MALDIVES - (Indian Ocean)

First part

Maldives - Second part

Male airport

The Maldivian republic, situated in the Indian ocean, 600 kms south of the coast of India, is composed of 20 natural atolls protected by coralline reefs. It spread on a distance of 764km long and 128 km wide. The Maldives are populated essentially by fisherman, living on the 220 islands it is composed of. In the Maldives, each island is completely independant: each one has it's own airpost, capital, prison, factory, village, hotel, etc... We arrive on an island by boat, helicopter or hydroplane. The hotel-islands of most of the time constituted of bungalows built next to the lagoon. Life there is very simple and is very convenient to lovers of nature and tranquility. Every week, an excursion to a fishing island is planned: you will be able to admire the Maldivian authentic every-day life.

The climate there is tropical, temperature variates between 26 and 33 degrees centigrade. The water temperature holds itself between 24 and 28 degrees centigrade. The lagoon waters, crystal clear, are ideal for the practice of any nautical activity. The best season is from december to may.

Not very far from the Maldives is Ceylan, the island of ruby and emeralds, of jungle and dances. Since 1972, Ceylan has become Sri Lanka: "Splendid land".

We recommend that you, if time permits, visit Sri Lanka to discover wonderful sites, botanical gardens and magnificient animal.

SCUBA DIVING EXPEDITIONS

Scuba diving Expeditions Onboard a dhonis, traditional boat of the Maldives, the cruise offers some dives which are way more interesting than the ones we can do from the islands. Dhonisses strangely look like the famous viking Drakkars. Built from coconut palm wood and their low profil on the water, Dhonisses are with no doubt some of the nicest boats we can find. Their reasonnable draught au width make them perfect to enter the lagoons.

Between 15 and 20 meters long, they can accept 6 to 12 passengers, depending on their interior design, generally composed of 4 to 6 cabins, bathroom with fresh water, toilet, front cabin for the Maldivian equipage, kitchen and a large deck for everyone to rest.

Manthiri cabin

All boats are equipped with 220v generators, VHF radio and fresh

water. Cruises are shelduled to take one or two weeks depending

on the boat.

 

One of the major attractions of the cruises is the visit to a fishing island and the meeting with a population not used to seeing tourists. It is very important to respet them in their values and traditions.

 

Koi Mala

For more comfort, diving equipement is place on a second dhonis exclusively reserved for diving. The best seasons for diving are from january to may and from august to october. Visiting the capital is possible at the end of the criuse. We offer you lots more diving trips in the Maldives, please contact us.

ATTENTION

Divers must be autonomous and must assure their own security.
Their is no supervision during these cruises.

Technical information