Diving with Manta Rays

Sharing the water with majestic manta rays is a magical experience for any diver that will live long in the memory.

Possibly the most graceful and elegant animal anywhere on planet earth, sharing the water with a majestic manta ray is an experience like no other. These gentle plankton feeders often pay a visit to particular reefs to feed or to be cleaned, allowing divers and snorkellers the opportunity for an incredible encounter.

Call on our expertise and experience to plan your holiday and maximise your chances to come face to face with these magical animals.

Why We Love Diving with Manta Rays

Manta rays glide through the ocean with such beauty and elegance that they captivate anyone who is fortunate enough to witness their movements. Their broad, wing-like pectoral fins propel them gracefully through the water, creating the illusion of effortless flight in an underwater ballet.

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Diving with Manta Rays

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Highlights

Witness a chain of manta rays waiting to be cleaned in the Maldives
Share the water with the world’s friendliest manta rays in Mexico
Join a liveaboard to see manta ray at night
Witness the dance of devil rays in the Azores

Types of manta ray and mobula

Primarily, there are two types of manta ray; the oceanic manta ray and the reef manta ray. However, manta rays are part of a family with devil rays, or mobulas, which increases the number of species in total to nine.

The oceanic manta ray (mobula birostris) is the largest of the two manta ray species. An endangered animal, oceanic manta rays are ocean wanderers. They travel large distances of tropical and sub-tropical open ocean, visiting reefs occasionally. They are the harder of the two species to encounter while diving as a result of their range, but with a wingspan of up to seven metres, encounters are not easily forgotten!

A Socorro liveaboard in Mexico is one of the best places in the world to encounter an oceanic manta ray.

Reef manta rays (mobula alfredi) are smaller in size, but still mightily impressive. Typically, their wingspan is around two and a half to three metres, but they can reach up to four and a half metres from wingtip to wingtip. Like their larger cousins, they are found in tropical and sub-tropical waters, particularly the Indian and West Pacific oceans. Unlike oceanic mantas, they spend large amounts of their time in coastal waters and have a greater tendency to congregate in larger numbers. This makes for much more reliable encounters for eager scuba divers and snorkellers.

The Maldives offers some of the world’s most consistent sightings of reef manta rays.

A third species of manta ray has been proposed for the Caribbean, which is similar in size to the oceanic manta ray, but with behaviour more akin to the reef manta ray.

Devil rays, sometimes referred to as mobulas, are also found in tropical and sub-tropical waters, but are more varied in their species distribution throughout the world. While smaller than both manta species, they can gather in the hundreds, making for a spectacular show.

The Azores, and Mexico’s Sea of Cortez are known for sightings of devil rays in large numbers.

Diving with manta rays in the Maldives

It is not just humans that have fallen in love with the Maldives. This idyllic chain of tropical islands and atolls stretching out into the Indian Ocean is also a hugely popular hangout for reef manta rays. With numerous cleaning stations, abundant food and ideal conditions throughout the year, it's no wonder they choose to gather here.

That’s something of a coup for both scuba divers and snorkellers, who have a great chance to see these graceful animals at any time of year here. The manta rays follow their food source in regular patterns annually, and often visit known cleaning stations to get a bit of tender loving care from the ever-enthusiastic cleaner wrasse.

It is possible to see reef manta rays in the Maldives from a liveaboard, from certain resorts, and even enjoy a night dive with these incredible animals!

Explore the Azores alongside mobula rays

You don’t need to travel to the ends of the earth to have wonderful experiences with this graceful family of animals. The Azores Island chain is part of Portugal, and is relatively easily reached from the UK or Europe. In the southeast of this little group of Atlantic islands, Chilean devil rays can be seen at sea mounts off the coast of Santa Maria, with the site of Ambrosia a particular magnet. In the northwest, Princess Alice Banks is a remote sea mount where hundreds of mobula rays are known to gather; a display that experienced divers can enjoy on a day trip from Pico.

The best period for encounters is July to September, when diving conditions are generally good, and rays are often seen in large numbers.

Dive or snorkel with manta rays in Indonesia

This incredible island nation in Southeast Asia holds almost mythical status amongst divers. In the heart of the Coral Triangle, her waters contain staggering biodiversity, and manta rays are present in numbers.

There are a few attractive options to see manta rays in Indonesia, depending on time of year and budget. Komodo is one of the best locations, with manta ray hotspots in the north and south of the region. May to October tends to bring the best conditions in general, but those set on seeing manta rays might wish to consider visiting from October onwards for the best encounters.

Raja Ampat, in eastern Indonesia, rewards those that make the journey with both oceanic and reef manta rays, along with myriad more diving delights. Visiting between October and May tends to bring the most reliable sightings, which happens to coincide with the best diving conditions in general for the region.

Those on a tighter budget can see manta rays from Bali. There are consistent sightings throughout the year off the small island of Nusa Penida, reachable as a day trip from Bali or from the island of Nusa Lembongan This area can sometimes see lower visibility and a little surge, but the manta encounters remain superb. June to October brings the best conditions, and also a chance to see the very rare oceanic sunfish aka, the mola mola.

For those wishing to get off the beaten track, manta rays gather around a little spot called Sangalaki off Kalimantan, which can be visited on a resort-based diving holiday, or occasionally on a liveaboard departure visiting this region.

World-class liveaboard diving with manta rays in Mexico

Around 600 kilometres from Mexico’s western coastline, a small group of islands break through from the vast expanse of open ocean. Commonly known as the Socorro Islands (because few can confidently pronounce the Revillagigedo islands), this remote spot is surely the best place in the world to dive with huge oceanic manta rays.

Despite their remote location, the islands are not so difficult to reach, with regular liveaboard departures between November and June each year taking divers to witness this extraordinary spectacle.

Not only is Socorro the best place to see oceanic manta ray, these animals here also display some unique behaviours. Many consider them to be the friendliest manta rays in the world; entirely comfortable in the presence of divers and actively seeking interaction, with some seeming to enjoy the sensation of exhaled bubbles of air on their bellies. A must for manta ray lovers!

The Sea of Cortez also sees an annual aggregation of thousands of munkiana mobula rays between April and July each year. There are limited spaces on these special liveaboard adventures. A spotter plane helps track down the action, while the rays are often accompanied by orca and pods of dolphin, adding to the show.