Maldives by liveaboard
Octocoral colony on a Maldivian reef
Malapascua Island , Philippines
How better to escape a Northern European winter then a trip to the equatorial paradise of the Maldives ? It ’ s a dive trip for those who yearn for schools of fish and a smattering of sharks , with the promise of a friendly manta encounter or even a passing whale shark .
While the shallow coral has suffered from climate-related damage , the deeper corals are still very beautiful and the Maldives remains a world class destination for divers who can cope with a bit of current .
Standard liveaboard itineraries cover the north , south , or central atolls , all of which have their strengths . Southern charters tend to focus on the passes or kandus between reefs and islands , where currents run in and out each day , creating a supercharged food chain – plenty of big fish and grey reef sharks . By contrast , the central and northern
atolls have a bit more variety , so you may find yourself at a coral bommie or a manta cleaning station .
Why winter ?
There ’ s no such thing as winter in the Maldives , as this string of atolls stretches down to the equator . The northeast monsoon occurs from December to the end of March . It ’ s the time of year with the best viz and the least chance of wind affecting your diving .
Costs
The diving industry pitches the Maldives as a step up from the Red Sea , but the liveaboards are competitively priced compared to some of the new island resorts , which tend to the upper levels of five star luxury . These days , a typical price for seven night ’ s liveaboard with flights is £ 2,600 , but watch out for last minute deals .
The Philippines sits right at the heart of the area of marine biodiversity , the ‘ Coral Triangle ’. While some of the coastal reefs have suffered from human activity , the value of tourist diving has resulted in more protected areas and there are some truly magnificent places .
Malapascua has prospered thanks to the diver tourism generated by interest in thresher sharks at the nearby Monad Shoal .
Inset : A banded cleaner shrimp attends to a moray eel
Main image : Atoll pass in the southern Maldives .
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