It is not an exaggeration to call Maldives a sea paradise when you can’t find a single “dead corner” in this island nation. That’s why couples in love love to come to Maldives to enjoy romantic days together. As for a person who often travels alone like me, not only do I enjoy life in “paradise on earth”, I also come to Maldives to explore the underwater world of this island nation.
The sea in Maldives has good visibility, the water temperature remains warm all year round (due to its geographical location), creating favorable conditions for more than 3,500 species of marine life to thrive and live here. For those who love diving, this is a very good condition for a more enjoyable and relaxing diving trip. In fact, out of more than 30 diving trips across 5 countries in 3 years, I still think Maldives is the best place to dive.
Over 30 diving trips across 5 countries in 3 years, for me, Maldives is the best place to dive
Coral diving: Leisurely pleasure
The simplest diving activity for all tourists is snorkeling. Hotels and resorts in Maldives often offer this activity for free with two dives a day. I booked a snorkeling trip with the resort that afternoon, when the sun was fading.
Hotels and resorts in the Maldives often offer this snorkeling activity for free with two dives per day.
The small boat always docked right at the resort's boat ramp took me and other guests to the snorkeling spot, only about 10 minutes by boat from the resort. This diving spot is only about 5 meters deep, the sea surface is calm, so if you are lazy to swim, just put on a life jacket, a diving mask and a snorkel, lie lazily on the sea surface and watch the colorful soft corals swaying with the current below, hidden among them are cute little Nemo clownfish. And the most surprising thing for me was the sea turtle frolicking slowly near me... just like its name. Normally, to meet this marine creature, I have to dive a little deeper, it is not easy to meet it at such a low sea level.
To see sea turtles you have to dive a little deep.
Alternatively, you can book a “Snorkeling Safari” tour for around $50 so the boat can take you to more beautiful coral reefs and more fish species… This tour will last for three hours, giving you three times more time than the free snorkeling tour. It’s understandable, right? Everything has its price!
Scuba diving to see another paradise
If what you see while snorkeling is not enough to “get you high”, you can try scuba diving to dive deeper and see the fish and corals that live at that depth.
Scuba diving to see fish and corals
To be able to participate in this scuba diving, you need to attend a training course from theory to practice. After passing the exams according to the regulations of international diving organizations such as SSI or PADI, you will receive a scuba diving certificate that is valid worldwide, each level of the certificate is equivalent to your scuba diving ability and the depth you are allowed to dive. For example, the Open Water certificate allows you to participate in normal dives with a maximum depth of 18 m; with Adventurer, you will be able to participate in night dives with a maximum depth of 30 m... And note, you should not dive deeper than the training limit because the deeper you go, the more skills are required and there are many very dangerous situations, such as nitrogen poisoning...
After passing the required exams, you will receive a scuba diving certificate that is valid worldwide.
I was very excited for this diving trip in Maldives because I had an Open Water Diver certificate issued by the international diving organization SSI and had had many previous diving experiences. In theory, I was now “qualified” enough to “take the tank and rush out to sea”.
I was greeted at the resort's pier by Ruby, a Taiwanese girl who looked quite young, but when asked about her years of diving and training as a diver, I could only exclaim: "Youth and talent are real!". After discussing the level of diving certification, the number of dives she had done, the additional diving equipment she needed to rent, the size of her wetsuit, and the amount of lead she needed to wear, Ruby led me to the waiting submersible to begin the journey. During the trip, Ruby took a whiteboard and drew a plan for two dives, including information about the terrain of the dive site, currents, depth, expected duration of the dive, and the types of fish that could be found at that dive site. Depending on the location of your stay and the currents below in that area, Ruby will decide which dive site is suitable. During my days in the Maldives, I stayed on Meemu Island so Ruby chose a dive spot around Muli Island, which was only about 45 minutes by boat from our resort.
Under the sea of Maldives
When I arrived at the diving site, all the equipment had been checked and I was ready for the dive, following Ruby's signal, I jumped into the sea and signaled "OK" and started diving deeper. The deeper I went, the more beautiful the marine ecosystem of Maldives became. Coral reefs gradually appeared with more diverse shapes and sizes, and schools of large and small colorful fish such as barracuda, parrotfish... appeared before my eyes. While I was swimming and admiring a completely different world under the Maldives sea, Ruby signaled that there was a school of gray sharks in the distance, then pointed out a school of Manta Rays... These types of fish are almost impossible to see if you only dive in Vietnam. Not only that, the characteristic of Maldives is that the currents below are quite strong, so my dive brought many other types of fish that I had never seen elsewhere. I folded my three middle fingers to form a "W" shape, shaking my hand continuously towards Ruby to convey the message: "So beautiful, Ruby!" along with the excitement of seeing what is unfolding before our eyes.
The deeper you go, the more beautiful the Maldives' marine ecosystem becomes.
Sunlight shines through each layer of seawater, making the seabed landscape more sparkling and magical. No camera can record better than the human eye. The deeper you dive, the more the objects below will lose color in a range of colors from red to orange, yellow... so when you want to record underwater, you need to attach additional color-compensating accessories such as red filters, lights... This is also the reason why the images you capture are often blue-green, hazy, not as beautiful as what you see with your eyes during the dive.
Epilogue
After each dive, Ruby and I sat down to talk, but I still couldn't stop admiring how beautiful the sea was, talking about the types of fish I had encountered or describing their shapes so Ruby could tell me what kind of fish they were. Ruby said that she only took advantage of her summer vacation to go to the Maldives to train those who love scuba diving or lead groups to explore the Maldives sea. After the summer, Ruby returned to Taiwan to continue studying. After hearing that, I "realized" why I hadn't tried to train to become a Dive Instructor, so that I could live a life like Ruby, doing what I love and... making money. It's worth thinking about and investing in!
Maldives is not only an island paradise but also an underwater paradise.
The days in Maldives showed me that Maldives is not only a paradise on earth on the island but also a paradise of the underwater world. Nature does not give Maldives majestic mountains and forests but it gives Maldives so many wonderful things for the marine ecosystem. One day, I will return to Maldives, hopefully with a lover to go with!
More information:
Visa:With a Vietnamese passport, you do not need to apply for a visa to enter the Maldives. You just need to prepare your return flight information, book a hotel and fill out the Arrival Form when you arrive at the airport.
Trip:From Vietnam, you need to fly at least two flights to get to Maldives. The transit airports that Vietnamese tourists often fly through are Singapore Airport (Singapore), Kuala Lumpur Airport (Malaysia), Don Muang Airport, Suvarnabhumi Airport (Thailand)...
Time:It can be said that the Maldives sea has good visibility all year round but the most beautiful is from December to May of the following year, this is the dry season, traveling will be easier. May is the time when you have the highest chance of seeing Manta Rays, even Whale Sharks. From May to September, Maldives has erratic rain and wind, which can greatly affect your vacation.
The Maldives sea is most beautiful from December to May of the following year.
Transportation:Depending on the distance between the airport and your accommodation, you can travel from the airport to your accommodation by speedboat, seaplane or ferry….
Cuisine:Maldivian food is heavily influenced by Indian cuisine with a distinct flavor. Most hotels and resorts offer a variety of cuisines and buffets for you to choose from.
Money:Maldives uses Ruffiya, with a conversion rate of 1 Ruffiya equaling 1,500 VND. However, for tourists, they often exchange in USD.
Appropriate attire:When going to the beach, wear whatever makes you feel most comfortable.
Best diving spots:According to the assessment of the International Diving Organization PADI, Maldives has 5 beautiful diving spots worth experiencing:
⁃ Fotteyo Kandu (Vavu Island) not only has corals and fish but also has many caves that can be dived through to add more fun to your diving trip. The fish species concentrated here are sharks, tuna, and barracuda.
⁃ Kuredu Express (Lhaviyani Island) has many different depths, with a concentration of fish such as sharks, rays, tuna, and barracuda. Mantas rays often swim around this place in schools, which is quite beautiful.
Maldives seabed
⁃ Okobe Thila (North Male Island) often has spiraling currents, so if you are not careful, you will easily swim around this area with the current. Common fish here are tuna, white sharks and sailfish.
⁃ Kandooma Thila (South Male Island) is famous for its rock walls covered with soft corals. There are many mackerel here. In addition, you are likely to see grey sharks, white sharks and manta rays. At higher levels, you can see sea turtles.
⁃ Broken Rock (Nam Ari Island) has a highlight of a cliff that divides the coral reef in two. When diving here, you can see large coral clumps, wrasses, turtles, stingrays, etc.
Cost of the trip:Airfare from Vietnam to Maldives is about 8,000,000 VND/round trip ticket. Accommodation costs will be a bit expensive if you choose beautiful hotels and resorts (average price about 2,500,000 VND/night).
