My favourite diving destination and why

The Maldives has to be my favourite diving destination by far. Most of my diving friends tell me that it comes a close second to Sharm El Sheikh in the Red Sea but I disagree. I never seen such an incredible, vibrant underwater world in all my years diving – and it was in the Maldives where I had my first encounter with a Manta Ray – or 10 to be exact!

I had only just checked into my luxurious beach villa at Vilu Reef when I got the call from the manager of the islands dive centre, “Hi Steve, we are going to see the Manta tomorrow morning, be at the dive centre at 08:00am for a briefing”.

I had been “promised” encounters with Manta Rays many times before but unfortunately for me they never turned up – would this be another case of “great dive, but no Mantas”?

After a very prompt dive briefing we were on our way to Manta Point and arrived after a very scenic 45 minutes passing deserted islands, luxury retreats and private sailing boats we arrived.

The scene was set. I could see the visibility was good, almost 30 metres, but no sign of any Manta from the surface. I dived in and after a gentle descent there they were – Magnificent! Not just one or two but 10 magnificent Manta Rays gently gliding around us. Some seemed to be quite shy and stayed in the background while others were more inquisitive came for a closer look themselves.

To top it all off a pod of dolphins joined the party just as we left the water and followed our Dhoni for 15 – 20 minutes occasionally breaking through the crystal clear water.

My favourite diving destination, the Maldives – My favourite dive, no prizes for guessing it’s my first dive in the Maldives and 10 best friends.