The Maldives is one of those few places where anyone, from beginner to expert, will find great diving conditions. The resorts run special courses for those who are preparing for their first dive, as well as for experienced scuba divers. For beginners, there are special places with soft corals, gentle slopes and many tropical fish. Experienced athletes have the opportunity for night swimming and drifting in the underwater current, as well as many steep walls, caves and rocks. You can even go to the crash site of a ship. A group of divers waiting for countless as yet unexplored reefs.

Near most of the islands there is a reef, to which you can swim directly from the beach. The best of the reefs is located in the resort of Ellaidu, a little worse - in the resorts of Bandos, Vadu, Embudu Village, Giraavaru, Helengeli, Baros, Baros Ra and Twin Island (Maafushivaru). But, of course, not all reefs worthy of attention are listed here. In general, most resorts are surrounded by small reefs. If you want to swim directly from your resort's beach, make sure there is an accessible reef. Those who want to admire not only the coastal waters, dhoni will be taken on an underwater safari to one of the remote reefs.

If you are a beginner and in good health, take a short course at your resort (there are three levels of diving: beginner, special, advanced).

Those who have already mastered diving should bring their certificate and dive diary. If you have not been scuba diving for a long time, you will be offered a test dive so that the instructor can see how you feel in the water. Due to the remoteness of the Maldives and the lack of sophisticated medical technology, these precautions are well worth the slight inconvenience you will experience.

When to go
The best time for scuba diving is from January to April, when the sea is calm, the sun is shining, the weather is great, visibility in the water is more than 30 m. From late August until October, whales can be seen in the strait at the southern tip of Ari Atoll. But if you want to see giant rays and whale sharks, it is best to come to Male and South Male in August - November, when the ocean is rich in plankton, and to Ari - in February - April.
scuba diving Swimming is possible all year round, but rain, wind and rough seas are most common during the southwest monsoon season (June-August). During this period, it is difficult and sometimes impossible to reach some interesting diving sites. In a bad season, visibility in the water sometimes drops to 10 m. It is said that the weather in the Maldives has two-week cycles, but there is no clear pattern of its change. Northeasterly winds in December and January make it difficult to get to the best diving on the outer, eastern sides of the atolls, but it is possible to do it in the lagoons and channels.
Visibility in the water often exceeds 30 m, the water temperature is suitable - 27-30C, which allows you to swim in a light, comfortable suit.

Underwater
The underwater world of the Maldives is very diverse and is known throughout the world for its amazing coral reefs, which have become home and natural habitat for a large number of different types of underwater inhabitants - from microscopic plankton to huge whale sharks. Among them:

- About 200 species of various corals;
- 400 types of mollusks;
- 300 species of crustaceans;
- More than 1000 types of fish;
- 21 species of dolphins and cetaceans;
- 5 types of sea turtles.
While diving in the Maldives, almost everywhere you look, something interesting happens. You can watch the underwater life for hours, it really relaxes well and allows you to forget about everyday problems for a while. It is worth coming to the Maldives if only to see with your own eyes - graceful stingrays under water, moving so smoothly as if they are floating in the sky, or swim with a sea turtle. It really is so interesting and unforgettable - that I can safely recommend diving as a real alternative to the well-known beach holidays in the Maldives.

When planning a trip to the Maldives, keep in mind that there are manta rays, whale sharks, turtles, reef sharks and hammerhead sharks all year round. As for other large underwater inhabitants, already in the Maldives themselves, when choosing the time for diving, a number of off-season factors must be taken into account. For example, whale sharks are much more likely to be seen during high tide, and hammerhead fish like to swim in shallow water at sunrise.

Coral reefs
coral reefs on The Maldives are large accumulations of underwater calcareous deposits, similar to an underwater forest at the bottom of the Laccadive Sea, up to 50 meters deep. They are formed by colonies of corals consisting of living organisms (coral polyps, similar to very small jellyfish) and their waste products, forming a rigid frame of corals. The favorable marine environment in the archipelago of the Maldives and the clear waters rich in plankton have contributed to the constant growth of corals and the development of reefs for many thousands of years.

Popular diving atolls in the Maldives
Ari Atoll is considered the most popular atoll for diving in the Maldives. Large fish and mammals such as whale sharks, manta rays, hammerhead and rays, Napoleon fish, gray and white reef sharks, as well as schools of black-tailed barracudas and flying fish are often found here.

Vaavu Atoll is interesting for deep channels with a fast current. Various reef sharks constantly swim here. Dive spot Fotteyo Kandu with its picturesque ledges and caves, according to numerous reviews of divers who have been here, is deservedly considered the best place for diving.
with its passages, caves and overhangs. While snorkeling, you can also see a wide variety of large fish here, including tuna, unicorn fish and different types of rays.

North Male Atoll is the very first in the Maldives, where diving began to actively develop. It includes some of the most famous dive spots, including Gaathugiri, better known as Banana Reef. It features a developed underwater topography with numerous rocks and caves, steep slopes and cliffs. Typical large species of underwater life here are represented by sharks, manta rays, large moray eels, soldier fish and Maldivian porpoise. A wide variety of oceanic fish of different types and sizes will amaze the imagination of even the most sophisticated divers.

Diving in the Maldives and its types
Diving centers in the Maldives have extensive experience in organizing diving for people with different levels of training and physical abilities. There are 2 types of diving, which differ in how the diver starts his dive: from a boat or from the shore. On almost every island, whether you choose whether you are a resort or prefer to live on a village island, they offer different types of diving programs for both beginners and experienced divers who already have a certificate.

Beginners first need to take a short beginner scuba course on their island. After that, they are offered the simplest dive programs with an instructor during the day only in spacious areas with soft corals and gentle slopes, where there are no strong currents, but there is a huge variety of different types of tropical fish and other small underwater inhabitants.
Experienced divers and athletes should bring their diver's certificate and dive diary with them to the Maldives. To begin with, they can restore their skills and take a test dive with an instructor to objectively assess their fitness. Then you can go for night diving or free drifting in the underwater current through underwater channels surrounded by high cliffs and large caves in which large marine life such as sharks, hammerhead fish and rays like to hide. Of particular interest are dives to sunken ships or unusual underwater structures.
For professional scuba divers, there is the opportunity to recover in a group with an experienced guide to little-explored reefs and dive at the deepest dive spots, where they can put their skills to work.

Diving by boat
The main way of diving in the Maldives is a group exit on a special dhoni boat, accommodating 10-20 people, into the sea to one of the dive spots located within the atoll (usually no more than 1 hour from the islands). There, the boat anchors, and the divers put on their scuba gear and dive overboard, gradually sinking towards the sea beauties, and the current picks them up and carries them forward. This is the so-called drift diving in the current.
After returning all participants of the dive on board, they have the opportunity to rest and refresh themselves. Then the boat recovers either to the next dive spot, or returns to its island. Sometimes the trip program can be supplemented with a picnic on a desert island.
Individual diving in the Maldives is also possible. You just need to choose the offer that suits you (with or without an instructor, individual dive or as part of a small group), pay for a boat that will take you to the spot and scuba dive. In other words, you yourself choose the program that is convenient for you and dive as many times as you want, depending on your budget and physical capabilities.

House reef diving
Experienced travelers and divers know that in order to save money, you need to choose a hotel in the Maldives on an island with a good house reef. The peculiarity of such an island is that the house reef begins almost at the coast and is located in an open