We just finished our 7-day cruise aboard Felicity, island-hopping and snorkeling. It was an amazing experience, and we have Ruth and Secret Paradise to thank for it!
Giving Back opportunities
Snorkeling
Environmental Awareness
An Unforgettable Private Liveaboard Maldives Experience
Awake to the sun rising over the Indian Ocean. Snorkel in areas that are famous throughout the world for their stunning beauty and abundance of marine life. Visit unspoiled islands and sample the local way of life. At the end of your day relax on deck gazing up at the millions of stars above you. Watch the beautiful islands slide past on the horizon as you sip a chilled drink and tan on the sun deck, while the experienced crews navigate you through the beautiful reefs and channels of the Maldives. There are plenty of opportunities to relax as well as participate in snorkeling and swimming.
Trip Details
Trip Details
Price
- Private Charter From USD 9,500 based on 6 persons
Availability
Start
- Arrival on day 1 by midday
Meeting point
- Velana International Airport (MLE)
Duration
- 8 days & 7 nights
Group size
- A minimum of 6 guests is required for this trip to run.
WHAT ARE THE MALDIVES ENTRY REQUIREMENTS?
- Travelers must have a confirmed accommodation/tour booking.
- Travelers must have a passport or travel document valid for a minimum 30 days from date of entry to the Maldives.
- Travelers must have a return flight ticket.
- The online traveler declaration form IMUGA must be completed within the 96 hour period prior to arrival in country.
Included
- 7 nights single/twin/double standard cabin
- 7 breakfasts, 7 lunch & 7 dinner
- Daily morning and afternoon snacks
- Airport and transfer assistance
- Return transfer of guests from the airport to boat – airport
- Unlimited drinking water – bring reusable bottle
- Unlimited snorkeling
- All activities as per itinerary
- Secret Paradise Guide
- Local Tax ( $6 Green Tax per person per night, 10% Service Charge and 16% GST)
Not included
- Alcoholic beverages ( payable on board)
- Diving ( payable on board)
- International Flights
- Travel Insurance
What to bring
- All this together with full details on everything you need to know about travel within the Maldives will be provided in our welcome information pack.
Important note
- Day-by-day itinerary and route subject to change based on weather and ocean conditions.
- Alcoholic beverages available onboard from USD $4
- Diving available upon request.
Carbon Footprint
750Kg of CO₂e – average carbon emission per person
Find our more about our Carbon Management here
Highlights
Live aboard a boat in the Indian Ocean.
Snorkel with turtles and nurse sharks.
Try your hand at fishing and eat your catch for dinner.
Discover island life through experiences such as traditional dancing and music.
Relax on idyllic beaches on islands and sandbars.
Unforgettable meals under the stars and delicious local dishes.
Learn how to protect the biodiversity and marine life of the Maldives.
What to Expect
Arrive at Malé International Airport for the start of your Maldives sailing cruise. Here you will be greeted by your guide and transferred to your safari home for the next 7 days. You will settle into your cabin and be given a full tour of the boat before beginning your voyage of discovery!
Following a tour briefing, we start our cruise south to Guraidhoo in South Malé Atoll where there is the opportunity for your first underwater encounter! Your guide will provide a safety briefing and highlight how to protect the reefs by being a responsible snorkeler, they will also act as your ‘spotter’ pointing out marine life that may not have caught your eye. They will assist less confident or inexperienced snorkelers, ensuring your equipment is comfortable and you feel safe in the water.
Equipped with your fish ID card you may be able to encounter and identify oriental sweetlips, humpback red snapper, grey large-eye bream, unicornfish, threadfin butterflyfish, collard butterflyfish, saddleback butterflyfish, Madagascar butterflyfish, Meyers butterflyfish, Clark’s anemonefish, and Maldivian anemone fish to mention just a few!
When at anchorage, you can choose to do as much or as little as you please. Options include snorkeling and swimming, fishing, or just relaxing.
Day 2: Following breakfast, you have the opportunity to tour the fishing village of Guraidhoo. Accompanied by a guide, time is spent exploring the island with the opportunity to meet the local people, learn about the local way of life including a visit to the Mosque, the local school, and the harbor. Watch children playing in the street and identify local fruit trees as you wander the narrow maze of sandy roads. Discover why seagrass is so important to this fragile environment and discover what parrotfish and the beach have in common!
Following lunch taken on board, cruise to Fulidhoo, Vaavu Atoll, during which time is yours to do as you please. We will be on the lookout for manta rays and if encountered will have the opportunity to snorkel with these underwater ballerinas! Relax on the sundeck, sit in the shade of the sun canopy, and watch the beauty of the Maldives pass you by and maybe catch sight of dolphins.
When at anchorage, there will be the opportunity to join a guided snorkel tour or you can choose just to relax on deck and take in the view!
Following breakfast, cruise south through Vaavu Atoll to a beautiful picture-perfect sand bar. Here you have the opportunity to swim, snorkel with parrotfish, black surgeonfish, blacktip reef sharks, and Moorish idols, or just lie back and relax.
When at anchorage, you can choose to snorkel, swim, fish, visit the sandbank or just relax on board. As the afternoon cools down there is the option to spend time on the beach, giving back to the country that has welcomed you to their shores by supporting a beach clean. Our reward will be a refreshing fresh Kurumba (coconut water) followed by an ocean swim!
This evening enjoy a beach dinner ‘Robinson Crusoe’ style before having the option to spend the night camped on deck under the stars! (Subject to weather conditions)
Day 4: This morning we cruise to Felidhoo where there will be snorkeling opportunities, which if conditions are right will include the famous Vaavu wreck. Make sure to have your camera at the ready! Look out for moray eels, silver steak anthias, yellow back anthias, scale fin anthias, fusiliers and, blue-green Chromis. Have you ticked everything off your fish ID card yet?
This evening at sunset, experience the art of Maldivian line fishing! The Maldives is unique in that its history depends on tuna fishing and the locals are excellent fishermen using pole and line and are happy to share their skills with you. Your catch will be freshly prepared for you to enjoy.
Following breakfast, we continue our cruise through Vaavu Atoll. Time is yours to look out for wildlife, doze on deck, or catch a tan. Close to Alimatha, there is the opportunity to snorkel with nurse sharks if the conditions are right, as well as turtles, black trevally, giant trevally, bluefin trevally, and maybe white tip reef sharks. Late afternoon, we cruise to the local island of Fulidhoo and transfer ashore for traditional hedhika – Maldivian savory and sweet snacks served with black tea and the opportunity to tour the island before returning on board for a relaxing evening.
Day 6: Following breakfast, cruise north back into South Malé Atoll. Before lunch, head into the water to a snorkeling point where it is common to encounter turtles. Just before sunset, transfer ashore to the local island of Gulhi. Visit the boatyard to stand in awe at the size of the boats under renovation, chat with the ladies sweeping the streets, and finally refresh and recharge with a cool Kurumba (coconut) whilst watching the comings and goings at the harbor.
Dinner this evening is a selection of local dishes accompanied by traditional dancing and the beat of the ‘bodu beru’ where the crew will play the ‘bodu beru’ – big drum and sing to a rhythmical beat until they reach a crescendo.
Following breakfast, we take the opportunity for a final snorkel at Embudu. Following lunch, cruise back to Hulhumale lagoon. Late afternoon there will be the opportunity to make a visit to Malé before returning to the boat for a farewell dinner.
After breakfast on day eight, it is time to say goodbye to the Maldives. You are transferred back to Velana International Airport where the tour ends.
MV Felicity
A traditionally crafted and built Turkish gulet MV Felicity has a length of 28m, a beam of 6.85m, and a draft of 2.60m.
With two decks and 7 cabins, the Felicity accommodates 12 passengers comfortably. All cabins are air-conditioned with an attached bathroom including shower, small wardrobe, drawer and storage facilities, portholes, and a DC wall fan.
There is an outdoor dining area and an indoor area just in case of rain! The indoor saloon area is furnished with a dining table and seating plus banquette seating and is equipped with a TV-DVD-stereo area and an equipment-charging area. The communal open-air deck space is furnished with sun mats and banquette seating.
We require a minimum number of 6 persons for cruises to operate.
There is no minimum number for any of our land based tours.
Accommodation is offered on a twin/double room share basis.
If you are a single traveler and prefer a private single room to yourself throughout the tour/cruise, this can be arranged. A single supplement is charged on all our multi day tours except the following:
- 7 Night Whale Shark Snorkeling Conservation Cruise
- 7 Night Sea Turtle Snorkeling Conservation Cruise
- 7 Night South Male Island Hopping scheduled departure
- 7 Night North Male Island Hopping scheduled departure
- 7 Night North Ari Island Hopping scheduled departure
Yes, we can assist with organising pre and post tour accommodation, including a transit night in the capital area or a longer independent stay on a local island or resort island.
Like many places in the world today, the climate and weather patterns are changing and historical data is becoming less reliable as an indication of what to expect. With a tropical climate, plenty of sunshine and temperatures around 30°C throughout the year, there is never a really bad time to visit the Maldives. There are two distinct seasons: the dry season (northeast monsoon) from January to March and the wet season (southwest monsoon) from mid-May to November. ‘Wet season’ doesn’t mean it rains all the time, but during this period there is a higher probability of rain. However, in today’s world we do experience rain even during the ‘dry’ season.
More detailed weather information can be found here
The Maldives are a Muslim nation, therefore care needs to be taken regarding dress on small islands and in local communities.
While it is acceptable for men to wear t-shirts and shorts/swim shorts, women should avoid causing offence by maintaining a more conservative approach. T-shirts with sleeves that cover the shoulders, loose shorts that cover the thighs, or sundresses with a sarong around shoulders are advised.
All the islands we visit are more tolerant of guests wearing traditional beachwear, but women should NOT wear swimwear unless on an uninhabited island, sandbank, private tourist bikini beach (available on all islands you’ll stay on) or on board our cruises and snorkeling boats. Your tour leader will advise when and where this is possible.
No previous experience is needed for any of the included activities – just an average level of fitness and a sense of adventure. The activities aren’t strenuous, the only requirement is that you must be able to climb a ladder to exit the water, be comfortable in the water and be able to swim to participate in snorkeling activities.
We strongly recommend you bring along your own mask and snorkel wherever possible. Not only will you be assured the mask fits your face properly (making it more comfortable and less likely to leak), it’s also more hygienic. A mask and snorkel are small and light, so they should take up very little space in your suitcase! Due to the ocean current and wind conditions in the Maldives, the use of fins is essential for almost all snorkelling and these are included in all snorkelling activities we provide on tour. However, if you want to ensure a perfect fit, you are always welcome to bring your own.
On board our cruises we can cater to most diets providing we are advised at time of booking. If there is something particularly you eat within your diet that you can’t live without we would encourage you to pack some and be prepared for perhaps more repetition of meals than you would be used to back home. For further clarification drop us a message.
Note to support our sustainable approach to cruises we do not offer beef products on board.
When traveling on land based tours properties can cater for vegan and vegetarian diets but it is worth noting in regard to food on local islands, over 95% of products are imported and then from Male they are transferred once or twice a week to outer islands.
Fruit and vegetables whilst available can be limited and they do not form part of the traditional Maldivian diet in the way you may be used to back home with your 5 a day! Given that tuna is a key component of our diet as vegetarians you will find your diet quite limited in comparison to what you are used to, even a potato curry is likely to have dried tuna added. On local islands you can’t just pop out to the supermarket and what you may see in the convenience store one week is not seen again for months!
Maldivians, as Muslims, are prohibited by law from consuming alcohol; hence there is a total restriction on alcohol being available on inhabited local islands, this includes the capital Male. Please do not bring alcohol through the airport as it will be confiscated and returned to you at time of departure.
Alcoholic beverages are available on our cruise itineraries and are purchased on board. Payment is required in USD cash or local currency to the boat captain.
When staying on local islands, visits to tourist resorts and bar boats in certain areas can be arranged.
Travel insurance is compulsory on all of our multi day tours. You need to be covered for medical expenses abroad, including any emergency transportation costs to the nearest hospital and any emergency repatriation that may be required due to illness/injury. We recommend your insurance covers flight delays, missing flight connections and lost/delayed luggage.
Hear From Our Previous Guests
It was a good and stress-free trip and adventure with these guys. They planned everything well for us. Even gave us a lift to our next destination. Highly recommended for first time travellers.
