It has been two years since I went to the Maldives. It isn’t a trip I usually would take, as the destination is mostly associated (by marketing) with luxury resorts that are more popular for romantic holidays and honeymoons rather than the scruffy someone like me, who loves the wide open outdoors of the mountains.

However, it was December 2020, the pandemic was at its height of caution and Maldives was one of the only options I could fly into (at the time, it had just opened after a six months closure).

And, I had just lost my beloved Kitty, and I really, really needed to get away.

I booked somewhere ‘cheap’ (I use this term loosely when it comes to the Maldives, not much is cheap out there) and with less of the luxury and more about the scuba diving.

Why the Maldives never really appealed to me?

The same reason why New York doens’t appeal to me. I guess it’s the way the destinations are marketed and we seem to have a clash in personality.

Maldives has always been advertised as the ‘dreamy’ destination… with beautiful resorts. That’s it. Images of the loved up couple lazing around their private villa, of being exclusively served a cocktail by the pool… each image is the same. Each image lack personality and character. Just luxury hotels and more luxury hotels.

And that is not me. I was never one to sit still and the idea of spending all this time just to sit somewhere generic, in a hotel where I could easily be anywhere… just not my cup of tea!

However, I would have to say, this trip changed me. I can see the allure of Maldives, thanks to the natural wonders that exist below the surface.

Scuba Diving

I’ve been in love with the natural world since… well, for as long as I know. While I love the mountains, I also do love the sea, but mostly under it, not above it. I get terrible motion sickness and have always avoided boat trips. However, I would endure the short trip to get to a dive site just so I can be among the world in the deep blue.

I haven’t scuba dived for years, and the opportunity to get under water got rarer since moving to the UK. I’ve heard about the amazing scuba diving in the Maldives but never really had the justification to go. So on this trip, I was determined to make the most of it. A quick look at the Ellaidhoo Maldives by Cinnemon website convinced me – it had boasted one of the best house reef in the Maldives resort world – and it was also one of the cheaper options outside bunking random hostels in the capital, I clicked on book.

And I had a grand adventure scuba diving in the Maldives.

The Indian Ocean and The Big Stuff

Imagine… jumping off the boat nice and early in the morning into the silence of the ocean. For the first five meters, all you see is blue and as the light gradually dims, life began to appear. First, one friendly Bat Fish that comes to play with the bubbles, then, a hundred joins in. A shark sassys across the ocean floor, which is not deep in the Maldives – around the depth of 30ms at these sites, and millions of star like blue Red-toothed Trigger fish hover the length of the reef, darting in and out of their hiding places as you swim through.

This is what diving in the Maldives is like. A bit like being in heaven, under water.

I have dived the Pacific, and now having also dived the Atlantic, I will have to say the Indian Ocean is possibly my favourite of all oceans for scuba diving. And here in the Maldives, with the relative shallow waters and the amount of marine life, it is a place for all abilities in scuba diving.

You get to know your tribe when you are a diver in the Maldives, because you are all staying at the same resort, diving with the same crew and generally speaking, you are on the dives together all the time, so you get to know people. With me were very advanced divers with thousands of dives under their weight-belt, as well as absolute beginners who are completing their first few dives of the Open Water licence. I don’t think I heard anyone dissatisfied with the diving.

For me, it was epic, diving in the Maldives, for the first time in my life, I saw Whale Sharks and Manta Rays, two of the ‘big stuff’ of the Indian Ocean.

Respectfully we keep a few meters away form them, admiring the way they glide through the water, overshadowing my small human form, just make me feel so humble that I forget to breathe. (You must always remember to breathe when diving!) All the meanwhile, thousands of other fish surround us: bright yellow Blue Striped Snappers and Oriental Sweetlips were among the common schools that accompany us on our dives. There’s also Lion fish, Parrotfish, Butterflyfish, Angelfish and Barracudas make up the busy traffic and the curious Moray Eels that can be spotted sticking their necks out to see what’s going on.

Oh, so much life! Oh, so much we have to protect!

The House Reef

The ‘House Reef’ means the reef that make up the island, and according to some of the people who have been to the Maldives a few times – yes, Ellaidhoo does have one of the best house reefs to dive in the Maldives.

Having a good house reef means I didn’t have to always be on a boat to dive. I could simply ask for a buddy (you never dive alone, and there are bound to be others looking for buddies) and wade in. The dives are more predictable, as there are always the resident creatures to look out for that call this house reef home. A school a sharks are always spotted sleeping at the bottom of the ship wreck just off shore for example, as well as the two Moray Eels that seem to like to share the residence of one rock hole.

Then, there are the small things. I’ve come to appreciate little creatures that don’t get as much press as the big stuff, like the colourful sea slugs (nudies!), the mini crabs that live among the branches of the corals, and small puffer fish that always look stunned to see you!

About The ‘All Inclusive’ Experience

As you see, I hardly spend a lot of time in the reosrt itself. Honestly, it’s not by thing. But I can see the appeal. To have everything included in your package where you don’t have to make any decisions other than which dish off the buffet you are going to have right now, is easy. It makes a ‘holiday’, but it doesn’t make an ‘adventure’.

For me, I have never travelled for ‘the accommodation’. No matter how pretty, Instagram-worthy, or luxury it is, a resort/hotel is never a ‘destination’ for me. A hotel is a hotel, a place I sleep after a day of discovering new things and having new experiences.

And trust me, it’s not like I don’t know how it is. I have luckily been treated to some of the best hotels out there for my work, and there are few that I would consider a destination (for their uniqueness on location or cuisine or practices, not for their prettiness), but for most, I would happily trade for a basic bed in a small, friendly bed and breakfast.

However, as the hotels are on its own island in the Maldives, each requiring a seaplane transfer from Male, and unless you are on an inhabited island with a town, there is nowhere else to go. All inclusive was perfect.

(PS – and I was offered an all inclusive option when I went to Tenerife. It was a different experience because I knew there are great local restaurants and cafes I should be supporting in the community however, again, I can see the appeal for certain types of travellers)

I did have massages though. I do like a nice massage and they offered Balinese massage at the Spa in the resort.

I liked that.

The verdict on scuba diving in the Maldives

It is magical. The idea of easy diving yet still have so much to see, I certainly, absolutely recommend scuba diving in the Maldives if you haven’t been. I know there are some real epic dive sites around the world, but most, like Socorro Island in Mexico, require a lengthy journey and also advanced experience to be able to appreciate the dives (the only thing I am worried about is the day long boat trip of getting there really!), but if you have never been, go dive in the Maldives.

And a bonus if you are a resort person. Just try not to spend all your time on the beach. Get under the water, see the wonders!

It is also the perfect place to learn to dive. You won’t regret it.