7-Night Maldives Discovery Cruise

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.