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Tours - Excursions |
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The picturesque of the
Maldives entices visitors just to come and enjoy the breeze of the
wonderful, calming tropical beach. However, many visitors are keen
to pursue water sports, particularly scuba diving for which the
island is famous. Snorkeling, windsurfing and sailing are available
at all resorts but less demanding while water-skiing and parasailing
are available at some of the bigger ones and is more expensive.
Diving
Maldives is the ultimate paradise for scuba diving, an estimated
60% of visitors dive at least once. There are a host of renowned
diving sites, many can be reached from resorts - the rest are accessible
by boat or diving safari trips. Apart from multitudinous fish and
corals, there is the thrill of diving with turtles, manta rays,
moray eels, whales, and sharks, and exploring some of the Maldives
ship wrecks, including the Maldives Victory off Hulule Airport,
believed be one of the most exciting wreck drives in the world.
Surfing
There is some excellent surf in the Maldives; however, there are
few accessible breaks within the tourism zone and they only work
from March to November. Another option for surfers is to
base themselves at resorts and take a short boat trip to the nearby
breaks or taking a live-aboard surfing safari cruise to the less
accessible area. Either way, arranging in advance with a well known
surf travel operator is recommended as Maldives is not a place that
surfers can just turn up spontaneously.
During the south-west monsoon (May to November) the best waves and
breaks occur on the outer reefs on the south-east sides of the atolls
where only the gap in the reefs permit the waves to wrap around.
All of the reliable and recognized breaks in the tourism zone are
located in the North Male and South Male Atolls.
Island hopping
All the resorts offer guests the chance to visit some of the nearby
islands, usually on full or half day 'island hopping' trips.
Generally, a full-day trip includes a visit to a fishing village
on an inhabited island, an uninhabited island for snorkeling and
a barbecue lunch, after that to another resort island where drink
and provision are offered. Half-day trips usually only go to a fishing
village and an inhabited island for snorkeling.
Fishing
Most resorts operate regular night fishing trips; about a dozen
people go out in a dhoni for 2 or 3 hours each with a handline
and a bucket full of bait. On a typical evening more than 80% of
them are expected to catch something and all would get a few nibbles.
They can also arrange to have the catch prepared by the resort's
chef.
Some resorts operate traditional Maldivian fishing trips, which
depart early in the morning and return in the afternoon. Traditional
fishing is for tuna, using only a pole, line and unbaited hook.
This is provides for a much more authentic experience. For the high
rollers there is a big game fishing on the open sea between the
atolls using a fast modern boat and some specialized equipment.
This is an upmarket option however, there is a 'tag and release'
policy, which means you are not allowed to keep your catch so bring
your camera along. |
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