Maldives

This island country is located south of India in the middle of the Indian Ocean. A bucket-list destination for many divers, including us, the Maldives combines 1,192 stunning tropical islands with an underwater paradise.

Diving in the Maldives offers divers the rare opportunity to see a huge range of beautiful hard and soft corals, as well as to come face to face with manta rays, whale sharks, sharks, turtles, barracudas, jacks, and tuna.

The main draw to diving in the Maldives is the spectacular pelagic sightings. On adrenaline-filled channel drift dives, you can encounter mantas, eagle rays, and various sharks such as whitetip, blacktip, oceanic silvertip, nurse, and lemon shark, just to name a few.

Aside from the channel dives, diving the reefs and thilas – seamounts that host manta cleaning stations – is equally exciting. The abundance of marine life in the Maldives can be attributed to the ideal growing conditions. The turquoise waters provide plenty of nutrients for the coral reef while manta rays and whale sharks feed on the plankton.