Maldives Trip Report May-June 2009

[scubamike]

Booking:
I have to say it was quite hard researching and booking the liveaboard from the States. I searched several forums and didn’t find that many reviews about the Maldives. There was only one travel site that had a trip to the Maldives. “Reef and Rainforest” which I've used previously and they are pretty good at taking care of all the arrangements. However, I did not use them this time, as their trip for that week was not what I was looking for. Bummer!!

A travel agent from the Maldives participating in SB with the screen name of “Awesome” sent me a message and gave me information for the MV Ari Queen. He is real name is Ismail and the schedule and itinerary for the liveaboard fit perfectly to my vacation plans.

Ismail was very helpful and answered all my questions before the trip. I highly recommend him if you are planning on going to the Maldives in the future. But, I have 2 comments on dealing with Awesome (Ismail).

1.-He requires Bank to Bank Wire Transfer. It seems this is common in Europe. I was very hesitant about sending money this way with no guarantee whatsoever. I almost didn’t go to the liveaboard just because of this reason. It's hard to send cash to somebody half the way around the world.

2.-A few days before the trip, I still didn’t get any sort of confirmation. I was starting to fear I got scammed, I sent an email to Ismail and he told me somebody would meet me at the airport. Even after reading this email, I was still afraid I would arrive in the Maldives with nothing waiting. I was already thinking having a Plan B just in case.

When you are spending 6-7K on a vacation you want something to ease your mind. As I said before, everything turned out fine and maybe I was just too anxious about the entire trip.

Getting There:
I flew out from JFK on Friday 22nd, flew Emirates new A380 to Dubai and then had to almost 8 hours in Dubai for the connecting flight to Male. I went out to town, had a beer, sightseeing and just relax for a few hours before heading back to the airport. The emirates flight from Dubai to Male is horrible. The flight was fully booked and the seats were so cramped. I have to say it was one of the hardest flight I had, those 4 hours were pure agony and I couldn’t wait for the plane to land. Total time traveling=13 hours + 8 hours + 4 hours = 25 hours starting from NY to Male.











The Weather:
I arrived in Male on Sunday May 24th. It was raining and cloudy. Not a good way to start my vacation.
The crew from the Ari Queen picked us up from the airport and we boarded the dhoni. Let me say the trip from the airport to the Ari Queen was an adventure all by itself. The seas were so rough, waves were hitting everywhere, they had to put straps around the luggage. We were bouncing all over the places, at this time I was keeping note where the lifejackets were and which direction I had to swim to get to land.
After a 20 minutes ride we arrived a a protected inlet and boarded the boat that would become my home for 1 week.



I left on Friday and arrived on Sunday morning to Male. I wanted to see clear sky and sunshine!!!, but I did not get that the first day... Well I cannot believe how lucky I was. After the first day, the weather was perfect!!!, sunshine and clear sky for the next 2 weeks!!!. I heard from the crew the weather from the previous week was horrible and they got rain almost everyday. I arrived just at the end of the bad weather. Hoooooorrrrrrrrraaahhhh


The Liveaboard:
The MV Ari Queen is a new boat, so you won’t find much information online. The website is ARI QUEEN for Scuba Diving, Surfing, Fishing, Cruising, in Maldives - Maldives Liveaboards,, I will post better pictures in my gallery once I get a chance. I was lucky enough to get a single room, so the room assigned to me was fine for 1 person. But it would be too crowded and small for 2 or more people. Before booking the trip I heard there were only 11 people booked for the trip. When I arrived there were a total of 22 guests. Originally I was assigned to share the room with another person, but somehow after some confusion with other guest and myself. I was put into an isolation room. Yeah!!! The trip was starting to be alright.





I realize I didn't take any pictures of my cabin. There is nothing special about the rooms. They are small with a private bathroom and I would rate them at 2 1/2 or 3 stars (from 5). Not the best nor the worse cabins I have stayed in previous trips, but it was OK as I was able to stay by myself.

[scubamike]

Diving:
Because of the weather, we did not do a check out on arrival day. This was done next day and on the very first dive we saw a few mantas gliding above us at about 15-20 ft. 20 minutes during the first dive we spot something I have been chasing for the last couple years. I was telling the crew/guest that if I see one in this trip I would stop diving altogether.

I didn't expect to see one, as I have tried in so many trips. But on the very first dive, we spotted 2 Whale Sharks!!!!!!!!!!!! A baby/mother team swimming ride next to us. I was blown away and couldn't take enough pictures. They were so gentle and playful. It seems they were having as much fun as we did and they were just curious of these tiny human creatures.

Whale sharks are really a sight to see. They are HUGE!!!, the baby shark came so close to me I thought it would eat me, but at the very last second it turned around and I almost got whacked by its fin.




What a first dive. It was amazing. I think the first dive and the 1 night dive we did were the highlight of the liveaboard. All the dive sites were gorgeous, the Maldives has moved up to my second spot of the top places I have dived/dove. It has replaced Indonesia which was my previous #2. The Maldives it's just a tiny little bit behind Palau (1st).

The average water temperature was 85F. According to my dive computer the temperature never dropped below 84F.

At this time of the year the visibility was around 60 feet. In the shallows this could increase to 100ft, but at depth, there were sites it was only 20 feet.

Marine life was top notch. There were fish everywhere!, thousands millions of them. The coral was very healthy. And there was just so much to see. Turtles, mantas, sharks, everything, rays, etc. On the last dive we went hunting for Hammerheads, and found them.

The currents in the Maldives are very unpredictable. The dive guides would check the currents before the dive, but even then the currents could switch direction if you were 5-10 feet above/below. It was so weird, so if you are planning on going there be prepare for some "mild" current and few strong current dives.

Always bring a surface signal marker. I did not bring mine on this trip but was able to borrow one from the boat. I wish I had mine instead as I am used to deploying mine. But I can't stressed how important they are if you get separated somehow.

Diving was just amazing. That's the only thing I can say, even with the so-so visibility. I can't imagine how it would be if the visibility was better. Don't take me wrong, it was good visibility, but just imagine how it would be in Nov-March. I have to go back.



Conclusion:
I had a great time in the Maldives. Diving here was everything I hoped for, and more. I finally saw the Whale Sharks I have been chasing around. Got perfect weather for the trip and could not ask for more.

There were 2 large groups in this liveaboard. A large group from Italy and Germany, I was the only American in this trip besides the Russian newlywed. I heard from the crew there aren’t that many American tourists, and I was the first one on the Ari Queen. Everybody were friendly and very curious about me, New York, the economy and of course Obama.

The Maldives is an expensive trip if you include the flights, but it’s definitely worthy. You can only buy alcohol at the resorts, thus I bought 4 bottles of spirit so I could take it to my resort.

I have to say now, it’s much better to stay at a liveaboard than going to a resort. You get to visit more of the Maldives, dive and the price is a lot cheaper than a land based vacation.

After the liveaboard, I stayed one week at the Sheraton Full Moon resort. But, that trip report will come in another time.


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Cut and Pasted my post from SB.

[Travelnsj]

Great report....you are making me think twice about (perhaps) going...But I just do not care for LOB's and I hear that is the only way to see the Maldives.

I can understand you being nervous about the wire transfer....I've done that before but it has always worked out.

What were the dates you went? and is that the best time of the year to go?

Sounds like the perfect trip....except that flight!

[mrmccoy]

looks and sounds like you had a great trip thanks for the great write up!

[neugierig]

the maldives has always been near the top of my list of places to dive. thanks for the TR. glad you enjoyed your trip.

[chinacat46]

Thanks for the report. Maldives is high on my list of places to visit but I've been told to go during our winter for the best diving.

[gee]

Thanks for that great report & pics! You're description makes me want to book a trip today! I'll have to look into the Maldives & that liveaboard in more detail. I'm not sure how I would react to the lack of a confirmed spot though. You were very brave about it!

[Travelnsj]

scubamike...how did you like that A380?

[scubamike]

Originally Posted by Travelnsj

scubamike...how did you like that A380?

The A380 was amazing. The plane is huge and so quiet!. It was the first and only flight in my life I felt the trip was too short!! When I heard we were preparing for landing I was like uuuhgggg no!!!.

I was able to fly business from JFK to Dubai and, the seats were awesome, the food, attention flight attendant were excellent... and they had an open bar!!.