Aquaventure Maldives, Addu Atoll

Addu Atoll diving is consistently good throughout the year and is known for its great visibility. There are both dive resorts and centres on the local islands, while the resorts have their own dive centre on-site. Many liveaboards also include Addu on their southern Maldives itineraries. Although the atoll has just four channels leading to the lagoon, their width means that currents are less and they can be dived at any time and by less experienced divers.

Addu atoll an enticing mix of reefs and channels, thilas, wrecks and exciting drifts. Beginners will particularly enjoy the sheltered sites within the lagoon. A superb site for novices is Gan Inside - a shallow dive with plenty of stingrays and turtles. For more advanced divers, there's the largest wreck in the Maldives - the British Loyalty - almost 6,000 tons and 134 metres of WWII oil tanker sitting at 33 metres!

Year round manta ray encounters

The real highlight of diving in Addu are the big fish - especially the manta rays which can be encountered throughout the year. These graceful rays are seen at several different sites, but the best ‘manta point’ is at Muli Kolhu Faru. Manta rays gather in this channel close to the remains of an anti-submarine net from WWII. Other sites for reliable sightings are Maa Kandu and Maa Kandu Beyru, which both feature some beautiful corals as well. If you are looking for sharks instead, then head to Shark Point with its 'shark hotel' - a sandy plateau at 30m with dozens of grey reef and whitetip reef sharks, and bigger sharks cruising the deep drop off beyond the plateau.