Maldives

Best overall months to dive: Jan, Feb, Mar, Apr, Aug, Sep, Oct

The Maldives runs on two monsoons, and the right atoll matters more than a single national season. Baa Atoll's Hanifaru Bay has a southwest-monsoon manta feeding aggregation but is snorkel-only. South Ari holds year-round whale shark habitat without guaranteeing an encounter. North and South Malé combine accessible channels, reefs and the protected Maldives Victory wreck. Vaavu is current-led channel diving and includes a human-conditioned nurse-shark night attraction at Alimatha. Fuvahmulah's pelagic diving includes provisioned tiger-shark encounters, while Addu adds the disputed-details British Loyalty wreck and southern manta sites. National recreational rules cap dives at 30m, and bleaching damage varies sharply by reef.

Dive regions