Southern Maldives

Depending on weather conditions, the safari will travel around several of the southernmost atolls of the Maldives, ending at Huvadhoo airport in Kaadhdhedhoo, from where a flight will return to Male.  This is the perfect scuba safari for divers looking to explore the unknown treasures of the Indian Ocean.

Galileo Mar 11-22 Southern Atoll Explorer Tour
Take advantage of this amazing opportunity at the unbeatable price of
only EUR 1,386 per person for 11 nights

Galileo is one of the most well-equipped safari ships in the Maldives, perfect for a true expedition-style adventure.

What’s Included in the Galileo Scuba Diving Cruise?

- Accommodation in air-conditioned cabins with window, en-suite shower (hot water) and WC. Daily cleaning. Towels provided.
- Full board (breakfast, lunch and dinner)
- Tea and coffee are available free of charge at all times plus one bottle of water per person per day.
- 27 dives
- Tanks with DIN/INT 12 lts, lead belts, extra diving boat
- Guidance by a PADI-qualified and highly experienced English-speaking dive instructor
- Use of fishing gear – local style, including hook, fishing line, weight and baits.
- Island-hopping, snorkelling service
- Picnic on an uninhabited island (depending on weather and route).
- On the last day a trip to the capital city Male will be offered
- Pick-up & drop-off at Male’ International Airport to connect with international flights on first and last day of the cruise, before noon.

Price does not include:

- International or Domestic air fares ( Male-Kaadhdhedhoo is 217 return flight)
- Airport taxes
- Dive/snorkel equipment rental
- Beverages, except those mentioned above
- Bed Tax: 8 per person per night is charged on board
- Dive and travel insurance
- Transfer supplements for arrivals/departures on days other than scheduled boat arrival/departure
- Fuel surcharge: in the event that crude oil reaches USD $100 per barrel on the international market, a EUR 6 fee will be charged per person per night
- Nitrox is available for EUR 5 per filling
- Additional dives will be charged at EUR 34 each

A few places are still available; to reserve yours,  contact Maldives Dive Travel today!

Scuba Diving in the Maldives

The Maldives boasts some of the best scuba diving in the world. Each year, thousands of scuba divers come to the Maldives to experience this amazing underwater wonderland.  Many divers return year after year, constantly striving to discover more incredible dive sites and encounter the incredible marine life of the Maldives.

Scuba Diving from a liveboard in the Maldives

The best scuba diving experience in the Maldives is had from a liveaboard holiday, where scuba divers stay on a very comfortable power boat that cruises around the atolls and the islands for one or two weeks.  The boat is accompanied by another, smaller boat, known as a Dhoni, from which all the scuba diving takes place.  On every day of the trip, the divers partake in two or three dives at different sites, always visiting new sites each day.   Most liveaboards usually accommodate around 10-16 people comfortably and range in price according to comfort level.  Generally speaking, liveaboard accommodation is much more reasonably priced than many of the resorts in the Maldives.

Scuba Diving from a resort in the Maldives

Most of the resorts have their own scuba diving centre or dive school which is perfect for people trying scuba diving for the first time.   Liveaboards only cater to divers who have at least 30 logged dives, whereas resorts offer scuba diving opportunities for beginners and experienced scuba divers alike.  When scuba diving from a resort, the number of dive sites you can visit during your holiday is somewhat limited because you have to return to the resort each day, whereas on a liveaboard holiday, you are always just minutes from your bedroom and minutes from a whole new dive site.

Scuba Diving training in the Maldives

There are many PADI-certified scuba diving schools in the Maldives, all of which offer scuba diving training from the initial Open Water Diver to Rescue Diver.  There are also opportunities to train for your divemaster qualification, which takes at least 6 weeks.  Divemasters often choose to stay in the Maldives for a long time, scuba diving every day with one of the dive centres.  Divemasters are sometimes paid by the dive centres because they assist with the PADI courses, and sometimes they are just paid in room and board.

Scuba Diving Training in the Maldives

Scuba Diving first aid in the Maldives

Being one of the premier scuba diving destinations in the world, the Maldives are very conscious about first aid.  After all, scuba diving is a important source of income to these islands.  All dive boats are equipped with first aid supplies, including oxygen in case of a diving emergency.  Should a diver suffer decompression sickness, also known as the bends, there are two decompression chambers.  One is located on Bandos Island (fifteen minutes from Male) and the other is on Kuramathi Island (one hour from Male.)

Scuba diving equipment

Standard scuba diving equipment comprises a BCD (buoyancy control device), regulator, mask, weight belt, snorkel, fins, wetsuite, depth gauge and dive computer.  Some scuba divers choose to purchase their own equipment and take it wtih them on their scuba travels, whereas other people – especially less experienced scuba divers - prefer to rent their equipment.  All dive centres and liveaboards have equipment that you can rent.  In the case of a liveaboard, you should let the operator know at the time of reserving your holiday, so they have all the equipment ready for you.  There will usually be an extra charge for renting scuba diving equipment.

What will you see while scuba diving in the Maldives?

The reason for the Maldives’ popularity as a scuba diving destination is its incredible wealth of marine life.  In these sub-tropical waters, you will find everything from oriental sweetlip fish to napoleon wrasse.  Various rays, including manta rays, eagles and stingrays, whale sharks and many different reef sharks, garden eels and moray eels.  The coral reef is beautiful, ranging in a rainbow of colours and the overall underwater landscape looks like something off a postcard.