Diving in the Maldives
Channels, thilas and wrecks.
The great channels of Vaavu and Ari, tiger sharks off Fuvahmulah, and gentler reefs for a first dive.
The local islands sit beside some of the country’s best-known dive sites — the Vaavu channels, the hammerheads off Rasdhoo, the tiger sharks of Fuvahmulah — as well as sheltered thilas for check dives and courses. Requirements vary a great deal from site to site, so each is listed with the level it asks for.
- Certification
- The channels and pelagic dives ask for Advanced Open Water or recent drift experience; the thilas suit Open Water divers.
- Currents
- Channel dives are timed to the current. Days are planned around the sea, not the other way round.
- Flying after diving
- Leave a clear day between your last dive and a flight, including domestic flights and seaplanes.
Where to dive from the local islands
7 islands, and what each one offers.
Only where it happens — and the level, season or length each one asks for.
Tiger sharks at the harbour
Briefed dives at six to ten metres where tiger sharks gather all year, run in slots, with the code kept.
- 45 minutes · slotted
- Open Water minimum
- Year-round
Threshers and hammerheads
Thresher sharks on the Farikede plateau, and dawn hammerhead dives in season.
- Advanced Open Water
- Hammerheads Oct–Apr
Hammerheads at dawn
The blue-water descent off Madivaru at first light — about even odds on any morning, so two or three dawns help.
- In the water by six
- Advanced Open Water
Mantas and wrecks
Reef mantas at Madi Gaa from November to April, and the Reef Explorer and Queen Explorer wrecks.
- Open Water
The channels
Fotteyo Kandu and Miyaru Kandu, dived at the slack-current window.
- Advanced Open Water
- Best Dec–Apr
The local thilas
The island’s own pinnacles at kinder depths — where the check dives happen.
- Open Water
After dark
The Alimatha nurse-shark night dive half an hour north, and on the darkest nights a lagoon that can glow with bioluminescence.
- Night · dark moon
The Vaavu channels
Fotteyo Kandu and Miyaru Kandu for experienced divers, and the Alimatha night dive nearby.
- Advanced Open Water
- Best Dec–Apr
Dhigurah
Whaleshark Bay
20-min flight to Maamigili + short boat, or ~2 h by speedboat
The Dhigurah guideDiving the marine park
Kudarah Thila and Broken Rock in the island’s own channel — the currents are real, and so is the fish life.
- Certified divers
- Advanced recommended
Mantas, May to November
Reef mantas at the cleaning stations in the green season — divers at the edge, snorkellers above.
- Morning
- May–Nov
Diving South Malé
The small Kuda Giri wreck on its own pinnacle, and the Guraidhoo Corner channel.
- Open Water
- Drift experience for the channel
Rangabeelu
Two coral towers off the open edge where mantas hold against the current in season — a drift for certified divers when the sea allows.
- Two-tank morning
- Open Water · drift experience
Times and seasons are approximate and move with the weather — your proposal confirms them.
More Maldives experiences
The other four.
Marine life
Whale sharks, turtles, rays and nurse sharks — much of it within reach of a snorkel.
Surfing
Two surf islands — one half an hour from the airport, one further south in Meemu.
Food & culture
The fish market at dawn, the old quarter, short eats and sweet tea, farms and the drum.
Island life
Sandbanks at low tide, shallow lagoons, freshwater lakes and long walking beaches.
