Is Swimming with Manta Rays on your bucket list? Then this is for you! P.S. this experience was with @madovermaldives
Read on for everything that you need to know:
📌 Hanifaru Bay is in the Baa Atoll. Which is north of Malé where the international airport of Maldives is.
📌 Hanifaru Bay is a UNESCO Bio reserve and scuba diving here is not allowed. You can only snorkel with the Manta rays! It is a highly protected site with script rules.
📌 The closest local island to Hanifaru Bay is Dharavandhoo in the Baa Atoll. And you can reach here by speed boat or a domestic flight from Malé.
📌 The cost of speedboat to Dharavandhoo is close to $65 ( ₹5348 ) and it takes 2-3 hours. And if you take a domestic flight it’ll cost you close to ₹11k-21k and another speed boat transfer after landing.
📌 There are several stay options at Dharavandhoo, which you can easily look up on any booking platform.
📌 If you prefer a resort island, then there are so many known names in the Baa Atoll like Dusit Thani or Soneva Fushi. Again, if you search the keywords Baa Atoll in any booking aggregator platform, you’ll see your options.
📌 The good news is @madovermaldives is organising the Manta Festival this year and they’ve opened an all inclusive booking for the trip already. So if you want a full trip with everything planned, you can reach out to them! However, you need to be a basic open water certified diver for this trip. And for more such trips in the future, you can follow them!
📌 Additionally you can also DIY your trip with everything that I’ve mentioned and I also plan on making a detailed Maldives guide breaking down everything like local islands and bookings. So make sure you follow me.
P.P.S. I’m a pretty strong swimmer but on this day, the currents were actually really strong, I’m not sure if you can tell my looking at the video. But it’s always better if you know how to swims.
Also, SHARE IT with someone who you want to plan a trip to the Maldives with. 😉
