The Maldives

Im thinking of arranging a trip to the Maldives and would like to know from anyone that has travelled or worked there as to the best time to go and the most convenient location to stay.

My main aim is to capture some big game. Hammerheads, Oceanics, Whalesharks and Manta's being the priority here.

I have also read that when looking for hammerheads around the maldives, the use of a flash is prohibited as it will scare them away! Is this true? Kind of limits your opportunities if it is.

best time is during North East Monsoon - dryest months are Jan through March. Worst time is when the monsoon changes (May and Octoberish - very unsettled weather at this time).

For Whalesharks and Mantas your best bet is South Ari Atoll - most of the islands here dive the hotspots for these animals. Whalesharks are year round, Mantas Jan through March in this area.

Hammers you'll need to go elsewhere. Rasdhoo atoll was always a hotspot, but not sure if they are still there. Don't know where Oceanics can be guarranteed (Elphinstone in the Red Sea?) - you will need to be lucky to see one in the Maldives.

Note that it's a lot more difficult to see any sharks in the Maldives these days - the area is suffering massively from finning

Steve

Hi,

I did Vilamendhoo in South Ari Atol in Feb 2004. It was terrific with perfect topside weather and ideal u/w conditions. The island has a Wener Lau dive operation which was very well run - if a little authoritarian.

We hit jackpot with mantas on Madi Varu dive site (a two hour boat ride to the west) - an awesome sight. About 5 of them circled us for about 10-15 minutes.

But certainly no pelagics.

ok thanks for the info guys.

I must admit I thought hammers and reef shark were pretty much guaranteed as long as you were prepared to get up early enough and travel to the right spot.

I was there last year - best way to see it all is by liveaboard - but you will miss the romance on the islands if you do it that way. I went with Maldives Scuba Tours - and those 12 days contributed about 1/4 of the images in my new book.

In terms of big game we saw whale sharks, mantas, reef sharks and from the surface Orcas, false killer whales, pygmy killer whales, sailfish, marlin etc.

Alex

ok thanks for the info guys.

I must admit I thought hammers and reef shark were pretty much guaranteed as long as you were prepared to get up early enough and travel to the right spot.

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Rasdhoo Atoll Divers still offer hammerhead dives on their website :

http://www.rasdhoodivers.com/

so it may be worth dropping them a line to see what the frequency of sitings are

There are some famous shark points: Fish head and Maaya thila in North Ari Atoll. These were made famous years ago by the shark feeding antics of some well known photographers such as Herwarth Voigtmann. Common species here are Grey and White tip reef sharks. The island of Maayafushi, as the name suggests, is conveniently located near Maaya thila.

Mantas on the other hand, pretty much are guarranteed if you are staying in South Ari, as Tim did, during the right period.

The challenge is that the hammerhead sites, reef shark sites and manta points are all spread out, so it's difficult to find a perfect island to get them all - The further away the island from the site, the less chance there is that they will dive it frequently. Alex's suggestion of a liveaboard is certainly the best option for some hardcore diving. You could do a week on an island then a week on a liveaboard if you wanted to mix and match, but you would not cover the ground or get the variety of sites that you would with a 2 week liveaboard trip.

If you do choose an island, check in advance what sites they cover and the frequency of the visits to any known hot sites

Steve