Dive Review of Maldives Scuba Tours in
Maldives

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Maldives Scuba Tours, Oct, 2005, by Jack wesolek, NJ, USA . Report 2374.
No photos available at this time
Ratings and Overall Comments 1 (worst) - 5 (best):
Accommodations		Food
Service and Attitude		Environmental Sensitivity	N/A
Dive Operation		Shore Diving
Snorkeling	N/A
Overall Rating
Value for $$	N/A
Beginners
Advanced
Comments	We were looking for a destination with relatively warm water, coral and big fish. We found the Maldives which is frequented by European divers but not so much American divers since getting there is rather cruel. Thanks to ReefRainforst, we got flights on Singapore Airlines which make the 7+12+4 hours bearable. After a quick immigration procedure (The Maldives do not require any visa in advance), we were greeted by Lisa from Maldives Scuba Tours and were transferred to our swimming home for the next week, the MV Sea Queen. Maldives Scuba Tours is a UK operation and caters mostly to Europeans. They own two vessels, the MV ea Queen and MV Sea Spirit. Both vessels are roughly similar in size but the Sea Queen offers nitrox. Accommodations are excellent with en-suite bathrooms and a/c and enough space for all your stuff. The two trip directors, Lisa and David, as well as the crew did their utmost to accommodate any wish you had. Food was excellent, a blend of international and local dishes. The diving: Diving is done from a smaller dinghy which also houses the compressor and where you keep your equipment. The upside to this concept is that the actual boat you live on has more space for living and the noise level is lower when tanks are filled. It also gives the advantage that dive sites can be reached easier while the main boat is anchored in calmer seas. While we were in the Maldives, the weather was cloudy and overcast with the occasional rain shower. We had lots of wind. That made the crew change the trip plan slightly. All dives are drift dives in low to medium currents. If you want to remain stationary, the use of a reef hook is encouraged. Visibility is somewhere in the 30-40 feet range mainly due to the plankton rich water. This, on the other hand, is the reason for all the mantas, sharks and whale sharks that we saw. In one case, two whale sharks and a manta feeding at the same time. Aside from big fish, we encountered frog fish, tons of anemone fish and other smaller reef fish. All in all, I would rate the diving and destination a notch below Galapagos but just by a tiny margin. If you are not shy to dive with Europeans and save a little money only for being on a boat the does not cater exclusively to Americans, Maldive Scuba Tours is the way to go.
Reporter and Travel
Dive Experience	251-500 dives
Where else diving	Red Sea; Galapagos Islands; Caribbean; East Coast USA
Closest Airport		Getting There
Dive Conditions
Weather	windy, cloudy	Seas	calm, choppy, surge, currents
Water Temp	78-80°F / 26-27°C	Wetsuit Thickness	5
Water Visibility	30-40 Ft/ 9-12 M
Dive Policy
Dive own profile	yes
Enforced diving restrictions	Max depth at 100 feet; absolutely no deco. All mandated by law.
Liveaboard?	no	Nitrox Available?	N/A
What I Saw
Sharks	Lots	Mantas	Squadrons
Dolphins	None	Whale Sharks	> 2
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	N/A	Boat Facilities	N/A
Overall rating for UWP's	N/A	Shore Facilities	N/A
UW Photo Comments	[None]

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Dive Review of Maldives Scuba Tours in Maldives

Maldives Scuba Tours, Oct, 2005,

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 Maldives Scuba Tours in
Maldives