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.
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