Luxury Diving Holidays in the Lhaviyani Atoll

Best time to visit

December-April
Marine Highlights

Manta cleaning stations, grey reef sharks, black and white tip reef sharks, eagle rays, turtles, schooling fish
Difficulty

Beginner-Advanced

Overview

Located in the northern Maldives, the Lhaviyani Atoll is home to a sprinkling of luxury resorts and some of the best dive centres in the country. A diving holiday to the Lhaviyani Atoll is diverse, with a range of dive sites for beginners and experts alike, abundant marine life and very few divers to boot. With around 50 dive sites to choose from, divers will be spoilt for choice with access to channel dives, wrecks, thilas, manta cleaning stations and caves. Most luxury resorts in the atoll have excellent house reefs with ideal conditions to learn to dive so the Lhaviyani Atoll really does tick all the boxes for a luxury scuba diving holiday.

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Coral garden

Grey reef shark

Anemone fish

Reef manta ray

Warty frogfish

Grey reef shark and baitfish

Shipyard wreck, Lhaviyani atoll

bluestripe snapper

A diver and frogfish in the Lhaviyani Atoll

Frogfish and diver

Nurse shark

In Depth

Snorkellers and scuba divers visiting the Lhaviyani Atoll can expect to see all of the reef dwellers that are typical of the Maldives. These include moray eels, oriental sweetlips, green turtles resting in overhangs, large schools of blue-stripe snapper enveloping the reef, fusiliers flitting backwards and forwards, sting rays, reef sharks and all manner of macro life amongst beautiful coral gardens. Colourful soft corals are plentiful and healthy, particularly when found lining the ceilings of over-hangs and caves.

The Lhaviyani Atoll is also frequented by reef manta rays with 378 individuals having been identified with a number of cleaning stations where divers can observe these majestic giants. This is a big draw for those coming on a diving holiday to the Lhaviyani Atoll. Fushivaru Thila is one such site, where mantas come in to be cleaned mainly in November and December with wingspans of up to six metres. Schools of snapper, oriental sweetlips and collared butterflyfish are also seen, as well as giant trevally and barracuda predating on the smaller reef fish.

Kuredu Express is one of the more well known dive sites in the Lhaviyani Atoll, named for the strong currents that sweep across the reef. Divers will stop at the corner of the reef and observe the action: grey reef sharks, eagle rays, huge tuna, Napolean wrasse and barracuda parade effortlessly against the current. Along the outer reef, two small bays give shelter from the current with bright soft corals clouded in schools of humpback snapper, collared butterflyfish and to finish off the dive, a leaf scorpionfish on the top of the reef. Suitable for all levels of diver, Vavvaru Outreef consists of a steep drop-off with caves and large overhangs full over purple soft coral where schools of fish take shelter. Green turtles rest in the overhangs whilst tuna, eagle rays and other pelagic species can be seen patrolling out in the blue.

Beyond the Reef

For those that can tear themselves away from the spectacular dive sites, there is plenty to enjoy beyond the reef on a diving holiday in the Lhaviyani Atoll. The luxury resorts offer a range of watersports, including motorised and non-motorised, whilst island-hopping, dolphin and local island excusions are offered. Gastronomic delights await making sure that divers never go hungry and the spas are open to underwater enthusiasts winding down from an exciting day’s diving

Photo credits: Ray van Eeden

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