Sea, sun, and …
Life on board is characterized by relax and marked by moments dedicated to true marine sports. Days are passed pleasurably between scuba diving in some of the most beautiful areas of the Maldives, swimming with mask and fins discovering the incredible coral barrier and sun-bathing on desert islands. For those who prefer a holiday doing nothing, you can dedicate yourself to sun-bathing on the sun-deck equipped with comfortable sun loungers sipping a fresh drink. Alternatively spend hours lying in an area of paradise lapped by small waves, with no noise around, if not that of the sea and the sea bird colonies which allow your presence on their private beach.
Three expert european diving instructors collaborate with the Maldivian crew to make your journey unforgettable with respect for the sea and its harmony. It is our intention to make sure that during your stay, you don’t just simply feel like clients on board a splendid tourist structure but welcome guests to a house of old friends.
Every day for the divers, two underwater accompanied dives are organised and one night-dive during the week. Our instructors have many years of experience in the Maldives and a profound knowledge of the sea bed and the local biology and they will lead you through the multicolour coral where manta rays, whale sharks, turtles and barrier sharks swim. All of this is not limited to scuba-diving and can be enjoyed by those with masks and fins together with our expert snorkelling guides in the discovery of the marine fauna. For those who want to try the scuba-diving activity, our instructors will be happy to introduce you to it. If your interest then becomes a passion, it’s possible, while on board, to carry out an OPEN WATER DIVER course receiving an International PADI certificate. Courses aren’t limited to beginners but are also for those who want to improve their knowledge and preparation. Advanced and specialized courses will also be proposed, of which we suggest that of naturalistic and digital photography, learning to capture even the shades of the sea…..
Children on board
Children of all ages are welcome even toddlers.
Bedrooms have been designed for families with one large double bed (standard size) and a single bed (standard size) offering all the necessary comforts.
Children, in particular from 8 years, can experiment in scuba-diving with equipment designed for them. The smaller ones can carry out snorkelliing accompanied by our snorkelling guide and enjoy excursions along the beach exploring the splendid lagoons and watching the lazy hermit crab. In the evening they can go fishing and with the help of our crew, even the smallest, can aim at prestigious prey. And, if the parents want to take part in an underwater dive? That’s not a problem, while the parents are diving it’s possible to use the baby sitter service on board.
Singles
Singles can book their holiday on our boat reserving a co-divided bedroom with another passenger of the same sex, without any extra charge, or ask for a double bedroom for single use.
Weddings while on a cruise
What a better setting for your wedding, even if symbolic, one of the Maldive beaches? Make your wedding unique celebrating the ceremony directly on board. At dusk under a gazebo of palm trees and flowers, with the sea, the waves and sun as your accomplices.
After the ceremony celebrated by our captain, a splendid wedding cake and sparkling wine to celebrate the most important day of your lives. Later Macana Maldive will offer you a romantic candlelit dinner on the upper deck of the boat, the melody of the waves breaking over the coral barrier will accompany your meal and the starry night as your roof.
Scuba diving equipment
For those who love travelling light, then you can hire all of the scuba-diving equipment on board. Ask at our offices before your departure so that you can be sure to find the right sizes.
Diving
Diving in the Maldives is like nowhere else.
Maldives is one of the most desired and dreamed destination among the scuba diving community. Colourful reef, big pelagic fish and tiny brilliant sea life render this destination unique and inviting. If you have never been here, well, that’s a must! Diving in Maldives is comfortable, some time a little bit challenging, and definitely stunning.
In the same dive you can encounter big grey reef sharks and small colourful reef fish. If you want a preview of the interesting creatures that you may find during your dives, here you are: grey reef sharks, white-tip sharks, nurse sharks, leopard sharks, mantas, eagle rays, devil rays, sting rays, swarms of trevally and barracuda, frogfish, leaf fish, schools of snappers, batfish and doctor fish, crabs, nudibranchs, sea worms and many different types of colourful soft and hard corals and sponges.
The Maldive coral barrier is one of the most beautiful in the world. It is an archipelago entirely of coral. The Maldives were formed 57 million years ago when the Indian tectonic plates moved over the hot point of the Reunion. The hot waters, the strong currents and the nutritious wealth have done the rest, molding the Maldives into what we see today. The lack of strong climatic disruption has preserved this reef and attracted a large quantity of creatures of many species and sizes. The soft and hard coral grows in large quantities along the walls and shallows giving hospitality to a multitude of small creatures. From the most common red Anthias to the most rare of leaf fishes, going through allthe members of their numerous family. There are many interesting invertebrates from many crustaceans and coloured shell-fish, not forgetting sponges, ascidians etc. Swimming around these are the bigger fish – Grey and White Fin Sharks, Sting Rays and Mantas are frequent visitors to the Maldive reefs. Not to be missed are the rare giant Groupers which can measure up to 3 metres in length and the giant Whale Shark. The easiness in which one can observe this creature, even with mask and snorkel, from the surface, has made the Maldives famous and frequented by sea and nature lovers from all over the world. The life cycle of these animals , as for their presence along the reef, is largely influenced by the seasonal changes of the currents.
The Winter period (December-May) is the best time to go scuba-diving in the eastern passage, this has become famous in the Maldives because of the enormous quantity of pelagic fish to be found here. The Macana guide will choose the right point of entry and after an emotional descent in the blue waters you will find yourself engulfed by banks of fusiliers fish and surgeonfish. In just one dive it is possible to find oneself in front of ten or more sharks moving along with the current, undisturbed by the ceaseless flow of the water, showing their capacity as strong swimmers and dominators of the reef. Along the steps you will frequently encounter rays which rest on the seabed or remain suspended on the current, looking like real U.F.O’s. Eagle rays swim elegantly up towards the sunlight, in shoals and frequently individually, towards the angles of the pass, dodging the shoals of barracuda and carangid, which surround them until they can avoid the divers, who for what they know, might well be dangerous predators. The large tuna fish with their mass of over 1 metre in length, their swimming speed and their strong teeth are less intimidated by the scuba-divers. Their thoughts that a scuba diver might be a potential predator quite amusing. With a bit of luck it is also possible to encounter animals which occasionally come close to the reef, such as the large Hammer Shark, Fox Shark, Tiger and Silvertip Sharks. All of these are seen regularly along the Maldives but live in deep waters and a long way from the coral barrier which they use for food supply. In shallow waters you will encounter small coral fish, turtles and nurse sharks. You can also dive along the coral walls covered with soft pastel coloured corals.At the bottom beautiful giant gorgonians host an incredible micro-fauna. It’s also possible to dive along the western side of the reef, where the monsoon currents flow inside the atolls towards the ocean carrying with it plankton which makes this area a stop off for the large filterers all year round. The Mantas are a regular sight in the atolls and to the west during the Winter season and sometimes the large Whale Shark has a pit-stop here, seeming to smile at the divers, and us the small fish make lots of bubbles.
The Maldives are dominated by two monsoon winds. From December until May the wind blows from the north-east generating an oceanic current in a east-westerly direction which brings limpid waters full of nutrients along the east of the Maldives where the large hunters await their prey. The waters don’t stop on the east but cross the entire atolls loading up with plankton and exiting west where the large filterers, Mantas and Whale Sharks, await their favourite food. From June to November the situation is inverted. The wind arrives from the south-west bringing limpid waters to the west and murky waters to the east because they are then full of plankton. Obviously the waters tend to enter and exit the atolls where there is less resistance and more space. This passage of water (where the boats can pass) is called “pass”, and it is here that the highest number of animals and corals can be found.
Having said this it is easy to understand that in different periods of the year, animals that we are interested in will only be found in certain areas of the Maldives. This is the advantage of a cruise in comparison to a holiday village. Being in the right place at the right time. When you are on a cruise you don’t have to think when will it be the right time to go scuba-diving because we will arrange cruises in the best areas of this archipelago based on the time period.
The Summer period (May-December) is characterized by a south-westerly wind which generates west-eastbound currents. The waters are very limpid along the western atolls attracting fish and Macana Maldives Boats and these are the main destination of the cruises. The characteristics of the atolls are in the shallows in the internal part of the pass or very close to them. That is the fascinating coral banks which sit on the sea bottom, locally called thila. These thilas are covered by a multitude of hard coral and a large quantity of wonderfully coloured soft coral. Inside shoals of coralline fish swim amongst packs of sharks and other pelagic fish. With the limpid water it is much easier to appreciate an encounter with these animals which are much more used to scuba-diving to whatever else passes there and therefore very easy to photograph! This is also the ideal season to encounter the Hammerhead Shark which will always remain in the memory of a scuba-diver. Even in this season it is possible, following the migration, to dive amongst packs of Mantas. One of the most fascinating encounters which is possible all year round is with the Whale Shark. Puppies measuring about 7/9 metres in length have chosen to live in this particular area of the Maldives and there is a 90% possibility of encountering and swimming along-side them all year round. During the cruise and depending on the itinerary various scuba-diving proposals will be made to visit wrecks. These wrecks aren’t of any historical interest but they are completely covered with soft and hard coral and various fauna and other life which lives there. Lion fish, Lobsters, Groupers and Moray eels live in the holes and cracks which have formed within the metal carcasses. Well camouflaged rockfish, leaf fish and various coloured frogfish live on the decks. Rays, Platax and Barracuda swim in the surrounding area.
Usefull information
Free 30 days Visa upon arrival for all visitors.
The import of firearms, liquor, drugs and pornography are prohibited. An official license is required for import of alcohol. Alcohol is available in all the resorts and liveaboards and not sold / available in Male.
The electric system is 230-240 Volts – AC.
Onboard you will find English Plugs.
Local Time GMT + 3 hours / Onboard + 4.
Beach towels: 1 per person/per week.
Attention: onboard we do not accept CREDIT CARDS.
Payments must be done cash only: EURO or USD (new banknotes only).
TELEPHONE & INTERNET
Upon your arrival is it possible, and advisable, to buy a Maldivians SIM CARD, to save money. Use telephone or Internet connection with foreign (not maldivian) SIM CARD is very expensive.
You can find information, phone and internet SIM CARD to Dhiraagu Shop, outside of Arrival Gate.
Onboard internet WIFi connection is available for all our guests at 15 Euro per every connected device / per week.
NITROX
Onboard is possible to dive with Nitrox.
The cost for the Nitrox weekly package is Euro 70 and it should be required when reserving your diving safari!
Dives will be made with NITROX 28 with an Air Profile and will be reserved only to those who have a valid Nitrox Certification. Nitrox Diving doesn’t require any particular equipment, it will be possible to dive using your normal diving equipment.
For those who wish to dive Nitrox but don’t have the certification, it will be possible to attend the Enriched Air PADI course onboard. The cost is USD 200, inclusive of the necessary material and the weekly package.
