Maldives first week in March.

Hello all:

My wife and I will be headed to the Maldives the first week in March on the Liveaboard - Carpe Vita. I have a couple of questions for those that have been. Particularly at that time of year.

- Should we even bother packing a macro lens? Or is it all about the mantas, whale sharks and fish schools. ie...wide angle?

- Is night diving prevalent, and is it good?

- What should we expect that time of year? weather wise....current....visibility.

- Do you recommend reef hooks?

- What is the typical depth you dive at when you see the mantas?

- Do you see many sharks in the Maldives? How close do they get?

- What lens do you recommend for a full frame 5d mark ii. I am thinking the 15mm fisheye. But also have the 17-40mm as well.

Any other advice you can provide would be great.

Thanks in advance.

Dustin

Hello all:

 

My wife and I will be headed to the Maldives the first week in March on the Liveaboard - Carpe Vita. I have a couple of questions for those that have been. Particularly at that time of year.

 

- Should we even bother packing a macro lens? Or is it all about the mantas, whale sharks and fish schools. ie...wide angle?

- Is night diving prevalent, and is it good?

- What should we expect that time of year? weather wise....current....visibility.

- Do you recommend reef hooks?

- What is the typical depth you dive at when you see the mantas?

- Do you see many sharks in the Maldives? How close do they get?

- What lens do you recommend for a full frame 5d mark ii. I am thinking the 15mm fisheye. But also have the 17-40mm as well.

 

Any other advice you can provide would be great.

 

Thanks in advance.

 

Dustin

We were on a liveaboard there Feb 2011, we saw 3 Mantas the whole week, no whale sharks and some Macro, we'd just come from the Philippines so it didn't seem like much.

The reef hook was supplied by the boat.

We saw lots of reef sharks but not up close.

Here are some photos we took PHOTOS

Been a few times to the Maldives (going again next month) and would not consider going without my 100mm and 150mm macro lenses. I think your boat crew will take you to specific locations where there is a good chance of seeing whale sharks and mantas (not together normally!) but sightings won't be guaranteed. You can then go in prepared. It would be a waste of opportunity to hang about on more run of the mill dives with a wide angle on the off-chance, particularly as the viz in the Maldives can vary tremendously due to plankton and currents. But for sure there are good scenic ops. as well as good macro ops. - just don't restrict yourself. I use a 17/40 on my 5D2 and don't find the need for anything wider. Depth for mantas and whale sharks - the surface to 25m in my experience.

Sharks - distant and unapproachable!

Reef hook - yes

Weather - Jan to Mar is supposedly the best season for weather but you can still get towering heavy clouds and torrential down pours, usually short-lived.

Currents - can be ferocious but your guides will be well switched onto this and advise you accordingly. Also the Maldivian boatmen, usually former fishermen, are brilliant

Night diving is usually offered but I don't do it. I find it difficult to avoid damaging the coral.

Hello all:

 

 

- Should we even bother packing a macro lens? Or is it all about the mantas, whale sharks and fish schools. ie...wide angle?

 

Loads of macro critters to see, lots of life on the reef. Plankton was a problem both times we were there so wide angle was very hit and miss. I believe it's supposed to be better Jan-Mar.

 

- Is night diving prevalent, and is it good?

 

On two liveaboards we only did one night dive in the week. Both were at Maaya Thilla. Quite a thrill, with hunting sharks, morays and blotched rays. First time we had the reef to ourselves and it was fab, second time there were lots of divers but it was still fun!

 

- Do you recommend reef hooks?

 

Used ours a few times, to catch our breath, to hook in and watch the show. If you have one take it.

 

 

- What is the typical depth you dive at when you see the mantas?

 

Lankan point in North Male is about 14m. We never saw the mantas in June but had plenty in Oct.

 

- Do you see many sharks in the Maldives? How close do they get?

 

I'd say the Maldives was our most prolific shark diving, especially on our second trip. We had fly bys on most dives and on one particular dive we had numerous grey reefs for 40 minutes. Only a few feet away. A truly memorable experience.

 

I love to go back through the Maldives Scuba Tours archives to see what they saw at specific times of the year. I can say hand on heart that what they say is what they see as we dived with them on the Sea Spirit in Jun2009.

 

Sharon

Thanks everyone for the replies. I will take all this into consideration.