Maldives

[Polly]

This is linked to my other thread:

http://www.ukdivers.com/forums/thread-2322.html

I'm now looking for people's ideas on the best places to dive in several countries so I've started them off as separate threads. I will be looking over past threads as well and will hopefully be able to cross-reference them all against the research I'm busy doing into conservation and education projects in the same places. I only have 3 days left to plan the whole project and really need to be concentrating on the ecology side of it for now, rather than the extra-curricular diving, so any ideas you can give me would be much appreciated and would save me a huge amount of time.

Hopefully I'll be able to come up with something that will give me the best of both worlds!

It doesn't need to be lengthy - just a destination, dive centre or weblink - but I'd rather go somewhere on personal recommendation, if I can, rather than just getting lucky with Google!

Thanks - I promise the usual lengthy trip reports if I manage to get the grant!

[Nidge]

Hi Pol,

Visited here in 2006.

http://www.fihalhohi.net/english/

And would totally recommend it. Splendid house reef, dive it anytime you want. Great dive centre run by some friendly Germans. Daily boat trips to other dive sites. Snorkled with school of manta on lunchtime (we went end of August). You can walk around the island in 20 mins if you want to rush! 2 bars, restaurant. No news, no shoes. The water bungalows were tres exotic and romantic.

Would I go back? You betcha!

N
x

[rainbowannie]

Polly, don't forget that as a tourist staying on a resort island there will be little or no contact with the local families. I know some of the liveaboards arrange a visit to an island at least once during the week, I don't know if the same is true if you are on any of the tourist islands.

On the tourist islands you are pretty much 'fed' the idyllic picture of paradise that the government want you to see. Tourism is having a big impact - bearing in mind that only about 30 years ago it was unheard of so there is much more earning ability from it now. The quality of properties on the island reflect that too. Once the only way to earn a living was fishing, now youngsters are having to learn as many languages as possible to work on a 5* ( some are even 6*) resort. Many live so far away that they only get to go home once or twice a year. Some that we spoke to can speak 5 languages and still felt they needed to learn more.

Children are educated up to a certain level (equivalent to our junior school, I think) on their home island then they move to Male to finish their education. Its a mind blowing experience to see the difference in how they live. I think it is something like 75,000 people on an island barely a square mile. If they want to continue university they have to travel abroad.

By the way...good luck!