Maldives as a scuba diving destination

Scubadiving in Maldives has become very popular recently as one of the most beautiful diving destinations among the scuba diving community. Wonderful coral reefs, large pelagic fishes and incredible sea life made scuba diving in Maldives very unique and welcoming.  Never been to Maldives? You must if you are into scuba diving. 

The Maldives is a nation of islands in the middle of Indian ocean. There are almost 2000 small islands divided into 26 atolls which forms the land of Maldives. The islands are surrounded by Laccadive Sea, about few hundreds kilometers south-west from India and Sri lanka.  

The weather in Maldives is best in January to April for activities like scuba diving. During this season the sea is more calm creating beautiful environment for scuba diving and the temperature is an average of 28 degrees. The sea becomes a bit rough during July to October and there are rains several times of the week. You can still expect some sunny days and dive into the reefs. 

The best way to visit Maldives is by plane as it’s in the middle of the ocean. The main airport is Male international airport, situated on the island of Hulhulé. There are few other airports close to Male, but the main airport serves most of the international flights. 

The main transport in Maldives is by boat, you may also use sea plane if have some extra cash. The local traditional Maldivian boats are called Dhoni which are very affordable. You can also use the speedboats that runs between the islands all the times. Sea planes can make your trip even more exciting as you can see the beautiful landscape of the islands from the top. 

The sea around Maldives has a lot to offer for scuba diving and any other recreational activities. The incredible marine life and beautiful reefs will surely make you remember them for ever.

Some useful information for scuba diving in Indonesia

Indonesia is a very interesting place consisting of 17 thousands islands, has over 15% of the coral and about 25% of fish spices on earth. The country has almost the same geographic dimensions as the entire Caribbean. With thousands of places to visit and all the attractions, Indonesia is the best scuba diving destination in the world. It’s not possible a for any scuba diver to visit all the dive sites in Indonesia in one trip. Actually it will take you months or even years if you also go to the remote islands in Indonesia. Here are some useful information for scuba dive in Indonesia. 

Weather – You will find the dry season in Indonesia from May through September, the wet season is normally November to March. Because of Monsoon expect hot and humid environment all year-round.

Average Water Temp – Water temperature is very suitable for diving in Indonesia, typically in the low to mid-80Fs, the temperature can get lower in some areas depending on the weather. 

Average Visibility – The visibility is highly changeable, normally 50 to 100 feet in the most popular dive sites. You can expect to see deeper during the dry season. 

Travel Savvy - A valid passport is required, six months before expiration and tourist visa to enter any of the countries surrounding the Red Sea. The main destinations like Bali has good communication, but you may have to use liveaboards to visit remote islands. 

Accommodation: Indonesia is one of the busiest tourist destination, so you can expect to find all types accommodation there ranging from five star resorts to cheap bad and breakfast. The scuba diving destinations will have more accommodation than the remote or less visited islands. It’s better to book before you travel there.

Burn some calories this summer with scuba diving

Want to get into something exciting this summer. Bring new era to your life and discover what’s out there underwater. If you guess right, I’m talking about scuba diving. Diving under the sea was limited to only researchers and scientists until recently it became popular amongst ordinary people. Scuba diving is a cardiovascular activity that surely burns lots of calories and increase your fitness level. 

Scuba diving is not meant to be a formof excersize, it’s rather a recretional activity and hobby for a growing number of people around the world. The most amazing thing is, you get a full body workout during diving without realising anything. Actually you’ll be so busy discovering another world under the ocean. 

Many scuba diving blogs will call diving a great physical workout that makes your muscles stronger to a standard level. It’s also nice to be physically active in a vacation instead of just sitting on a beach and sipping pino colada. There are things that you won’t realize till seeing them with your own eyes. The life under the ocean is something to change the view of your life. 

You may think of how much calorie can be burned from a scuba dive season. Well, it really depends on the type of diving, your current physical condition and also the water currents in the diving destination. Lets take cave diving for example which will burn more calories than a leisure diving. But on average a diver can expect to burn more than 500 calories. 

Find it enough interesting? To start with you don’t have to be a gym person, but it’s necessary to know a basic level of swimming as you’ll be surfing under the water. Before going to dive, it’s important to hydrate your body with plenty of fluids. Just like any other sports activity you can also do some stretching and take rest prior to jumping into water. 

Scuba diving is a different type of experience for many people which connects them to the nature and change the view of the world. It is one of the best activity to get into this summer and make your life even better.

Scuba diving in Maldives is something to remember

Scuba diving in Maldives has many unique things to offer. Ever heard the word atoll? You may have if you are a scuba diver. An atoll is a circle shaped coral reef as well as a coral rim that encircles a lagoon partly or completely. Scuba dive in these unique type small islands is possible only in Maldives. The country is located in the middle of Indian Ocean and the reefs experience strong current flowing through the channels. So if you’re an advanced scuba diver then diving in Maldives has something extraordinary waiting for you. These spectacular reefs in Maldives are full of fish and big pelagic as well as the stunning coral gardens.

When going to dive holiday in Maldives, you have many options available according to your preferences and skills. Enjoy a relaxing day in a white sandy beach and dive in local reefs. Want to get more advanced? Get on-board on a liveaboards or hire a local boat to dive in one of the channels where the currents flow. So you can expect to see the amazing marine life over there.

The weather in Maldives is very similar to the Asian countries. If you’re going to scubadiving in Maldives during summer, expect the weather to be hot and sticky. There will be also rain at this season. From the middle of November to April, the weather is dryer and cold swarms the islands in December. The water temperature is relatively colder than you would expect in Europe.

The visibility can be very good in December to April; you can dive to a maximum 200 feet deep with clear view. It comes down under 100 feet during monsoon as expected.  

Scuba diving in Maldives is becoming very popular day by day. The government of the country is also very aware of this sector of tourism and taking many measures to increase safety and create suitable environment for the visitors. There are many liveaboards opening their fleet for scuba diving in Maldives. So you can expect similar environment to home. 

Worried about motion sickness when scuba diving? Here are some good tips

Very small things can disrupt your comfort when going to scuba diving. Nothing is worse in scuba diving than someone having motion sickness. Not every diver face this problem as this can relate to your physical health and fitness. The motion sickness is also called sea sickness in scuba community which isn't caused by the sea. It’s change of movement that makes it happen. So here are some good tips if you fear of motion sickness when going to a scuba diving destination.

Take food: have some food after reaching the scuba diving destination and take rest for about 40 minutes. Don’t just eat anything, try to eat food that contains carbohydrates and avoid acidic and greasy foods as they can just do the harm.

Medication: If you are not confident at controlling motion sickness, see a doctor and ask for medication that can keep you away from that. There are medications such as meclozine (Bonine, Antivert, Meni-D, Antrizine) or Dramamine, but make sure you talk to pharmacists or a doctor before taking them.

Ginger is the best: along with medication many scuba divers take some ginger before going to dive. This not a medically proven way, but works for many people. Ginger root have a chemicals that help rest the intestinal track.

Smell: Odors can send quick signal to your brain and make you feel happy or sad. If you are going to scuba dive by a liveaboards, stay away from things like diesel fumes, cigarette smoke, perfume and if someone else has been sick.

Movement: people with motion sickness can be affected by the movement in the sea. So try to minimize your movement in the boat before diving.

Hydration: drink a plenty of fluids that contains high amount of minerals. It will help more in the way and keep your body fresh. 

Motion sickness is not a scary thing and can be managed if you are up to the bull. Just stay calm and have confident. It’s not a problem even you through up few times. Just get on and enjoy the scuba dive. You can also read different scuba diving blogs for more advice and other people's experiences. 

Adventurous scuba diving in the islands of Sangihe in Indonesia

Diving in Indonesia is an endless adventure with thousands of islands to choose from. Ever been to the north east peninsula of North Sulawesi of Indonesia? There are many untouched reefs and unknown places yet to discover in that region when thinking of scuba dive in Indonesia.

The Sangihe is a place of many underwater volcanoes and also it consists of about 40 volcanic islands. The area is not for someone looking for a easy relaxing scuba dive holiday in Indonesia. There many places in Bali and Komodo for those. Sangihe is for the adventure seekers who don’t mind travelling to the unknown and get surprise by every moment that comes.

Sangihe has hundreds of small islands with strange rock formations. The rewards wait for the divers once diving, the visibility is fantastic to as deep as 60 metres. The underwater world is untouched extremely large sponges are over 100 years old and many places where the corals never seen any divers. Due to the remoteness of the islands you can only dive many sites only going by a liveaboards.

You can also dive near the dormant volcano of Ruang. There are many positive feedbacks from the scuba divers who been here before. There is something extraordinary about the islands here as the landscapes are very unusual in shape, even when you go underwater. You will see sponge and crinoids of every color, shape and size which is not very common when diving in Indonesia.

The marine life here is not disturbed by human activities. You can expect to see sharks, dogtooth tuna and extraordinarily large schools of barracudas. Diving is Sangihe is possible all year round, but the weather condition can be a fact. The water visibility is not very clear during monsoon or rainy season. So speak to the experience divers or an instructor before planning your dive holiday in Indonesia. 

Scuba diving in Wakatobi, a beautiful Indonesian island

Wakatobi is a must visit national Park for scuba diving and other recreational activities. The area is located at the south of Sulawesi island of Indonesia. The name Wakatobi is an short form of the four main Islands: Wangi-wangi, Kaledupa, Tomia, and Binongko. If you are planning to dive in Indonesia, Wakatobi  has many beautiful dive site with fast gaining reputation as one of the best dive spots in Indonesia. These small combined islands in off south east of Sulawesi have very healthy coral collections to see. The rich waters indicate a plenty of marine life in all its forms and the area is now frequently visited by liveaboards. Wakatobi is one of the latest and most thrilling scuba diving destinations in Indonesia. Here are some dive sites to consider in the islands. 

Coral Garden – The name is not enough for the quality of this dive site that makes it one of the most beautiful dive sites in Indonesia. Jump swiftly down a current-swept line to a sand ledge at 11 metres in what is really a big bowl, 40 metres across. The inside of the bowl is covered in spectacular coral.

Cornucopia- This dive site in Indonesia has colorful scenery with walls, ledges and overhangs. You can dive here when the current is not very strong as it can be tricky sometime. Enjoy the life of incredible hard and soft corals in oranges, yellows and purples.

House Reef – this reef of Wakatobi is called one of the best reef in the world by many scuba divers. The reef is less than 20 metres in depth and has a diving paradise for many people. There is much to enjoy here during your dive holiday in Indonesia, including the lionfish, scorpionfish and batfish, turtles and eagle rays.

Roma – People who have been scuba diving in Indonesia and visited Wakatobi, say that Roma is in their list of top dive site in the world. Get surprised by the rays of light and greeted by schools of fusiliers, and red-tooth triggerfish. The main point in the site is an astonishing high point swarming with life.

Using a liveaboard vessel will make your diving in Indonesia even more wonderful as they can take you to more remote places.

Diving destination Maldives! Best diving sites in Maldives

Maldives is comprised of many small beautiful islands suitable for holiday activities including diving and snorkeling. The country holds a small number of populations with steady law and orders. So you can go there and relax your way with no hesitation. If you are a diver looking for the nicest beaches to dive, there is no doubt to keep the islands of Maldives in the list. Here are some dive sites in Maldives cannot be avoided.

Angaga Thila: this dive site in Maldives is located in south Ari Atoll which is south of Angaga, is one of the most eye catching beach for divers. The site is not very suitable for the new divers. So you must have some previous experience to dive here. The Reef top lies at 8 - 10 meters and if you want to go deeper, around the thila it is 20 meters. The edge falls over at 40 meters in this area. The average depth ranges from 10 to 30 meters. Angaga thila in Maldives is very famous for the grey reef sharks that tour the area when there is current in the water. You may get lucky sometime to see stonefish, snails and cleaning crabs on the reef top. Angaga thila also has to offer some caves with amazing fish life. 

Barabaru Thila: another outstanding dive site located in south Ari Atoll, south of Mandhoo Island. This dive site is only suitable for advanced divers due to the open water and weather condition. The depth is about 14 meters underwater and you will dive directly in the channel current. So must have previous experience and skills to dive in such sites. The area is also covered with colorful corals and fishes swim around. The average depth of the reef ranges from 12 to 30 meters. You will also encounter rich marine life in this area that include Schools of snappers, tunas, turtles and white tipped reef sharks. 

Beverly Hills: Beverly Hills is favorite diving spot for many returning divers in Maldives. This dive site is also located in South Ari Atoll, east of Bulhalhohi island. The good news its suitable for the Beginner divers too as the water is more calm most of the time. There are current present in the water sometime, so speak to your diving instructor before diving here. The average depth of the reef is from 3 to 30 meters. The reef top in Beverly Hills is only 3 meters depth, and the west side from 10-25 meters is covered in soft corals and fan corals with lots of soldier fish and shrimps. The north side of the reef is deeper, can be up to 25 meters.

Big Blue: fancy a blue water dive? The name of this reef says it all. This is what makes Maldives a perfect diving destination. You see different types of reefs and marine life within a small range of islands. Big blue dive site is only suitable for experience divers with low air consumption. It is also recommended to dive in group in this site. Marine life is good, you may see hammerhead sharks sometimes.

Bodufinolhu Thila: the reef is this dive site is much deeper than the others. The site is located in South Ari Atoll, outside of Bodufinolhu. The depth is about 30 meters which gradually rises from the ocean depth. So go for a dive here if you are an adventure seeker. You’ll see Big fish and sharks underwater in this area.