Carpe Vita – Best of the Maldives

The Best of Maldives liveaboard itinerary takes you through the best dive sites in the Maldives. Dive with manta rays, whale sharks and much more!

Travel period

All year round

Features

Boatdiving

Starting at

10 days from €2577,- p.p

Dive on the best dive sites in the Maldives.

During this diving vacation you will discover the most amazing dive sites of Maldives on liveaboard Carpe Vita during ‘Best of Maldives’ itinerary. The Carpe Vita is a 38-meter-long luxury liveaboard offering space and comfort for up to 20 passengers. The boat is equipped with modern facilities, including a spacious lounge, sun deck, bar, restaurant and dive deck. Throughout the year, the Carpe Vita sails the “Best of Maldives” itinerary.

During the‘Best of Maldives‘ itinerary, you will dive the Maldives’ most famous dive sites, including the North Male’ Atoll, Rasdhoo Atoll, North Ari Atoll, South Ari Atoll, Vaavu Atoll and South Male’ Atoll. Expect channels and pinnacles full of marine life and exciting night dives including manta rays and sister sharks. Divers will also have the opportunity to spot a diversity of sharks, reef fish, turtles, moray eels, eagle rays and macro life such as nudibranchs. A highlight is the possible encounter with hammerhead sharks and whale sharks.

Best travel time: Whale sharks are spotted here throughout the year. As well as the mantas. Still, we recommend going here between October and May. You then have the best chance of nice weather and little wind.

This trip describes the ‘Best of Maldives’ 8-day liveaboard itinerary. It is also possible to perform this itinerary as an 11-day liveaboard. The dive sites remain the same, although of course you make more dives on the sites because you have 3 extra dive days. In addition, an 8-day trip includes 1 beach BBQ and 1 night dive, while the 11-day trip includes 2 beach BBQs and 2 night dives. Starting price for the 11-day trip is approx. €3599,- p.p.

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Average Temperatures

Wetsuit advice for the Maldives

All year round you can dive here with a 3mm.

What will you experience on this trip?

View itinerary here

Day 1 & 2 | Flight to the Maldives

Today you begin your journey toward the enchanting Maldives. Your adventure begins with an overnight flight that takes you to Malé, the bustling capital of the Maldives. Are you flying from Europe? There are interesting flights from europe. We are happy to advise you on the best departure airports based on your preferences and location.

The second day you will arrive in Malé. Starting at 2 p.m., you are welcome to check in on the boat. The crew of the Carpe Vita will pick you up at the airport. Given regular flight arrival times, this often fits seamlessly. Of course, we take this into account when selecting flights for you.

Once on board, you can install yourself in your cabin, prepare your diving equipment and then relax. Take time to acclimate and enjoy the surroundings. Tomorrow you dive into the adventure!

Day 3 - North Malé

The Best Of Maldives route can be sailed two ways, from North Male, via Rashdoo, Ari Atoll and Vavuu back to South Male atoll…. or from South Male atoll just the other way. The route will be determined according to weather conditions. For this trip, we assume you start in North Malé.

With its crystal clear azure waters, rich coral reefs and diverse aquatic ecosystem, North Malé Atoll is a must visit! The dive sites of this Atoll are very diverse, we would like to highlight some of them….

Known for its exceptional biodiversity, Banana Reef has a horseshoe shape adorned with a vibrant array of corals, including vibrant soft corals, tonnel sponges and gorgonian fans.

Functioning as an artificial reef, the sunken freighter, Kuda Giri wreck, houses a vibrant marine community. Lionfish, moray eels and snappers are among the diverse inhabitants.

Located on the northern corner of the outer reef, Aquarium teems with reef fish around coral blocks. Murres and whitetip reef sharks are often seen, along with rays and other fascinating marine life.

Impressive in its coral reef formations, H.P. Reef features caves and crevices that attract strong currents. Schools of horse mackerel, jacks, barracuda and more are drawn to this site. Commonly seen visitors are eagle rays and gray reef sharks.

Internationally recognized for its manta rays, Lankan Manta Point offers cleaning stations on coral cliffs. Manta rays gather to be cleaned by polyp fish, creating a mesmerizing spectacle.

Bodu Hithi Thila is a captivating reef dive. Schools of fusiliers, tuna, bass and thick-lipped fish thrive here. At 17 meters, a cave reveals its secrets, and white-tip reef sharks can be spotted on the sandy bottom.

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Day 4 - Rasdhoo

From shallow lagoons and gentle reefs for beginners to challenging, channels and dramatic landscapes for the advanced. With an unusually large selection of marine life, Rasdhoo Atoll offers the complete diving experience. Rasdhoo Madivaru, a horseshoe-shaped edge, is patrolled by gray reef sharks, whitetip sharks and schools of eagle rays. Looking over the edge into the depths, you can see large sea fans and the black coral hanging from the wall, while thousands of anthias flutter around you. Back in the shallows, you are greeted by schools of reef fish such as oriental wrasse, fusiliers, goatfish, snappers and many others. Add to that the occasional spotted eagle ray or a school of large barracudaand you have all the ingredients for a near-perfect Maldivian diving experience. What would make it absolutely perfect? If you spot one or more hammerhead sharks, as they are regularly seen at Rasdhoo!

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Day 5 & 6 - North & South Ari Atoll

North Ari is known, among other things, for Maaya Thila, a protected marine area known for the various dives you can do here. At sunset, Maaya Thila becomes a famous night dive site in the Maldives, where you can encounter gray reef sharks and white tip sharks for an exciting night dive. The adventure begins at the top reef, only 6m deep, and gradually descends to 30m along the reef edge. You will also discover here a world of caves and overhangs teeming with marine life.

At the South Ari Marine Protected Area, if you’re lucky, you’ll encounter a whale shark. Manta rays are also spotted at Madivaru, better known as Manta Point, especially during the northeast monsoon. In central Ari are classic thilas like Kudarah Thila, a natural wonder filled with marine life and colorful corals. Fish Head, a top diving spot worldwide, is known for its rich diversity of fish species and is home to sharks. The most common species in this area are scorpion fish, barracudas, moray eels, and blue-striped snappers. Also on display are numerous black corals, sea fans and anemones.

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Day 7 - Vaavu

The channels of Vaavu Atoll are popular because of the drift dives you can do. Devana Kandu is one of the channels where people love to dive. The channel is divided in the middle by a reef 250m long. With an incoming current, divers can do some fantastic drift diving here. On the outer reef, there are caves and overhangs that drop vertically from 30m to the depths. Gray reef sharks, turtles, eagle rays and pelagic species are seen around the entrance to both passages. Many reef fish have colonized these rocks, and it is not uncommon to see blue-face angelfish, valentine pufferfish and reef lizardfish. As divers drift dive the mile-long channel, the northern and southern passages merge along the way.

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Day 8 - South Male

The South Male Atoll is known for its current-fed channels. The underwater landscape of South Malé, famous for its steep walls, ledges and small caves, is rich in reef fish, as well as plenty of macro life and several manta ray cleaning stations.

Kandooma Thila, often known as Cocoa Thila, is one of the most famous dive sites in the Maldives. It is in a wide passage guarded by gray reef sharks, and chances are you will also encounter schools of eagle rays, sea turtles and colorful reef fish that cover the entire reef here. Guraidhoo Corner is another wonderful location. This large marine protected area is home to a huge concentration of reef life, including sharks, schools of trevallies, rays and sea turtles.

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Day 9 & 10 - Return home

The beautiful diving trip in the Maldives is over. Don’t you want to go home yet? Then be sure to check out the options for extending your stay at a resort. Or maybe you’ll still go south to the tiger sharks?

Are you flying early in the morning? Then you probably land in Europe on day 9 as well. Are you flying late afternoon/evening today? Then you may be home a day later. In that case, we can also definitely look at a day hotel, so you won’t be waiting too long at the airport.

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The liveaboard

The boat and cabins

Liveaboard Carpe Vita

The Carpe Vita is a 38-meter-long luxury liveaboard operated by Carpe Diem Maldives Cruises. This magnificent yacht offers space and comfort for up to 20 passengers and is equipped with modern facilities, including a spacious lounge, sun deck, bar, restaurant and dive deck.

In total, the Carpe Vita has 10 comfortable cabins spread over three decks, divided into Suites (2), Superior Suites (2) and Standard Cabins (6). Each cabin has air conditioning and an en-suite bathroom.

Accommodations on board:

Upper Deck: Two Suites are located here as well as the restaurant and bar.
Main Deck: On this deck you will find two Superior Suites. There is also a lounge (with air conditioning), a room for diving equipment, an office, a common toilet and an outdoor seating area.
Lower Deck: The lower deck offers six standard cabins and crew accommodations.
Sun Deck: The sun deck is the perfect place to relax with an outdoor seating area and lounge chairs.

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Travel costs

What is included

This travel package is €2577 per person based on two people in one room. The trip can be extended as desired. A number of things are included by default in this travel package.

Prices are subject to price changes, increases or changing exchange rates. Flights are always based on the cheapest possible booking class.

Want to know more about the possibilities? Get in touch with us!