Dive With Whale Sharks on your bucket list?
Head to South Ari Atoll in the Maldives – one of the best places worldwide to dive with whale sharks.
Whale sharks in South Ari Atoll
South Ari Atoll is under the protection of the Maldivian government. In 2009 the government declared the 42 square kilometers of coral reef habitat “the South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area” (SAMPA).
South Ari Atoll is the largest protected area in the Maldives. It is unique because the whale sharks are in the area all year round with a peak season between September and October. While in other parts of the world, sightings are for a precious few weeks of the year.
LUX* Maldives and Vilamendhoo Island Resort are ideal locations for people who want to dive with whale sharks. And get that tick on their bucket list.
A whale shark encounter is an awesome experience that you will remember. Our team feels privileged to be a part of those memorable moments with our guests.
Whale shark action for snorkelers
You don’t have to be a diver to get whale shark action. Snorkelers can get lucky and see whale sharks.
With Euro-Divers, non-diving family members and partners can get in on the action and join regular snorkeling excursions and meet these giants. Who said divers have all the fun?
If you’ve been lucky to dive with whale sharks, let us know about your experience in the comments below!
About whale wharks
Whale sharks are the biggest living fish on the planet with their mouth reaching about one meter in width.
Yes, they could swallow you whole, but don’t worry – they are filter feeders and like to eat plankton, the smallest creatures in the ocean!
Appearing on the IUCN Red List and listed as endangered since 2016, whale sharks are important for the health of our oceans.
Whale sharks are under threat worldwide due to habitat loss, marine pollution, disturbance or harassment by boats and divers engaged in irresponsible tourism activities.
In the Maldives, we are lucky to have regular encounters with these magnificent creatures and marine conservation rules to protect them.
Come and enjoy the incredible experience of spending time with whale sharks in Ari Atoll with Euro-Divers.
Everything started with my Open Water Course at Koh Tao, Thailand. I’m hooked with the first breath I took underwater – this magical and peaceful world with all these different colors and creatures made me forget about everything else. It felt like an addiction.
This time made me realize that I don’t want to keep diving only as a hobby. I wanted to become a Diving Instructor and make diving my profession.
I was working as an entertainer in one of the resorts in South Male atoll. The first time I tried diving I absolutely fell in love with it, so every day off I would go diving.
I was lucky enough to meet people from Euro-Divers who helped me complete my instructor course and employment later on.
That trip changed everything. Since 2014, I visited more than 50 countries in three continents.
2019, 2020, 2021 – still in Maldives, enjoying what I love the most.
Im sonnigen Süden (Ägypten) lernte ich im Urlaub die unglaubliche Unterwasserwelt bei einem Schnuppertauchgang kennen und lieben.
Anfangs arbeitete ich im Tauchcenter im Büro, mir wurde jedoch schnell klar, dass ich die Gäste nicht nur über Wasser sondern auch unter Wasser begleiten wollte. Somit machte ich die Divemaster Ausbildung.
I studied Hotel management and ended up working for several years in different Hotels/Resorts around Italians seaside where I spend my days off diving and achieving the Dive Master rating.
I choose to stay in Oman because of its unspoiled dive site, beaches and many undiscovered dive places! We do not have mass tourism here and the country itself is spectacular besides being the safest place to live in.
Bored and burnt out of the stressful life in Holland, I quit my job as Manager Back Office & Finance and I went to Curacao for holiday. On this tropical island I took my first breaths under water with Instructor Marc, who is still my buddy in life.
Diving keeps me grounded, relaxed and connected with Mother Nature (myself). It supports me to let go, to put things into perspective and it helps me to stay focused and balanced in my position as a manager.
But diving was not at all my purpose of the journey, in fact I was not even a diver yet, I became a diver after I got passionate in freediving in Egypt in 2012 while freediving with dolphin in the wild, eager to become a snorkeling guide, I did my life guard licence and then my PADI open water!
I love freediving but scuba diving is an all other story for me, learning scuba diving make you discover part of yourself you didn’t know, you learn to control things that you would have never imagined possible, I regularly see many of my students discovering how calm they can be underwater when in life they tend to be hyperactive and then in the other hand I see calm or introverted persons becoming excited and move like a torpedo underwater 🙂 so diving might not be for everyone but it is definitely to discover!
I decided after my hospitality studies to enter this fascinating new world. I have started my career in Club Med as Guest Service and had the opportunity to travel some of the famous destinations for diving or snorkeling.
I am the perfect example of someone who was scared of diving, the only advice I could give is to believe in yourself.
But since I was young, I knew I wanted to travel the world, to go on adventures, have fun and meet people from everywhere. Unfortunately, those jobs didn’t give me the opportunity to do it so after 5 years I decided to move to Thailand.
Scuba Diving is a sport of passion.
During this time, I wanted to try something new, so I started scuba diving and I will never forget my first underwater experience. I felt nervous at first but at the same time a lot of excitement.
Some people might think that diving is a difficult sport, but there are many ways to enjoy safe diving for any age or gender.
