Diving around Malé

Maldives2 dive sites

Season

You can dive year-round, in water of 28 to 30 °C. From December to April, the sea is at its calmest and visibility runs from 25 to 40 meters. From May to November, the plankton cuts it to 15 or 25 meters. Kandooma Thila and the southern passes call for Advanced.

Budget

In Maafushi, a dive costs US$50 all-inclusive, and US$430 for ten. From Hulhumalé, a two-dive trip comes to US$180. The green tax is added to every night: US$6 in a guesthouse, US$12 on a resort island or a liveaboard.

Getting there

North Malé Atoll surrounds Velana airport: it is the only place in the Maldives where you can dive on the day you land. Hulhumalé is linked to the airport by a bridge. Maafushi, about thirty kilometers away, is served by public speedboats and the ferry.

Dive sites around Malé (2)

Seen from the front, a diver with arms spread glides above a thick school of blue-striped yellow snappers covering the reef, in deep blue water.

MaldivesReef

Banana Reef

Malé atolls

5 to 30 mOpen WaterFrom December to April

BoatCurrent: variableVisibility 20 to 30 m

Banana Reef is a banana-shaped reef 20 minutes by speedboat from Malé and one of the first dive sites in the Maldives.

MaldivesPelagic

Kandooma Thila

Malé atolls

12 to 30 mAdvancedFrom November to April

BoatCurrent: strongVisibility 20 to 35 m

Kandooma Thila is a small pinnacle in South Malé Atoll, with its top at 12 or 13 meters and the sand at 35 or 40.

Dive sites on the map

Where can you dive 15 minutes from Malé airport?

North Malé Atoll surrounds the capital and Velana airport: it is the only place in the Maldives where you can dive on the day you land. From Hulhumalé, the new island linked to the airport by a bridge, dive centers run speedboats to Banana Reef, one of the country's first fifteen protected sites in 1995, 15 to 25 minutes away, to HP Reef and Okobe Thila, or to the Lankan Manta Point cleaning station. The atoll's resort islands each have their own dive center and house sites. At Dive Club Maldives in Hulhumalé, a two-dive boat trip costs US$180, one dive US$100, three US$260.

Where do you dive the currents of South Malé Atoll?

South of the Vaadhoo Channel, South Malé Atoll is narrower and its passes more pronounced. Kandooma Thila, a pinnacle in the Biyadhoo kandu, gathers gray reef sharks, eagle rays and trevallies when the current flows out. Cocoa Corner, Guraidhoo Kandu and Emboodhoo Kandu round out the program. The budget base is Maafushi, an inhabited island about thirty kilometers from Malé, where Maafushi Dive and Water Sports charges US$50 a dive with gear, boat, guide and taxes, US$430 for ten dives and US$5 more for Nitrox. The Kandooma Maldives resort, a few minutes by boat from the thila, offers one guided dive a day to certified divers who stay at least four nights.

What are the diving conditions around Malé?

The water is 28 °C from December to February and 30 °C in April. The northeast monsoon, from December to April, brings the calmest sea and the best visibility, 25 to 40 meters. From May to November, the southwest wind raises a swell on the exposed sides and the plankton brings visibility down to 15 or 25 meters. North Malé sites are fine from Open Water. Kandooma Thila and the southern passes call for Advanced, a DSMB and experience in current. Everywhere, 30 meters is the legal limit.

How much does diving around Malé cost?

Hulhumalé and Maafushi fall under the inhabited island rate: a green tax of US$6 per night in guesthouses of 50 rooms or fewer, against US$12 on resort islands and liveaboards. The speedboat transfer to Kandooma takes 45 minutes from the airport and costs about US$160 round trip. Maafushi is served by public speedboats and the ferry.

Where to stay around Malé?

Hotels, apartments and rooms around Malé, the starting point for dives at Kandooma Thila, with current prices.