Dive Review of Liquid Salt Divers/Aveyla Manta Village in
Maldives/Dharavandhoo Island

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Liquid Salt Divers/Aveyla Manta Village: "Timing is everything", Aug, 2019, by Dasarath Gunasekera, CA, US ( 2 reports with 3 Helpful votes). Report 11268 has 1 Helpful vote.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity
Dive Operation		Shore Diving	N/A
Snorkeling
Overall Rating
Value for $$
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	Timing is everything when it comes to the Mantas in Hanifaru Bay. I didn't have much flexibility in my dates as I was in the region for an event and snuck away to Dharavandhoo to try my luck. Getting there was pretty easy, flight into Male and then onto a somewhat rickety looking local plane to the island (booked by my Resort). For a 20 minute flight, it does seem a bit pricey at $250 return. Aveyla Manta Village is a very nice, mid range small hotel. It's right on the beach, the staff are friendly and the rooms are spacious and well appointed. The non-beach view rooms do look onto a construction site (there's a lot of hotels popping up on this tiny island). The island doesn't have much activity and you can walk its length in 15 minutes or so. Note as it is a local island, there is no alcohol and you need to be mindful about your attire. The food was pretty average on the set menu but this is to be expected considering everything has to be flown in. The best times to see the mantas are around the new and full moons. I missed this time frame by a day and saw only one manta and no whale sharks. The shark life is pretty minimal as well compared to what you see on liveaboards. The owner of Aveyla flies a drone across to Hanifaru and if there are mantas in the bay, it is snorkel time. If not, it is dive time. Most of the reefs have unfortunately been hammered by El Nino and the coral is largely dead. The deeper thillas are still colorful and there are plenty of fish and garden eels. However, given their depths at around 30m time is limited. Diving off the dhoni was comfortable and the staff were attentive and helpful. Given how average the regular diving is (if you are used to the Maldives liveaboard diving available), really the main tip is to ensure that your travel is around the full/new moon. In terms of cost, the stay was quite reasonable for the Maldives but again, if there are no mantas the diving is average. I will certainly return if I am able to time my trip better.
Websites	Liquid Salt Divers Aveyla Manta Village
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	501-1000 dives
Where else diving	Sri Lanka, Andaman Islands, Vietnam, Bali, Maldives, California, Mexico
Closest Airport	Dharavandhoo	Getting There	Flights are pretty easy from Male and most operators will book them for you.
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, rainy	Seas	choppy, surge
Water Temp	27-28°C / 81-82°F	Wetsuit Thickness
Water Visibility	10-30 M / 33-98 Ft
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	no
Enforced diving restrictions	The usual Maldives limitations on depth and time.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?
What I Saw
Sharks	None	Mantas	1 or 2
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	None
Turtles	> 2	Whales	None
Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):
Corals		Tropical Fish
Small Critters		Large Fish
Large Pelagics
Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Subject Matter		Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's		Shore Facilities
UW Photo Comments	No particular facilities for UW photographers though if the dhoni is not crowded, there is plenty of space. No rinse tanks, etc.

Report currently has 1 Helpful vote

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Dive Review of Liquid Salt Divers/Aveyla Manta Village in Maldives/Dharavandhoo Island

Liquid Salt Divers/Aveyla Manta Village: "Timing is everything", Aug, 2019,

Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Overall Rating

Reporter and Travel

Dive Conditions

Dive Policy

What I Saw

Ratings 1(worst) - 5 (best):

Underwater Photography 1 (worst) - 5 (best):

Dive Review of Liquid Salt Divers/Aveyla Manta Village in
Maldives/Dharavandhoo Island