Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com. This post contains affiliate links, which means I may receive a small commission, at no cost to you, if you make a purchase through a link.
Are the Maldives suitable for beginner or notice scuba divers?
The Maldives is a great place for all levels of diver experience, including beginners and novice divers. But you have to choose your dive sites carefully in the Maldives, as many have strong currents. This is why it’s important to carefully select Maldives liveaboards that are suitable for beginner divers.
7 Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners
Maldives Sheena Liveaboard.
Blue Shark One.
Amba liveaboard.
Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard.
The Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard.
Maldives Scubaspa Ying liveaboard.
Maldives Scubaspa Yang liveaboard.
Let’s take a look at these Maldives liveaboards in more detail. With each liveaboard in this list I explain why it’s been chosen and why it’s suitable for beginner or novice divers.
The best way to dive the Maldives is by a scuba diving liveaboard. You can check the latest and best deals on Maldives liveaboards using the following window:
1. Maldives Sheena Liveaboard: Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners
You’ll be pleased to know the Sheena liveaboard is suitable for beginners because this Maldivian liveaboard often run specific dive tours for beginner divers.
A summary of the Maldives Sheena liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 8.8 out of 10 & Fabulous.
A 24 metre (79 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodating up to 14 scuba divers across 7 cabins.
The Maldives Sheena liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has en-suite cabins with air conditioning.
Local food served buffet style served indoors or alfresco outside and there’s also an air-conditioned saloon and bar.
The scuba diving ranges from itineraries of 8 days 7 nights to 13 days 12 nights with some of the best diving in the Maldives.
The chance to see whale sharks and other sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles wrecks and much much more.
Includes a beginner dive tour of 8 days 7 nights trip requiring you to have completed 5 dives minimum (see below).
The Maldives Sheena liveaboard diving for beginners:
Beginner dive tour from Filitheyo to Male: 8 days 7 nights trip. Approx. 17 dives in total. Minimum requirements include Open Water certification and 5 minimum logged dives.
2. Blue Shark One: Offers Maldives liveaboard dive trips suitable for beginners
Maldives Blue Shark One liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com.
Not all dive tours on the Blue Shark One liveaboard are suitable for beginner divers. So check the diving itinerary before you book to make sure it’s a suitable dive trip if you’ve not done many dives.
A summary of the Maldives Blue Shark One liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 9.3 out of 10 & Superb.
A 30 metre (98 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodating up to 16 scuba divers across 9 cabins.
The Maldives Blue Shark One liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has en-suite cabins with air conditioning.
Western and local food served buffet style served indoors and alfresco and there’s also a saloon and bar.
The scuba diving ranges from itineraries of 8 days 7 nights to 15 days 14 nights with some of the best diving in the Maldives.
The chance to see whale sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles and also tiger sharks.
Includes a beginner diver trip of 8 days 7 nights that requires an Open Water Certification (or equivalent) but no minimum logged dives.
The Maldives Blue Shark One liveaboard dive tour suitable for beginners:
Cruise – Snorkel and dive tour: 8 days 7 nights. 12 dives in total. Open Water Certification required or similar + no minimum logged dives. Easy diving for all levels of experience, including beginner divers.
Divers will see a variety of marine life. This includes nudibranchs, moray eels, large schools of reef fish, eagle rays, various shark species, turtles, manta rays and whale sharks.
This list of Maldives liveaboards is in descending customer rating order, followed by Scuba Diving Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating, see below), so the liveaboards with the highest customer rating and the best SDE lux rating will be at the top of the list. If you want to change the list order, use the “Sort by” dropdown below.
The Scuba Diving Earth Luxury Rating (SDE Lux Rating) is explained on each liveaboard review when you click the “Discover Liveaboard” link, and is my own Liveaboard Luxury Rating I’ve assigned to all liveaboards. Choosing between liveaboards is helped by customer scores, and if you get stuck choosing between two or three liveaboards, where each one has a high customer score out of 10, you can use the SDE Luxury Rating to help narrow down your choice.
Think about it like using Booking.com when searching for the best hotel. Booking.com also use a customer score where each customer rates hotels out of 10. This is similar to the liveaboard customer rating, which is also rated out of 10. But let’s say you only like to stay in hotels rated 8 and above on Booking.com, but you also want the hotel to have WIFI or parking, or to have a swimming pool etc. The features each hotel has is usually secondary to the score out of 10.
3. Amba liveaboard: Includes specific dive trips for beginner divers
Amba Liveaboard – Best Budget liveaboards Maldives – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
The Maldives Ama liveaboard is suitable for beginners because they often have specific dive trips for beginner and novice divers.
A summary of the Maldives Amba liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 8.7 out of 10 & Fabulous.
A 33 metre (108 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodates up to 22 scuba divers across 11 cabins.
The Maldives Amba liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has en-suite cabins with air conditioning.
Local food and western style served buffet style served indoors or alfresco outside and there’s also an air-conditioned saloon and bar.
The scuba diving ranges from itineraries of 8 days 7 nights to 12 days 11 nights with some of the best diving in the Maldives.
With the chance to see whale sharks and other sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles wrecks and much much more.
Includes a dive trip for beginners with an Open Water Certification or similar.
The Maldives Amba liveaboard dive tour suitable for beginners:
Male Atolls (Male-Male): 8 days 7 nights trip. Approx. 17 dives in total. Open Water certification – No minimum logged dives required.
To find out more please read this complete review of the Maldives Amba liveaboard: Maldives Amba liveaboard review (Review rated 8.7 out of 10 & Fabulous)
4. Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard: Includes beginner diver trips
Maldives MV Aggressor II liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com.
The Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard is suitable for beginners is because they often include specific dive tours for beginner and novice divers.
A summary of the Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 8.8 out of 10 & Fabulous.
A 41 metre (135 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodates up to 22 scuba divers across 11 cabins.
The Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has all en-suite cabins with air conditioning.
Western and local food served buffet style served indoors with a saloon and bar.
The scuba diving is second to non and includes two itineraries of 8 days 7 nights or 11 days 10 nights with the best of the Maldives diving.
The chance to see whale sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles and more.
Includes dive trips for beginners with an Open Water Certification or similar.
The Maldives Aggressor II liveaboard dive trips suitable for beginners include:
The two dive tours are suitable for beginner divers.
Best of the Maldives: 8 days 7 nights. 18 dives in total. Open water certification required or similar + no minimum logged dives. The ‘Best of the Maldives diving. This includes areas of North Male, South Male, North Ari, South Ari, Vaavu and Rasdhoo. Which includes spectacular channel-drift dives, wrecks, pinnacles and night dives. You have the opportunity to see mantas, hammerheads, eagle rays, Napoleon wrasse, grey reef and white tip sharks, turtles and in the right season the chance to see whale sharks.
Best of the Maldives: 11 days 10 nights. 27 dives in total. Open water certification required or similar + no minimum logged dives. With similar range and areas covered as the 8-day trip, but with more dives and time spent underwater.
5. The Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard is suitable for beginners with no minimum dives and OWD certification required
Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
The Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard is suitable for beginners as their dives require an Open Water certification (or similar) with ‘No minimum dive‘ requirement.
A summary of the Maldives Sheena liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 9.4 out of 10 and Superb.
This 40 metre (141 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodates up to 26 scuba divers across 13 cabins.
The Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has en-suite cabins with air conditioning and some have sea views.
Western and local style food served buffet style both indoors or alfresco outside and there’s also an air-conditioned saloon and bar.
The scuba diving includes itineraries of 8 days 7 nights with some of the best diving in the Maldives.
The chance to see whale sharks and other sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles wrecks and much much more.
Includes dive trips for beginners with an Open Water Certification or similar.
The Maldives Emperor Serenity liveaboard dive tour suitable for beginners:
Best of Maldives 7 Nights: 8 days 7 nights trip. Approx. 17 dives in total. Open Water certification – No minimum logged dives required. Divers will see a variety of marine life. This includes nudibranchs, moray eels, large schools of reef fish, eagle rays, various shark species, turtles, manta rays and whale sharks.
The Maldives Scubaspa Ying liveaboard is suitable for beginners as their dives require an Open Water certification (or similar) with ‘No minimum dive’ requirement.
A summary of the Maldives Scubaspa Ying liveaboard, and what she has to offer:
Review rated 9.4 out of 10 and Superb.
This 50 metre (164 feet) Maldives liveaboard accommodates up to 40 scuba divers across 19 cabins.
The Maldives Scubaspa Ying liveaboard was custom-built for scuba divers and has en-suite cabins with air conditioning and some have sea views.
Local style food served buffet style and as fine dinning both indoors or alfresco outside and there’s also an air-conditioned saloon and bar.
The scuba diving includes itineraries of 5 days 4 nights and 8 days 7 nights with some of the best diving in the Maldives.
The chance to see whale sharks and other sharks, manta rays, eagle rays, turtles wrecks and much much more.
Includes dive trips for beginners with an Open Water Certification or similar.
The Maldives Scubaspa Ying liveaboard dive trips suitable for beginners:
Best of Maldives: 5 days 4 nights trip. Approx. 9 dives in total. Open Water certification – No minimum logged dives required.
Best of Maldives: 8 days 7 nights trip. Approx. 15 dives in total. Open Water certification – No minimum logged dives required.
7. Maldives Scubaspa Yang liveaboard: Suitable for beginners with no minimum dives and OWD certification required
Scubaspa Yang liveaboard diving – Exceptional Maldives liveaboard – image courtesy of Liveaboard.com
The Maldives Scubaspa Yang liveaboard is suitable for beginners is because the dives require an Open Water certification or similar and they have a ‘No minimum dive’ requirement.
A summary of the Maldives Scubaspa Yang liveaboard and what she has to offer:
Review rated 9.6 out of 10 and Exceptional.
Scubaspa Yang liveaboard diving offers some the best diving, the best dive sites and the ultimate in liveaboard luxury.
The Maldives Scubaspa Yang is one of the most highly rated liveaboards in the Maldives, if not the world.
Built for divers and accommodating up to 40 guests across 19 cabins with 24 bathrooms.
Food includes local style food served both fine cuisine or buffet style as alfresco dinning.
Includes dive trips for beginners with an Open Water Certification or similar.
The Maldives Scubaspa Yang liveaboard dive tours suitable for beginners:
Best of Maldives – 8 day 7 night trip: Approximately 15 dives in total; Experience required is PADI Open Water (or equivalent); No minimum logged dives required. Diving includes the ‘Fish Tank’, Rasdhoo Atoll, Rasdhoo Madivaru Channel, Rasdhoo Madivaru and Moofushi Point. Marine life expected (but on guaranteed) includes the following: Whale sharks, manta rays, scorpionfish, glassfish, reef sharks, Napoleon wrasse, green turtles, beautiful corals and dolphins.
Best of Maldives – 5 days 4 nights trip: Approximately 9 dives in total; Experience required is PADI Open Water (or equivalent); No minimum logged dives required. Diving will include ‘Fish Tank’, ‘Rasdhoo Madivaru Channel’, ‘Rasdhoo Madivaru’ and Moofushi Point. Marine life expected (but not guaranteed) includes: Whale sharks, manta rays, scorpionfish, glassfish, reef sharks, Napoleon wrass, green turtles, beautiful corals, dolphins, hammerheads.
Maldives dive sites good for beginners and novice divers
It’s also important as part of your research to also check which Maldives dive sites are suitable for beginners too. Knowing this will help when you are checking a liveaboard for suitability for beginner divers.
This is a list of good Maldivian dive sites for beginner divers:
Lankan Beyru (Manta Point).
Rasfari Corner.
Kandooma Thila.
Rasdhoo Madivaru.
Maaya Thila.
Fish Head or Mushimasmingili Reef.
Maamigili Beyru (Whaleshark Search).
Alimatha House Reef.
Baa Atoll.
1. Lankan Beyru (Manta Point)
Lankan Beyru which is also known as Manta Point main attraction are manta rays.
Mantas use the site as a cleaning station during the southwest monsoon. Where the mantas come in to be cleaned is a large coral block covered with anemones and is full of fish life. In the video below spot the cleaner fish cleaning the manta ray’s skin.
Maldives Manta cleaning station Maldivian manta at Lankan Beyru September
Rasfari is a known for sharks and in particular grey reef sharks, whitetip reef sharks and silvertip sharks. But it is also home to one of my favourites, the eagle ray.
This dive site is also makes a great for beginner divers to spot manta rays. When manta rays are present at Rasfari Corner they tend to be near to the surface. The shallow dive makes it ideal for beginner scuba divers with an Open Water Certification.
If the manta rays are present, divers are directed to stay close to the cleaning station to observe them. This is a popular dive site which means divers should pay close attention to all the dive boats on the surface.
This dive site is good for beginners as the area is protected from the current.
3. Kandooma Thila
Kandooma Thila is located at South Male and is one of the Maldives most famous dive sites. This is yet another manta ray cleaning station. But you are also likely to encounter grey reef sharks, eagle rays and green turtles too.
The currents in Kandooma Thila can range between medium to very strong. Which may count this out as a good dive site for beginners. However, if you get some experience of drift diving before hand and do the necessary training first, you may be okay under guidance.
There are also some beautiful reefs, which are shallow enough for snorkelling too.
4. Rasdhoo Madivaru
Rasdhoo Madivaru is a dive site known for its stunning reefs, reef sharks, eagle rays and an abundance of schooling fish.
But also between November and April you can watch manta rays at the cleaning station, known as Manta Block. But if you’re an early riser, or if the liveaboard gets to Rasdhoo Madivaru first thing in the morning, you might be lucky and spot hammerhead sharks.
Rasdhoo Madivaru offers something for all levels of scuba diving experience. This includes shallow lagoons and gentle reef dives for the beginner divers.
5. Maaya Thila
Maaya Thila is another one of the Maldives dive sites that is suitable for all levels of scuba diver. But in particular if you’re a beginner scuba diver the bottom is at 30 metres (98 feet) and the pinnacle rises up to a depth of 16 metres (52 feet).
You’re likely to spot eagles rays, grey reef sharks, moray eels, octopuses and turtles. There are also stingrays, but unless you’re the more advanced diver, you are unlikely to see them as they will be on the bottom at 30 metres.
6. Fish Head or Mushimasmingili Reef
Some would argue that the currents are too strong at Fish Head or Mushimasmingili Reef as they are unpredictable. Whereas other don’t seem to think it’s a problem.
However, depending on the timing when you visit this dive site on your liveaboard trip you may be okay as a beginner diver. If you have drift dive experience and the necessary training, you may be allowed to dive. But this will depend on the dive master and their assessment of your diving ability.
Fish Head is one of the most beautiful dive sites in Ari Atoll, which is partly due to the shear number of fish. It is sometimes described as like diving in fish soup. It is often impossible to see your dive buddy when they are just a few meters away due to the walls of fish. This is the most famous in the whole of Maldives.
Video of Fish Head and Maaya Thila
7. Maamigili Beyru (Whaleshark Search)
Dive site Maamigili Beyru, which is known as Whaleshark Search, is also located on Ari atoll and is within the Marine Protected Area.
Diving at Maamigili Beyru is both shallow and very easy to dive, which makes it ideal for beginner scuba divers. At Maamigili Beyru there’s the exciting prospect of seeing whale sharks. In fact this dive site is known as the best location in the Maldives for spotting them.
The whale sharks here can be seen cruising along the reef all year round. Your liveaboard will most likely look for the whale sharks from the surface, and once spotted, they will get you to enter the water.
8. Alimatha House Reef
Alimatha House Reef is considered one of the best night diving sites in the Maldives. So depending on whether you’ve had the experience or training for a night dive, will depend on whether you’re okay to dive this site.
The depth is limited to 15 metres (49 feet), so will be within your beginner depth limits. However, you need to be a confident diver before attempting a night dive for the first time.
You need to have complete confidence with your diving equipment and with your buoyancy control. So long as you have these under control and the dive master is happy for you to go on a night dive, then this should be okay.
It’s a great night dive because every night there’s the opportunity to see a large number of nurse sharks, stingrays and massive jacks. However, the site has become a victim of it’s own success, as it gets overcrowded with divers.
9. Baa Atoll
This Maldives dive site has a diverse marine life around its reefs. It also has an UNESCO status. The abundance of marine is partly down to the submerged islands or thilas, the overhangs and swim throughs.
In addition to the excellent underwater topography, you can expect to see colourful reefs surrounded by plenty of reef fish. But also you have the chance to see manta rays and whale sharks among other amazing sea creatures like sting rays, large groupers, bat fish and turtles.
The two spots suited for beginner divers at Baa Atoll are Horubadhoo Thila and Nelivaru Haa.
Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners
The Maldives is one of the best dive destinations in the world. With the chance to see manta rays galore and the likely chance to see whale sharks (at the right time of year).
In the right season the waters are warm and the visibility is fantastic.
However, not all dive sites are suitable for beginner scuba divers. Many of the dive sites in the Maldives can be deep dives of 25+ metres (82+ feet).
Plus there are strong currents in the waters around the Maldives. This results in drift dives or diving on a hook to avoid being swept off the dive site.
Conclusion on Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners and novice divers
If you’re staying on one of the hundreds of islands in the Maldives, you’ll find that you can pick and choose where you dive as a beginner. However, if you’re diving from a liveaboard boat, you need to choose your liveaboard carefully.
Please take time to read the reviews link to from this article. Plus have a look at the details linked to at Liveaboard.com.
I hope you enjoyed this article about Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners
I’d love to hear from you. Tell us about your adventures of diving and snorkelling. Please use the comments section below. Please also share your photos. Either from your underwater cameras or videos from your waterproof go-pro’s!
If this article hasn’t answered all of your questions. If you have more questions either about snorkelling or scuba diving (or specifically about Maldives liveaboard diving for beginners), please comment below with your questions.
There will also be many more articles about scuba and scuba diving safety tips (and on snorkelling too) for you to read and learn about this fabulous sport.
Rebreather Friendly Liveaboards Maldives (7 Liveaboards To… These rebreather friendly liveaboards in the Maldives are for technical divers looking for support for rebreather scuba diving. This means the liveaboard will have the extra equipment needed for divers…
How Many Liveaboards Are There In Maldives: Table Of… There are 45 Maldives liveaboards to choose from to scuba dive the many dive sites around the islands and atolls of The Maldives. Scuba diving The Maldives from a liveaboard…
Article written by Russell Bowyer who has been a scuba diver since diving on the Great Barrier Reef in Australia in 1989. After his first dive he trained as a BSAC diver in the UK. He attained his Diver Leader certification with BSAC. He then went on to become a scuba diving instructor, teaching others how to dive and was voted as Diving Officer and Treasurer for the Saffron Walden BSAC club too. Russell has dived all over the world, including the UK, on liveaboards in the Red Sea, the Caribbean, South Africa and the USA. Russell is experienced in all dive types, including drift diving, deep dives that involved decompression stops and recreational dives too.
