Hi all

were lucky enough to be goint to the maldives this year
we going on the Nooraanee Queen and must travel before july 31 2007
we were wondering if anyong can give us some info on what to expect and any general info on the Maldives

-when is the best time of the year?
-what are the water conditions generally like , visability, temp ?
-what cool critters and big stuff might we see?
- any land based stuff we should do after our trip ?

we have done liveaboards on PNG (Feebrina) , ,solomons (spirit of solomons) and Australia( oceantrek) and wonderd how the Nooraanee Queen compares

any comments or advice apreciated

thanks
matt

I think you need to avoid going during Monsoon season which (I think) is June to August or September... Its not horrible but it will rain...

I will be there this week in Hilton Rangali (won the award for best hotel in the world!)

If I manage to dive, I will take some pics and post them...

generally the best weather can be found December to April. If you are diving the West side of the Maldives you will find Mantas at this time. Whalesharks are also common.

During this time currents generally run into the East side of the atolls, and run out of the west. Hence dive sites on the east will have clear water (25 metres plus vis), the ones on the west the vis will be poorer (but this is where the Mantas are, as the waters are nutrient rich). Water temp is high 20's, so a 5mm suit will be adequate

Whalesharks are also to be seen.

Land stuff is more limited (there isn't much land in the Maldives) but sailing and windsurfing are popular. Or you could check out Sri Lanka, which is only 90 mins away and is a truly amazing country. Even if you are worried about the after effects of the Tsunami, the interior of the country is well worth a visit, especially around Kandy

Incidentally, Elyafi - Rangali is right next to MadiVaru - a superb Manta site:
http://www.millionfish.com/stories/dances/pages/page1.htm

enjoy!
Steve

Hi Matt,

I recently posted a trip report (Liveaboard, MV Happy Days) on Maldives:
Trip Report, Maldives Liveaboard, Jan 07

In Jan, 3mil suits were sufficient; lowest water temp was 25C.
Expect to see sharks on most dives, Mantas if you're lucky.

We had an option of Nooranee queen vs Happy Days, we chose the latter since
1. HD offered 3 dives per day, while NQ had 2;
2. HD went to Ari Atoll (i.e. whale sharks), NQ only goes to Ari on its 14Day safaris (?).
On the plus side, NQ appears to be be a nicer boat than HD.

No idea what's topside in Maldives; you can always stay at Sun Island, and look
for whale sharks off its reefs..

Hope this helps,
Ajay.

Steve, is it also close to whaleshark areas? I would really, really like to see one!

Yes it is. The whole south side of the Ari-Atoll (Rangali is at the Sourth West Corner) is Whaleshark Area but you still have to be lucky.

Good Luck and have fun!
Simon

thanks for the info guys

keep it coming

matt