maldives in February

I need some help!

I am in the process of booking my first ever trip to the maldives in the first couple of weeks in February - i want to photograph mantas (of course) but i also want a good variety of macro life.

Which atoll or area is the best candidate at that time of year?

Thanks in advance..

I also visited Maldives the first time in February 5 years ago.

Here is my post to this forum before making my decision and the answers to it

http://wetpixel.com/forums/index.php?showt...gungen+maldives

Based on these information i selected the Sun Island Resort which is geographically located close to the Southern edge of the South Ari Atoll.

I preferred this particular resort due to it's big size and variety of non diving activities. However the diving boats were too crowded.

Probably White Sands would be a better choice for diving since it was a smaller resort.

It looks like the ex White Sands is now the Diva Resort and quite expensive.

I remember that we saw Manta's in each dive and met once a Whale Shark. Other than the abundance of mantas i do not remember a very dense macro life. However even stuff like ghost pipe fish were occasionally available during dives. However since manta's are the highlight of South Ari especially in this time of the year it is a though decision to dive with a macro lens.

Hope this helps.

Hi Alastair,

Ari atoll in feb will be great. There are dozens of resorts u can stay. Sun Island, Holiday Island and White Sands are places I would recommend. You can get the best of both....big stuff and the macro!

i have not been to the maldives. any wanna share some pic of the best places they have been to?

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kindle review

i have not been to the maldives. any wanna share some pic of the best places they have been to?

John,

I've just come back from a trip to the Maldives - here's a link to a video I made of a couple of dives on Lankan a well known manta cleaning point.

Richard

i have not been to the maldives. any wanna share some pic of the best places they have been to?

I went for the first time this past Oct/Nov on the Manthiri. Most of of dives were in Hanifaru in Baa Atoll, although we also hit some sites in North Male and Raa. Our trip concentrated on mantas, mind you, so there aren't a lot of non-manta photos. (I do think I was the only one in our group who used their macro lens, however.) Here are my pics:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/g-na/sets/72157625314338832/

-Gina

There are so many great spots in the Maldives. Just to confuse you even further Feb/Mar is normally the time when you get great vis (30m+) in the northern atolls compared to the usual 15-20m. If you don't want to worry about getting the right island then book a liveaboard as they normally head to the best spots for that particular time of year. Either way I'm sure you'll love it.

Cheers, Simon