The Best of the Maldives

MV Ari Queen, Male

09/03/2018- 18/03/2018

The Maldives offers nutrient rich waters, which flow up along walls, rock pinnacles and calm lagoons. With warm, clear, blue water inhabited with an abundance of marine life, well-known cleaning stations, wrasse and shrimp service Manta Rays and other large marine species. During the seven-night itinerary we will be visiting several hotspots for the seasonal marine life that frequents the Maldives.  We will be exploring its underwater scenery from the comfort of liveaboard for an unforgettable experience.

The Ari Queen is a 33m liveaboard which comfortably accommodates 22 divers within 12 air conditioned, en-suite cabins with hot water showers. On deck, we have a good-sized dive deck with cool freshwater shower and deck level toilet as well as a large sun deck with shaded area. A dining lounge with comfortable seating and saloon.

This 1-week package offered by Regaldive includes 7 days of diving, 1 dive on the first day of a week’s sailing, then 3 dives per day (including 1-night dive when applicable) and 1 dive on the final day (17 dives in total), personal no-fly times permitting. There will be shared occupancy for seven nights full board on the MV Ari Queen; return flights from Manchester to Male and transfers to/from the boat in Male.

Regaldive: £2,155

New Horizons fee:  £80 (£40 for gold Dive Society members)

Please note, single supplement is not available on this trip. If a booking is made as a single traveller, you will be asked to share a cabin.

Finally, New Horizons will provide you with a group leader. To ensure a fun and safe trip for all concerned!  Courses can be completed while on board at a discounted price, such as Delayed Surface Marker Buoy Diver and Digital Underwater Photography.

Double or twin bed, air-conditioned, en-suite cabins.

Return flights from Manchester to Male

All refreshments, except for daytime meals or snacks on the final day.

A wide selection of soft drinks, teas, coffee and beer (available following your final dive of the day and at an extra charge).

Transport to/from your home and Manchester airport.

NITROX fills; these are to be paid at the time of full payment at $100 for the full week.

15L cylinders; if you would like to order one at $75 for the week please make sure you let us know at the time of full payment

We will be flying to Male from Manchester followed by a short bus ride to the port from which we sail. The boat will spend 7 days sailing around the Maldives for some wonderful diving and plenty of photo opportunities.  We will be visiting a selection of reefs including Omadhoo Thila, Rangali Manta Point, Bodufinolhu Thila and Miyaru Kandu to name a few.

Omadhoo Thila is a northerly dive site which lies in the Omadhoo channel where two thilas meet giving it the name ‘Big Valley’. In this valley coral blocks form an interesting landscape where eagle rays, white tip reef sharks and snappers can be found. Depths range from 10m to 30m.

Rangali Manta Point is located in the southern Ari Atoll and will host the best Manta Ray memories. This famous Manta Ray cleaning station is relatively shallow, between 8m and 20m. It is a beautiful channel dive with several cleaning stations along a steep and lengthy reef.

Bodufinolhu Thila, 22m sloping to 30m deep. It is a deep and small thila, lying on a sandy plateau at 10m-20m away from the sloping reef. With a huge garden of hard corals housing baby white tip reef sharks. The sandy plateau is freqnted by stingrays whilst the mobula mantas are often seen swimming through the channel itself.

Miyaru Kandu is located in the Felidoo Atoll where large pelagic fish can be observed. Inside the channel there is white tip and black tip reef sharks, whereas if you look into the blue you may even see common grey reef sharks all the way through to hammerheads and on rare occasions tiger sharks.

All dive sites are subject to weather conditions and cannot be guaranteed.

Equipment rental is available from New Horizons for the week. You must take all your personal dive equipment, except tank and weights. Due to the nature of the diving during this week, all divers MUST have dive computers and delayed SMBs with reels. Night dives are included in this package and to participate on these good quality torches will be required.

Suitable for Advanced Open Water qualified divers and above with a minimum of 40 dives.  Courses, such as Specialties can be completed while there at a discounted price; please ask for more details.

Please get in touch if you are interested in this trip, but do not (yet) meet this criteria.

A range of courses, including digital underwater photography or drift diving specialties, may be completed while on board. All are offered at discounted prices. Please get in touch with any queries and to book yourself on!

To reserve your place on this trip, please complete a New Horizons Dive Centre booking form, returning the completed form (one per person) to the shop by post, email or in person, along with payment of a deposit of £500 payable to Regaldive (2% credit card surcharge) plus £80 per person payable to New Horizons (2% credit card surcharge).  We will provide you with confirmation of your place on the trip once we’ve received the booking form and receipt of payment.

Payments may be made by credit/debit card or online payment – please contact us for details.

The final balance will be due 12 weeks before departure.

To go on this trip you must have travel and diving accident insurance. You can book your insurance with Dive Master Insurance through the New Horizons website and save 5%. Simply go to the bottom of our homepage and click on the link to Dive Master Insurance and SAVE 5% – couldn’t be easier.

Your holiday will be booked with ATOL holder Regaldive, for whom we act as agents. All holiday bookings will be subject to this ATOL holder’s booking conditions, which can be found at http://www.regal-diving.co.uk/booking-conditions-valid-17-december-2015. When a booking and a holiday deposit has been received by New Horizons Dive Centre Ltd, a contract exists between you and the ATOL holder, Regaldive, once New Horizons Dive Centre Ltd issues a confirmation of booking. The client copy of the ATOL holder’s confirmation will be sent to you on request.

New Horizons Dive Centre Ltd will provide your own group dive and holiday leader to organise dives, provide expertise and to run courses as required. The services of this leader and the gear rental available from New Horizons Dive Centre Ltd are the responsibility of New Horizons Dive Centre Ltd and are provided under a separate contract. These arrangements will be confirmed by us.