Maldives

One of the Maldives' first dive sites to gain international renown, Banana Reef lies just north of Malé and is famous for its curved shape, colourful overhangs, and permanent population of oriental sweetlips and moray eels. Gentle currents make it accessible to divers of most levels, though experienced visitors will appreciate the blue-water pelagics that pass the reef tip. It is a superb introduction to Maldivian reef diving.

Also known as Fish Head, Maaya Thila in the Ari Atoll is a submerged pinnacle that rises steeply from depth and acts as a magnet for grey reef sharks, white-tip reef sharks, and large Napoleon wrasse. Night dives here are particularly spectacular when nurse sharks and octopus come out to hunt. The strong currents that make this an advanced site are also responsible for its exceptional fish density.

Located on the outer reef of South Malé Atoll, this channel is a renowned manta ray cleaning station where reef mantas gather in impressive numbers to have parasites removed by resident cleaner wrasse. Divers kneel on a sandy ledge at around 12 m and watch mantas pirouette overhead repeatedly, sometimes for 45 minutes. The site is best visited between November and April when the northeast monsoon brings plankton-rich water.

Atoll Wanderers is a boutique freediving and scuba centre operating from a guesthouse on Maafushi island in South Malé Atoll, offering affordable day trips to colourful overhangs adorned with sea fans and black coral. Their specialist freediving instructors run Molchanovs Wave and Depth courses, taking advantage of the Maldives' calm lagoon conditions and warm water year-round. Scuba courses extend to PADI Divemaster level, with transfers available to nearby luxury resorts.

Maldives Explorer Divers is based in North Malé Atoll and specialises in channel drift dives through the famed thilas and kandus that funnel nutrient-rich currents past manta ray cleaning stations and whale shark aggregation points. The team operates both day dhonis and premium liveaboard safaris crossing multiple atolls to reach remote outer-reef encounters. Guests consistently report sightings of tiger sharks, hammerheads, and grey reef sharks on the deeper channel walls.