Mantas and whale sharks appear at the top of most divers and snorkellers ‘must see’ lists and with good reason – they are big and make a big impression on anyone privileged enough to spend time in the water with them.
Here in the Maldives, our teams at Euro-Divers are in the very fortunate position of being able to encounter these gentle giants of the ocean time and time again – it’s one of the best places in the world to see them, especially the areas of South Ari Atoll, North Male Atoll and Raa Atoll with sightings possible all year round but even more likely during the south-west monsoon season.
Best manta hotspots in the Maldives
For manta hotspots that are within easy reach, book a stay at Alila, Club Med Finolhu, Kani, Dhigali, Kurumba, LUX, Meeru, and Vilamendhoo. Eriyadu and Kagi from January to April and keep your fingers crossed for awe-inspiring sights.
Divers Swimming with a Manta Ray
Take the picture of a lifetime and dive with manta rays in the Maldives!
Where to see whale sharks in the Maldives
If the biggest fish in the sea, aka the whale shark, is THE marine creature you most want to see, stay at LUX or Vilamendhoo where there are regular sightings.
Both the whale shark and manta rays are filter feeders and have huge mouths to scoop vast quantities of water containing the tasty morsels of plankton, they pose no danger to divers and snorkellers but, for their own protection, a respectable distance must be adhered to during encounters.
Whale Shark with Remoras
Euro-Divers Maldives offers sustainable encounters with these gentle giants, where you can see this relationship up close.
Best Practices for Swimming with Mantas and Whale Sharks
To make diving and snorkelling with these gentle giants sustainable, follow these best practice guidelines:
- Enter the water as quietly as possible.
- Never chase or block their path.
- Give them space and don’t get too close.
- Never touch them.
- When observing mantas whilst diving, never position yourself on top of the cleaning stations – watch from the side.
Following this best practice will lead to a longer encounter as the creatures will not feel threatened, it will also prevent their natural behaviours from being disturbed, making future encounters more likely.
Get ready to realise a life-long dream with Euro-Divers Maldives.
If you’ve been lucky enough to encounter whale sharks whilst diving with us, let us know about your experience in the comments below.
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 Malé 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.
