1999 DIVER Holiday Supplement

1000 island dressing
investigating a wreck at Felivaru

You have got a huge choice, but you need to pick the right island if you're heading for the Maldives, advises John Bantin

The Maldives are probably the second most popular destination for European divers after the Egyptian Red Sea. They lie sprinkled across the Indian Ocean south-west of Sri Lanka in a chain of 19 separate atolls.
The atolls comprise more than a thousand individual islands, many of which are tiny and exist only a few inches above sea-level. They are populated by a hardy race of fishermen known to the Sri Lankans as the "Sea People".
The Maldivian government has chosen to keep the majority of its population isolated from the excesses of the western world, but about 80 islands are open to tourism - and each one has a diving school!
The islands are so small that they can support just one hotel each, and space is often so limited that the hotel is built on legs over the water.
If you're going to be land-based, it's important to select the right island to suit your requirements. It's also worth bearing in mind that, without a dominant local culture, the culture of the hotel operator tends to take precedence - which means that some islands are French, others are Italian, German or even Japanese.

little to do in Ellaidhoo

Island options
Ellaidhoo in Ari atoll is a German-run island that has little in the way of recreational activities, and offers only simple accommodation and set meals in the restaurant. What it does have is 24-hour-a-day diving on its house reef. It also offers twice-a-day dive-boat trips, as well as technical diving and rebreather facilities.
It is also well placed for diving with the friendly marbled rays of the Halaveli wreck and on dramatic shark-inhabited sites such as Mushimasmagilli and Mayatilla. So it's an ideal place for a holiday, unless of course you don't like diving - or Germans!
Diggiri and Alimatha are tiny islands in nearby Felidhu atoll. They are more suitable for people who want a quiet - or exclusive - vacation, and their dive centres cater for those who want to do more than just relax.
On the other hand, Lohifushi in North Male atoll is a large island with a great beach and lots of activities, such as windsurfing, dinghy sailing and tennis. There's lots to do, but diving is relegated to just one of several activities. Go there if you want diving to be only part of your vacation. Kuredoo in Lhaviyani atoll offers the same sort of thing but with more style - and more expense.
And if that's not enough, Club Mediterranee has an island exclusively devoted to its kind of whizz-bang way of doing things - and it's conveniently located not far from the airport.
The palm-fringed tropical islands of the Maldives offer beautiful white sandy beaches and turquoise water, but little else. If visiting tourists aren't either on their honeymoon or going diving, the beauty of their surroundings will soon pall as the terror of holiday boredom finally takes over!
Scuba diving is the one activity that both gets you off your host island and gives you a reason for going there in the first place. Many tourists have taken up diving after visiting the Maldives and discovering they need more than just sun, sea and sand. In fact, the island of Gan (formerly an RAF base) in Addu atoll doesn't even offer a beach holiday. It's purely for those in search of good diving and is popular with those keen for encounters with sharks, mantas and turtles.

Diving ins and outs
So what's the diving like? Well, it can be some of the best in the world - or some of the most disappointing. It all depends on when and where you dive.
Novice divers tend to learn within the safe confines of the lagoons, where they may see some pretty fish, but they're unlikely to see much more. It makes for an attractive introduction to the world of diving, but it's not what an experienced diver would go all that way to see.
On the outside of the atolls, the diving can be quite advanced, but it's here on the reef walls and "thillas" (raised parts of the seabed) that you'll meet the more exciting oceanic life. The quality of the diving also depends on what time of year you're there.
At certain times, the ocean currents are pouring into the atolls. This very clear water can be cold, and the currents tend to be extremely strong. However, it is these in-currents that give the underwater photographer the opportunity to get those really crisp, clear pictures you see in books about the Maldives.
The ocean water can be colder than you might expect, so a one-piece suit is needed. The strong currents can also be dangerous - every diver should carry a loud whistle and a visual signalling device like a sausage or flag so they don't get lost at sea.
At other times, there are out-currents, which occur when the tide draws water out of the atolls back into the ocean. Visibility can be rather disappointing for those with higher expectations, however the increased plankton levels attract glorious manta rays, and the water becomes a great deal warmer.
Last year, thanks to El Nino, the Maldives had higher plankton levels than normal. This made visibility quite poor, but divers were rewarded with frequent close encounters with whalesharks.

pilot whales escort a liveaboard

All aboard
Apart from when you're visiting an island's house reef (and remember, not all islands have them), you travel to the dive sites in small dhonis. These are locally constructed wooden boats that can be very slow and limited in their sphere of operations.
Some dive centres have speedboats, but if you want to dive far away from the same island every day a liveaboard safari boat is your best bet. There were only a few of these a decade ago, but today the choice is enormous. The boatcrews are invariably local, but with a European manager on board.
It is important to check the nationality of the boat operators, because that will probably be the predominant nationality of the guests and certainly the culture you will experience during your stay.
In the Maldives, the main vessel tends to be used as a hotel boat, with a smaller dhoni, like the ones used by the land-based dive centres, used for the actual diving. This set-up works very well and means that dive-boat rides are reasonably short.
However, as the islands of the Maldives are spread over such a vast area, you're unlikely to go further during a 10-day trip than, say, the islands of Ari atoll or North Male atoll, which are the next nearest atolls to South Mali atoll (where the airport is situated).

Size matters
Diving in the Maldives is about coral reefs and animal life. There are a few wrecks, notably the Maldive Victory and two tuna boats at Felivaru, as well as the Halaveli wreck, but these are not what divers come to the Maldives for. The attraction is the bigger animals - the mantas and the whalesharks - and, of course, the grey reef sharks.
Although shark-feeding is now banned in the Maldives, you can still get to see plenty. And, if you're really lucky, you may even come across a passing school of hammerheads.

Map of the Maldives

PROS
Great diving with diverse animal life and colourful reefs. A long-haul destination that is getting closer as international flight schedules improve. There is tropical sunshine outside the monsoon season.

CONS
The diving tends to be more advanced when there are strong currents. It's important to choose the right island to suit your taste, or book on a liveaboard.

FACTFILE

Getting there:
Emirates Airlines via Dubai, and direct charter flights with Caledonian and Britannia. Flights from the UK can take as little as 10 hours. Transport between the islands is by dhoni, speedboat, helicopter or float plane.
Diving details:
Every island has its own dive centre. Liveaboards include mv Keema, Davidoo, Manthiri, Moonima, Al Pasha and Sea Queen. Kuoni Sport Abroad 01306 744345; Maldives Scubatours 01449 780220; Regal Diving 01353 778096; and many others. Dive centres usually insist you have DAN medical insurance, which gives you access to the recompression chamber on Bandos.
Accommodation:
Refer to travel agent.
Languages:
European languages widely spoken.
Money:
US dollars are widely accepted.
For non-divers:
Sun and watersports.
Hazards:
Tropical sunshine and normal marine hazards, plus strong currents.
Best time to go:
June to October and December to March.
Water temperature:
24-32°C.
Diving suitable for:
Everyone, depending on the dive site.
Cost:
A typical 14-day itinerary from £1800 (all-inclusive liveaboard) or island-based from £700 (B&B).

Appeared in DIVER - January 1999