You recently enjoyed a big dive trip to the Maldives. Where did your adventure take you? 

My Maldives diving itinerary included three islands and three Euro Divers dive centres over 14 days. Taking travelling and deco no-fly times into consideration, this gave me roughly three full days of diving at each resort. 

Euro-Divers suggested spending a few days at their flagship dive centre based on Vilamendhoo and then visiting Meeru, which is located much closer to the capital, Malé. I had also heard from a well-known dive travel expert that Eriyadu is very popular with the British market, so I thought this would also make a good choice. 

Most of the islands offer a house reef where divers can come and go as they please. The other choice is day boat diving. The standard schedule for day boats is two morning and one afternoon dive, and night dives upon request. There are also full-day excursions to see manta rays or whale sharks, which include three dives with lunch served onboard. 

Tell us about your journey to the Maldives

There are various flight options from the UK. Only one or two airlines fly direct; most require a connection. Flights are roughly 11 hours long, but this doesn’t account for any time spent waiting at airports.  

All international flights land at the capital, Malé. Then there's either a speed boat or seaplane transfer. For my choice of islands, Vilamendhoo was located in the South Ari Atoll and required a seaplane, but Meeru and Eriyadu were both in North Malé, so I only needed a speedboat transfer.   

Your first port of call was Vilamendhoo Island Resort. What were your first impressions? 

Vilamendhoo, one of the Maldives’ flagship divers’ islands, is located in the South Ari Atoll. Seaplane transfer is the most convenient option, although boat transfers are also available. The 4-star resort offers 194 rooms and a variety of restaurants and pools.  

I requested a room close to the dive centre, but then again, nowhere on the island is far away from it. The dive boat leaves at 8am on most days and the restaurant opens at 7.30am for breakfast, so there’s plenty of time for a feed before departure.  

The boat crew are really friendly and attentive, always ready to help out with equipment preparation, offering tea, coffee, water etc. After a hard day’s diving, the best place to be is at the sunset bar sipping cocktails. And repeat! 

What are the main attractions for divers at Vilamendhoo? 

The house reef is such a big attraction that some divers spend their entire stay exploring it and don’t even go boat diving. The excellent shore diving here is a convenient option for families or diver pairs, who can either go on their own or be guided at no extra charge.  

That said, there are also 50-plus boat dive sites, of which Kuda Rah is the most popular. The whale shark and manta boat trips tend to get booked up, so I recommend divers request these in advance. May to October is the low season, but June and July are popular months with families.   

Which dive sites did you most enjoy at Vilamendhoo? 

Our first dive site was Kuda Rah and Dive centre manager Mathias Hook paired me up with instructor Sarah Beelte. The current was absolutely ripping. Thousands upon thousands of yellow snappers swirled around the submerged pinnacle. I watched the reef sharks and whitetip sharks patrolling in the distance. That day, there were a few too many divers about for the ‘bubble-free’ shot I wanted, so we returned several days later. The current was just as ferocious, but I managed to crawl my way back to the yellow snappers and get a reasonable picture. 

At Miyaru Thila, we encountered a small hawksbill turtle that was totally disinterested in us and carried on munching on coral while raising its bottom in disgust! After five minutes, the turtle poked its head out and ambled over to another coral head, allowing me to get a close-up shot. 

The Kudimaa wreck was a welcome change after all those beautiful walls and reefs. The propeller is a good spot for photographs. I went inside the bridge, but there was no sign of the giant green moray which is often seen there. 

South Ari is well known for whale shark and manta ray encounters. There were no manta sightings at the cleaning stations when I arrived, but my visit had coincided with the change in monsoons, so this probably had an impact. I didn’t go on the full-day whale shark trip, but those who did had an exciting encounter with a whale shark and I was able to see the video later. This was a popular area for liveaboards. 

You then moved on to Meeru Island, how does this resort differ in character from Vilamendhoo? 

Meeru is one of the biggest islands in the Maldives. The 4-star resort, Meeru Island, offers 284 rooms, including an adults-only section, making this a good all-rounder for both couples and families. It's located a 45-minute speedboat transfer from the International Airport on Malé.  

My hot tub beach villa was ideally located just a 2-minute walk from the dive centre and a 3-minute walk from the boat jetty. The room was furnished to a high standard and I loved the open-air bathroom. This is a big island offering plenty of activities including golf, tennis and football. There are also multiple pools and restaurants to choose from. The quality and choice of food was excellent.   

Tell us about diving with ‘Dora the Explorer’ from Meeru

Meeru’s dive centre manager, Jeanine Van der Voort, paired me up with dive instructor Dorota Szadkowska aka ‘Dora the Explorer’. We had over 50 dive sites to choose from at Meeru, each with boat journey times between 15 minutes and an hour and three quarters.  

Before leaving for our first dive, Jeanine asked me if I could cope with some current while taking pictures, and I said yes, but at HP Reef it was absolutely ripping. Green and hawksbill turtles were ducking behind rocks and even the fish were reluctant to move when I got close. What a fantastic dive site, but on the day, just too much current to contend with.  

In Meeru, the main manta season falls between July and November, while the best underwater visibility is between January to April.   

The top dive site, Aquarium, was absolutely on fire! There was quite a strong current, but I still managed to get into position for photos. Throughout the dive, I had plenty of marine life encounters, including hawksbill and green turtles, whitetip sharks, puffers, shoals of snappers, butterflies, sweetlips and much more. Definitely Meeru’s best site for photographers. 

The wreck at West Rock was a big hit with me and it’s only a 15-minute boat journey from Meeru. Jeanine said this site is as often used for night dives. The wreck sits upright and intact. I began my tour at the bow, entering a doorway which opens out onto the stairway. The room to the left was full of glassfish. It’s possible to go up the stairs and enter the bridge. This is a big open space. I didn’t see any lionfish lurking, but I’m sure they were around somewhere. It’s also possible to explore the cargo hold and the engine room. Dora posed on one of the toilets!  

I hardly saw another liveaboard during my stay at Meeru, and in most cases, we were the only boat at the dive sites.  

Eriyadu Island Resort is a perennial favourite with Regaldivers. What did you think of it?  

Eriyadu is a 45-minute speedboat transfer from the International Airport on Malé. During my visit, around one-third of the resort’s clientele were British. I think this 4-star resort is a good choice for both divers and snorkellers. It only takes about 10 minutes to walk around the entire island.  

I stayed in one of the rooms located in a block. It was a reasonable standard, but not luxury, and I had direct access to the beach from the rear sliding doors. The resort has a swimming pool, decked bar overlooking the jetty, and a cosy little beach bar. I particularly enjoyed drinking cocktails at the decked bar in the evenings while watching juvenile blacktip sharks patrolling the shallows and herons flying overhead. During my stay, I had a look inside the deluxe villas which seem to offer more comfort and seclusion for those willing to pay a bit extra. 

What were your most memorable diving experiences at Eriyadu? 

Dive manager Lisa De Jong agreed to ‘chaperone’ me during my brief stay. Lisa said Eriyadu offers 30-46 different dive sites, with boat journey times from 15 minutes to an hour.  

The most memorable dives for me were Lucky Rock and Finger Point. Lucky Rock was full of batfish. They can be quite intimidating. Wherever I went, there were multiple batfish following me. Dive guide, Raihan, found a leaf fish, but it was too small for my wide-angle lens. At Finger Point, there was plenty of marine activity throughout the whole dive, including white tip sharks, pufferfish, lionfish and a huge jellyfish. This was definitely one of my favourite dive sites. 

At Kagi Kuda Kandu we encountered a squadron of eagle rays, but they were a little skittish, so I couldn’t get close enough for a good picture. At the end of the dive, we found a huge nurse shark underneath a ledge. 

Lisa said they had recently seen four mantas at Bodu Hithi, about an hour’s boat ride away. There are two cleaning stations positioned a few hundred metres apart, one at around 30m and another at around 10m. Although we went to both, we weren’t lucky enough to see mantas this time.   

How was Eriyadu’s house reef? 

The island is really geared up for house reef diving. Lisa said: ‘The whole island is a shore diving site’. There are five entry points around the island where cylinders are dropped off for the divers and the local currents are minimal.

I didn’t get a chance to check it out myself, but Lisa assured me that sharks, rays, turtles and anemone fish are commonly sighted. Night snorkelling in the house reef was a big seller. I used to sit and watch the torch beams from the comfort of the bar every night. 

What were your overall impressions of Euro Divers?

Euro-Divers are one of the biggest and best dive operators in the Maldives, and you can book a holiday with them through Regaldive. They've funnelled more than 50 years of diving experience into making the whole diving process as enjoyable as possible, from checking in and equipment hire to the quality of the dive guides and the boat crew. It doesn’t matter which centre you visit, they all pretty much offer the same standards and procedures. The Euro-Divers green and yellow rash vests sold in the shops also looked very stylish! 

It was great to see the boat crew helping guests with their BCDs and changing cylinders over, and this wasn’t done just for my benefit. There were always comprehensive dive briefings explaining the sites, along with possible marine life encounters, current direction and safety precautions. Even though I wasn’t a ‘normal’ customer they would still wait for me to climb the ladder first before leaving the water at the end of a dive. Very professional indeed.

Who would you say resort diving in the Maldives is suitable for?

These days I think resort diving is a good option for everybody. Families can all dive together on the house reef or parents can use the in-house creche, taking it in turns to do two morning dives and spending the afternoon relaxing by the pool. Couples and singles have the option of doing two morning dives and an afternoon dive as well as a night dive if they want to, or they can book onto a full-day manta or whale shark excursion, which offer three dives. There was usually only one dive boat at each dive site, and it wasn’t always full to capacity. 

Most dive centres offer between 30 – 50 sites with a number of manta cleaning stations included. Being land-based is a good option for those who wish to enjoy other activities, including tennis, golf and football, as well as a choice of bars, restaurants and swimming pools. 

Summary  

The three resorts I visited were very different in many ways. Vilamendhoo, at South Ari, is the place to be for whale sharks and mantas. The island also has a superb house reef, which is popular with divers and snorkellers, and the food and accommodation were of a high standard.  

Meeru is a 45-minute speedboat ride from Malé. It’s a bigger island but offers more facilities, including an adults-only bar and restaurant. Most of the time we were the only boat at the dive sites and there were fewer divers onboard, but of course, this is season-dependent. I managed to get some great shots of Meeru’s marine life, including a leopard shark, and at the resort the choice and quality of food was excellent.  

Eriyadu, the smallest of the three, was more intimate and rustic. We were also the only dive boat at most of the dive sites and there weren’t too many other divers to worry about. The house reef was totally geared up for snorkellers and divers, offering multiple entry/exit points and cylinders delivered ready for use. The night snorkelling was also very popular.  

Yes, I do have a favourite resort but that would be telling! 

To find out more about our diving holidays to the Maldives you can speak to our friendly, expert dive team.

We still remember the month of March when we went from the peak of the high season to stopping the entire diving operation within two weeks! It’s amazing how fast the world shut down due to the pandemic. Our team were so busy underwater, and the Maldives was one of the last destinations to close their borders to tourists, that we hardly realised what was happening. Until of course, our last guests left. 

Like so many, we were confident that the closure would only be short-lived. Turns out, that was seven long months and we opened our doors to divers again, with big open arms, on the 1st of November, with all the new safety protocols in place of course. 

Image by A.Shuau

The majority of the Euro-Divers team were able to return home, but some remained on island during the worldwide lockdown. The island felt like a strange place to live, an empty resort with no guests. We soon fell into a new routine and got used to the new way of island life. We had the chance to complete renovations, improve the gardens and the time to do a few other handyman jobs to keep everything in top shape for the reopening of the resort. 

Those of us that remained on island led a simple and tranquil life over the seven months. We watched the news from around the world and somehow felt safe and protected from the pandemic, living on our island bubble. With more free time on our hands we encouraged staff members to explore the island our way, by getting them out on the house reef! Highlights from that time include watching turtles nesting on the beach next to the restaurant and larger sharks patrolling the reef. We certainly witnessed some positive changes in the marine way of life. .

Here at the dive centre, we were super excited to welcome our first guests back when the resort reopened at the beginning of November. Happy for the guests to get back underwater to see the incredible, magical underwater world we all love to be in. New safety measures have been put in place, such as a maximum of eight divers on a boat to respect social distancing. Every diver now keeps the same equipment for their entire stay and it is regularly cleaned by our well-trained crew. Vilamendhoo has also introduced safety measures beginning with the guest arrival in Malé, through to seating in the restaurant, room cleaning and other services and activities around the island. 

Since reopening there have been some magical moments for our divers. The diving around the island has been fantastic. Our guests have had encounters with bottlenose dolphins, as well as seeing more fish life than before. Top of the wish list, our divers have encountered over 10 manta rays at the cleaning station and we’ve seen whale sharks in the national park. Long may it continue! 

Image by Leila Wirz

The Euro-Divers team look forward to welcoming you back to the island, to introducing new divers to the breathtaking underwater world of the South Ari Atoll and to create more diving memories together!

We are ready. Come and visit us!

Manuel Schierl, Manager of Euro-Divers Vilamendhoo

Vilamendhoo Island Resort is fully open and is offering 20% on bookings made before 5 January 2021. For more information, contact our friendly team.

New WHALE SHARKS and dive sites

We are in the famous whale shark area of South Ari Atoll and we have encounters all year round, one of very few places worldwide that can say that! It has been really special though during this time because we have had whale sharks come to us, maybe missing all the attention they usually receive when guests are here! In the 5 years since we opened over 350 different whale sharks have been encountered with only 8 being female but during the last 4 months we have seen 2 new FEMALE whale sharks and one stayed with us for over 40 minutes. She came right up to us and kept coming back towards us until the final moments when she zoomed right over our heads.

During this time Mette our dive base leader and I have been diving new reefs and new areas and have discovered an amazing soft coral place which is even better than 7th Heaven which is very well known here! Pastel shades of green, pink, peach, blue and lilac can been seen and are particularly beautiful when the current makes them all open to filter plankton from the water as it passes by!

On Kudimar wreck we have regularly seen up to 5 nurse sharks as well as the giant moray and giant mantis shrimp! 

Even Kudarah which is our most famous site, only 10 minutes from our harbour, has been EVEN more crammed with fish schools than before! We have seen grey reef sharks hunting right inside the thila (pinnacle) blocks and now we see rainbow runner schools nearly everyday to add to batfish, blue stripe snappers and humpback snappers! Huge tunas are hunting and we have seen them suddenly become striped and flying past like rockets as they hunt! Simply spectacular! 

BB TEAM and growing organic food

All our team have remained here since flights have not been available for them to return home yet. We all look after each other, eat together and watch our island volleyball tournament together! We have been doing maintenance work to the hotel and also to our dive boat so we are well and truly ready to welcome our guests back when the time comes. 

Together we decided to grow our own fruit and vegetables because it was getting more and more difficult to get fresh food from Male. We have had great success and can proudly show you our produce... cucumbers, eggplant, pumpkin, bitter gourd, chillies, papaya and passionfruit! Our chefs have made us tasty and healthy salads and curries and it tastes extra special when you can say you have grown it yourself! 

We plan to continue growing our own produce when our guests return and they can come and see our garden for themselves! 

NEW Health Standards

We have announced that we will be open from the 1st November and we are making sure that all the recommendations from our Government Heath Authority and WHO and DAN are being implemented before our guests arrive. Our staff will be doing training on best practise to ensure total compliance. Being a small boutique hotel we specialise in giving a personal service to our guests and that includes doing everything in our power to protect them whilst they are in our care. We have just 6 rooms in the hotel and keep our dive groups small with an instructor for both safety and to ensure guests are shown the best marine life this area has. 

During this time we have celebrated our 5th anniversary since we opened and we have received many good wishes from our regular guests!

We look forward to welcoming guests back from the 1st November and look forward to happy days spent diving together. We SO miss their smiling faces and laughter! 

Our reefs and especially our whale sharks are ready and waiting! We hope all of you stay safe and healthy ready to join us in this extra special place in Maldives.

Plan ahead and book your diving holiday to Boutique Beach in the Maldives and enjoy a great saving in 2020! SAVE 30% - discount per room, per night on all inclusive basis, PLUS a free return airport speedboat transfer for two.

Contact our team to book this offer, or find out more about diving in Dhigurah Island.

One of our most popular diving destinations, the Maldives is a picture-postcard paradise. Stunningly beautiful white sand beaches complement the exhilarating underwater environment that offers some of the finest diving in the world.

Adrenaline-charged drift dives, an abundance of colourful coral critters and encounters with pelagics - mantas, whalesharks and other shark species - are the reason divers return to the Maldives time and time again.

The variety and diverse nature of dive sites makes the Maldives suitable for divers of all levels of experience. Within each atoll, there are sheltered reefs suitable for beginners, whilst experienced divers will enjoy some of the best drift diving in the world.

Joining a Maldives liveaboard gives you the opportunity to experience Maldives diving at its best. MY Amba was one of the first liveaboards to operate around the most northerly atolls, and offers some truly exploratory diving. Over the past thirty years, an incredible range of world class dive sites in the Maldives have been charted and explored in the atolls surrounding Male. We also offer liveaboards that cover exciting atolls in the far north and south of the Maldives. The diving would suit those looking to visit untouched sites in search of the unknown.

If you prefer to plant your feet on the sand after a day’s diving, then a Maldives resort would provide you with a true diving getaway in your own corner of paradise, giving you all the charm of an authentic Maldivian experience.

Regaldive offer a number of resorts to suit every preference, ranging from budget-friendly resorts where the focus is all about the diving, to exclusive resorts with plenty of island amenities to pamper you as well as provide a sublime diving experience.

Eriyadu is a relaxed and friendly island is surrounded by dazzling white beaches. It features a calm lagoon which is ideal for learning to dive, as well as offering plenty of more challenging dive sites for experienced divers. Vilamendhoo lies in the heart of some of the most thrilling dive sites in the Maldives. The island boasts an exceptional house reef that attracts both divers and snorkelers back year after year. The reef is beautifully formed with several shallow caves and overhangs. The island attracts many pelagic species as well as an abundance of marine life.

If you are thinking about a trip to the Maldives, but not sure if you would prefer a liveaboard or a resort, then please call us for a chat: we have the knowledge and expertise to provide you with your prefect trip to picture-postcard paradise.

Adrenaline-charged drifts, amazing quantities of colourful fish and chance encounters with pelagics - mantas, whale sharks and many shark species - are the order of the day here. With the island nation of the Maldives covering some 35,000 square miles of the Indian Ocean, it’s the ideal place for divers to explore.

Atolls, Reefs, Kandus and Thilas

The Maldives boasts an incredible number of dive sites. With the development of previously inaccessible areas, new dive sites are being established in atolls ranging from Huvadhoo in the south, to Haa Alifu in the North.

The diverse nature of dive sites in the Maldives makes it suitable for divers of all experience levels. Within each atoll, there are sheltered reefs that are suitable for less experienced divers. By contrast, experienced divers will enjoy some of the best drift dives in the world. Channels into the atolls generate fast tidal flows, which in turn attract many of the pelagics for which the Maldives are renowned.

Maldives Liveaboards to Suit All Budgets

Joining a liveaboard really does give you the flexibility to experience Maldives diving at its best. Here, the diving is completely defined by currents. Liveaboard itineraries are designed to take advantage of seasonal fluctuations to take in the sites that offer the best diving at that moment in time. Add to this the fact that you can visit a number of different atolls on a single itinerary, some with little or no tourism development, and you can see why a liveaboard option is a great choice for divers who are mostly interested in diving... and diving only.

Regaldive offer a choice of liveaboard vessels in the Maldives, catering to a diverse range of budgets and diving needs. Whether you are thinking of a luxury boat with plenty of space and all of the mod-cons, or if you would prefer a 'basic' standard, budget friendly liveaboard, or perhaps something in-between, Regaldive have an option to suit you. 

Regaldive’s most popular liveaboards include: Emperor Serenity, Emperor Voyager, Emperor Atoll, Carpe Diem, Amba and Ari Queen.

Land-based Maldives Options

If you are looking for a land-based Maldives dive trip, Regaldive have a wide selection for you. Divers can enjoy a true diving getaway, combined with the charm of an authentic Maldivian experience. So, if you are looking for elegant accommodation in a beautiful setting, or a small, low-key resort offering good value, or perhaps something between the two, Regaldive have plenty of suitable choices in their programme.

Some of Regaldive’s Maldives resorts have been likened to a 'liveaboard on dry land'. Every island in the Regaldive programme provides an excellent and varied range of boat dives. 

If you care to picture world class diving, combined with fine house reefs, beautiful lagoons, lovely beaches, shady palm trees and a laid back atmosphere, you will be well on the way to designing your ideal land-based Maldives holiday.

Regaldive offer a wide range of land-based and liveaboard trips to the Maldives. Resorts in their programme include the Islands of: Vilamendhoo, Eriyadu, Reethi Beach, Ellaidhoo, Medhufushi and Dhigurah.

To find out more, call our friendly team on 01353 659999, or visit: Diving in the Maldives

A 40 metre boat, Emperor Serenity easily accommodates 26 guests in 13 well-appointed ensuite cabins all with air-conditioning. Operating from March 2016, Emperor Serenity has three levels of cabin available on the Upper, Main and Lower decks.

This boat’s itinerary is the "Best of the Maldives" - and it delivers exactly that. It offers divers the best and most famous dive sites of the Maldives in a week of wonderful liveaboard diving across Male and Ari atolls. Divers can take in the iconic sites of North Male, South Male and Ari Atoll. Channels, drifts and pinnacles await where divers have every chance of meeting mantas, whale sharks and mesmerising marine life of so many varieties.

This itinerary provides a marine mix of big fish such as shark and manta dives, as well as reef dives, reef fish, morays and the abundant macro life. Divers can get up close at the cleaning stations without disturbing the locals! One of the best known dive sites is Maaya Thila; this pinnacle is approximately 30m in diameter and falls away to reveal sharks and fish a plenty. The boat will also aim to find whale sharks, so you can get in the water and snorkel with them... as long as they stay around long enough!

All diving is done from Emperor Serenity's large dhoni tender, giving more living space on board and getting guests to the perfect dive spot every time. Four dive guides provide a premium service and she is rebreather-friendly and offers free Nitrox, all diving and safety equipment, as well as a photography charging station.

Non-divers are very welcome and get free snorkelling equipment and a voucher to spend on board.

Emperor Serenity adds to the existing Emperor fleet of Maldives liveaboards - Emperor Voyager and Emperor Atoll. Guests on these liveaboards have enjoyed fabulous sightings throughout the season and Emperor Serenity will be covering similar popular routes going forward.

For more details, contact our specialist team on 01353 659 999, or by email, or visit Emperor Serenity.

NB: Images are artist impressions of Emperor Serenity. Final designs may vary.