Scuba diving in India was closed for the season, what with the rains pouring down here. So, it was an obvious choice that we, at Planet Scuba India, plan a diving holiday to the Maldives. A holiday that we will never forget.

Scuba diving in the Maldives

Here there were whale sharks, manta rays, sting rays, octopus, cuttlefish, turtles, sharks, and also, as the locals call it, UMS or ‘usual Maldivian stuff’. A term that shouldn’t be shrugged off lightly,  since it includes the entire range of sea creatures, from cute little clown fish to elusive moray eels and pouty Napoleon wrasses. Truly, scuba diving in the Maldives never ceases to fascinate! And it doesn’t matter how many times you have ‘giant-leaped’ into the crystal clear waters.

The fascinating underwater world

Planet Scuba India’s August 11 – 16, 2018 dive holiday on the Honors Legacy liveaboard was a breathtaking experience. Nineteen scuba divers from India headed to the tranquil waters of Ari Atoll. These included six divers completing their PADI Open Water Diver courses, and four completing their PADI Advanced Open Water Diver courses. Call it beginners’ luck, but dive after dive revealed magical surprises. The hungry whale shark happily feeding its way through the waters off Dhigurah in South Ari Atoll. Majestic manta rays sprucing up at cleaning stations. Cuttlefish getting all territorial about its mate. Turtles languidly swimming past. And then, there was the colorful and varied every day traffic of fish species that had cameras swiveling in every direction, in an underwater photography frenzy.

Night dive at Alimatha

Oh, and the night traffic of nurse sharks, by the dozens, at Alimatha resort house reef, Vaavu Atoll. We saw nurse sharks lazing around, scouring for food in the light of our torches, and scratching their bellies in the sand. While stingrays hovered around trying to grab the limelight. And a hermit crab quietly stole a mollusk shell and trotted away, hoping no one would notice. All the activity made this one of our most exciting night dives in the Maldives.

Scuba divers from India hoist the national flag

Finally, as it has been every year, on India’s Independence Day, Planet Scuba India hoisted the national flag underwater. The tricolour unfurled against the dramatic underwater landscape of colorful reefs and schools of fish, in the hands of fun scuba divers from India, enjoying their magical diving holiday in the Maldives.