In the Maldives Divinig tourism began in the early 1970s
It was simple back then: Find an island, dive into the unknown. At that time, Liveaboard Diving in Maldives was not even existent. You could discover the marvels of Maldives marine life from your Island. Over the decades, scuba diving in the Maldives has evolved and it became much easier accessible. However, the essence of adventure remains unchanged. In other words, Resort Diving is still the best Diving experience in the Maldives!
In recent years, scuba diving in the Maldives has taken a different turn. Nowadays, many divers arrive with a “Bucket List” in hand. This approach, often called “Bucket List Diving,” focuses on ticking off popular dive sites or specific marine life. This new trend is driven by social media photography publications. Many traveling scuba divers to the Maldives believe they can only find these experiences by Diving Maldives by Liveaboards.
The reality is: Resort based Scuba Diving offers a far more rewarding and flexible Scuba Diving Experience. Sub Oceanic Dive Centers are specialized in delivering an authentic and individual Scuba Diving Adventure away from the crowds!
Why Has Diving become a “Bucket List” Adventure?
In recent years, many divers have opted for liveaboard diving. Attracted by lower costs and the chance to visit iconic dive sites in Maldives like Kandooma Thila. Without any doubt, Kandooma Thila is a world class dive site. But such is almost each dive site in the Maldives, as long as reef structure and location are similar. Social media has fueled a trend of funneling people to places where outstanding shots were taken. In terms of Scuba Diving this trend results in significant overcrowding of certain dive spots. In fact, Diving Maldives by Liveaboard is the main Resort for overcrowding.
As of November 2025, over 2,917 liveaboard beds were available across the Maldives. Approximately 66% of those beds follow the same route on a weekly base. As a result around 1,900 scuba divers a week visit popular dive sites like Kandooma Thila. Having outstanding shots from such a frequently visited dive site posted, is simply a matter of probability. A matter of guarantee is to find a vast amount of other divers.
Much more flexible than Diving Maldives by Liveaboard
With Sub Oceanic Dive Centers you benefit from a far more flexible approach. Diving from Resorts allows us to adapt to the best conditions for each dive site. Including diving when the conditions are most suitable and avoiding Liveaboards with as many as 50 Divers diving a spot at the same time. We are planning our dives in a way that you do not need to meet other divers during your dive. Unlike Liveaboards in Maldives with their fixed routes, we focus on quality over quantity. Resort based Scuba Diving in the Maldives enables divers to wait for ideal conditions. i.E. the best current for manta rays or the perfect current to encounter grey reef sharks. This huge advantage over Liveaboards, allows us to provide you a much better Scuba Diving Experience. Only a few minutes away from stunning resorts like Hilton Maldives Amingiri Resort & Spa.
In the Northern Atolls Maldives best House Reefs can be found
While El Nino and coral bleaching had an major impact on the Central Atolls of Maldives, the Northern Atolls were not effected. Even though the Coral Life in the Central Atolls has unexpected quickly recovered, it still can’t compete with the Coral Life in the Northern Atolls.
At Le Meridien Maldives Scuba Divers have access to Maldives’ best House Reef. The House Reef at Le Meridien Maldives is considered to be the best in the Maldives for several reasons. Having more than 2000 five star ratings on mydiveguide.com leaves no doubt about the quality of Le Meridien Maldives House Reef! It is home to an incredible variety of marine life such as: turtles, nurse sharks, stingrays, and occasionally guitar rays or a manta rays. More than five different dive sites are easily accessible with Sub Oceanic’s house reef shuttle. A Scuba Diver’s and Snorkeler’s paradise! From 11th of May to 30th of September 2025, Le Meridien Maldives and Sub Oceanic are offering the a special “Back to the Roots” dive and stay package. Take the opportunity to discover Maldives best House Reef far below regular market rates. Click here to find out more!
Dive Maldives most pristine Area beyond the Liveaboard Route
At Sirru Fen Fushi’s House Reef, Scuba Divers get access to Maldives’ best Manta point! Sirru Fen Fushi Private Lagoon Resort is one of remotest resorts in the Maldives. While living three years at Sirru Fen Fushi, I never spotted another dive boat or diver. From December to May, Sirru Fen Fushi you can dive the best manta point in Maldives. Known only to our experienced dive crew. Hidden from the main reef, a series of cleaning stations attract up to 40! reef mantas during season. Where else can you find that?
Explore Shaviyani Atolls with its untouched world class Dive Sites
Shaviyani Atoll is as well the best place in the Maldives to see guitar rays. It is one of the few places in the world where you can see both, bow mouth and shovelnose guitar rays alike. Those sightings provide divers with an exceptional, once-in-a-lifetime experience which nowhere else to be found! Guitar rays are also commonly known as guitar sharks or guitar fish. All three names refer to the same species. Our resident Marine Biologists will be happy to explain more.
To ensure our divers’ safety in such a remote area like Shaviyani Atoll, we use the ENOS diver locator system at Sirru Fen Fushi. ENOS is the state-of-the-art GPS transmitter and locating device for divers. As another safety feature, we provide Nitrox free of charge for all certified Nitrox divers. Free Nitrox 34 is a standard at all Sub Oceanic Maldives Dive Centers!
SUB OCEANIC MALDIVES – Where Passion meets the Ocean!
About the author:
Florian Gansl has been active in the Maldives for more than 11 years. He has logged more than 5,000 dives during that time. For more than eight of those years, he has been with Sub Oceanic Maldives. During that time he had the privilege of discovering untouched areas like Shaviyani Atoll or exploring areas thought to be well-known, like North Male or Lhaviyani Atoll. Even in these “well-explored” areas, he has discovered many new dive sites that belong to some of the best in the world! For dozens of sharks, rays & turtles, Florian was the first scuba diver they have ever spotted.
