Luxury Diving Holidays in the Thaa Atoll

Best time to visit

December-April
Marine Highlights

Whale sharks, turtles, schooling reef sharks, stingrays, abundant fish life, healthy corals
Difficulty

Beginner-Advanced

Overview

Located around 200km south of Male, the Maldives’ capital island, Thaa Atoll feels a world away from the busier central atolls. Accessed by an exciting 60-minute seaplane journey, those venturing down to Thaa will find just one hotel in the entire atoll, meaning that guests have the best dive sites all to themselves. Diving holidays in Thaa Atoll will allow divers to glimpse what the Maldives used to look like 20 years ago, before the worst of the bleaching hit the country. Whilst coral health isn’t pristine everywhere in the atoll, these reefs have been far less impacted by El Niño than in the northern atolls, and channel dives will reward divers with big fish action, carpets of anemones, and a range of healthy hard and soft corals.

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Octopus on Maalifushi house reef

Como maalifushi from the seaplane

clown triggerfish

longnose hawkfish

turtle in the shallows

Moray eel

school of eagle rays

reef manta ray

como maalfushi beach

In Depth

COMO Maalifushi, Thaa Atoll’s only resort, has a great dive centre with some of the most comfortable dive boats anywhere in the Maldives. We highly recommend channel dives for more experienced divers, where enormous stingrays, squadrons of eagle rays and schooling grey and black tip reef sharks can be encountered. The coral health is impressive for the Maldives with many reefs at the best dive sites showing almost no signs of bleaching; beautiful hard and soft corals top deep sea pinnacles and enormous Napolean wrasses come in close to peek at divers.

Snorkellers will be thrilled to discover the resort’s excellent house reef, and we recommend all guests travelling December-April sign up for the whale shark snorkelling programme. The resort communicates with local fishermen who radio in when they spot whale sharks at night – lucky guests can then jump on board a boat and whizz out to get into the water with the biggest fish in the sea as they gently feed at the surface. This is an amazing experience and one of the best ways to see whale sharks in the Maldives as there is only a maximum of 6 guests allowed in the water at a time. Diving holidays in Thaa Atoll are great year-round, with the best conditions falling during our winter months. The conditions are suitable for beginners and expert divers alike.

Beyond the Reef

Diving aside, guests can delight in the gastronomic flair of this gem of an island – the food at COMO Maalifushi is excellent and the themed nights are particularly special, showcasing the best of local Maldivian fare. Snorkellers can while away hours on the resort’s house reef, and there is a huge host of watersports available including stand-up paddleboarding, kayaking and sailing. Cameron, the resort’s fishing yacht, can host day trips or overnights to remote corners of the atoll to enjoy deep sea fishing under expert guidance. Castaway picnics are favoured by couples and families alike, while dolphin-spotting as the sun sets is a special way to end the day. COMO Maalifushi has a great kids club, and during the summer months the surf is great for experienced and novice surfers alike.

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+44 203 307 8676‌ Make Enquiry

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