Diving Maldives: Maafushi a local island

In the space of thirty years, tourism has replaced the traditional fishing sector as the engine of economic development. In 2000 it contributed about 20% of GNP, 32% of country's income and 75% of foreign currency inflows. From the beginning, the government has preferred to separate the islands dedicated to tourism from other inhabited islands, so as to limit contacts between a local society at 100% Muslim and tourists at 80% Westerners. As a result, 87% of Maldives tourist accommodation capacity now takes the form of hotel islands.

The main consequence of this policy has been the poor integration of the population into the contemporary engine of the economy.

Islands near Maafushi

Local island

The penultimate President of the Maldives, the only one who was democratically elected, had time before his ouster from power, to pass a law allowing Maldivians to create guesthouses.

In 2010, there were 479 beds spread across 23 guesthouses. Between 2011 and 2012, their numbers have increased by two or three per month. And in 2014, the Maldivian Ministry of Tourism There are 218 of them. It is clearly a new form of tourism, literally booming in the Maldives.

Maafushi Island

Local island vs island hotel

In the Maldives today, the floor price on an island hotel is $ 400 USD per day per person. On the local islands, it is possible to find a room for two at $ 35 USD per room… In the field, we quickly realize that the clients of the local islands are not those of the hotel islands and vice versa.

Beyond the rates, the big difference is that on a local island, you share the island with the locals. This has some advantages and maybe some disadvantages that we will come back to.

An island hotel near Maafushi

Visit of Maafushi

Maafushi offers the advantage of being located on South Male, about 30 minutes by boat from the airport. This island measures 1200 by 250 meters and it will take you about an hour to walk around it.

The first guesthouse was built there in 2010 and since then their number has continued to increase. There are now more than thirty and a good ten are under construction. It is the island with the most guesthouses in the whole country.

At the last census of 2014, there were 2692 inhabitants, which corresponds to an increase in the population of 17% in eight years.

Diving in Maafushi

Many diving cruise ships come there with their customers. Indeed, Kandooma Thila is a spot recognized throughout the country for offering exceptional dives. But it would be reductive to only dive here. In fact, more than fifteen other interesting spots are only about thirty minutes away.

Here is a non-exhaustive sample of maafushi dives:

Kandooma Thila : this submerged reef (5 m -30 m) about 400 m long is full of caves and small niches lined with multicolored soft corals. There is a very high concentration of pelagics: gray sharks and white reef points, tuna, leopard rays, jacks, plus the whole range of reef fish, groupers, harlequins and moray eels for example. The second dive is often done on Kandooma Corner. Warning the eyes! What show!

Guraidhoo : this immense space is one of the most impressive sites in the Maldives for its high concentration of fish and therefore for underwater photography.
The southern pass, 300 m long, is flanked by two vertical drop-offs lined with multicolored soft corals, gorgonians and black coral… a real fireworks display !!!
The drop-offs offer numerous crevices and multiple caves.
At the entrance to the pass, at less 30 m, facing the blue, there is a profusion of tuna, jacks, napoleons, gray sharks as well as the whole range of pelagics ...

Mantas point : this must-see very shallow spot allows you to observe the large manta rays that seem to hover in transparent waters. You will obviously have only one desire, it is to spend a long unforgettable moment in their company.

Kuda Giri : on a background of 25 m, this pretty well preserved wreck shelters a plethora of small multicolored fish, crustaceans, a school of bat fish as well as Spanish dancers. You will also see turtles, juvenile napoleons and sometimes white tips. The reef, near the wreck, is home to a multitude of parrot fish, surgeons and wrasses, among pretty soft corals and gorgonians.

Embudhu express : in the pass, it is a ballet of gray sharks, of white tips, which occasionally mingle with a few hammerhead sharks, as well as of course tuna, trevally, leopard rays and manta rays. On the thila, swim all the reef fish, harlequins, moray eels and triggerfish to name a few, as well as turtles and sleeper sharks.

Maldives Passion: a French center

Marc Pomel is one of the founders of Madives Passion. This Frenchman who grew up in Martinique is more “Merrien” than land… State diploma in diving but also in surfing, he divides his time between Maafushi, recreational diving and offshore sites where he works as a professional diver…

But true to our policy, let him speak:

It's a big mouth as we like them at scuba-people.com, which goes hand in hand with a real sense of welcome and service, enriched by ten years of Club Med.

Maafushi: guesthouses and hotels are exploding

In the video below, discover a pension and two hotels.

CrystalSands

This small hotel with eighteen rooms is located on the port of Maafushi. Recent and of good quality, the rooms are comfortable. It has three types of rooms: Ocean Deluxe, Beach Deluxe and Standard Rooms. It has a restaurant and the whole hotel offers free wifi. It's clean and the staff are lovely. Nightly rates start at around $ 100 USD.

Arena Lodge

This is the only pension we visited. The rooms are basic, but clean. You can eat there and wifi is available. This pension is located inside the village and offers rooms at $ 35 USD per night.

Arena Beach

With its forty rooms, it is certainly the most important hotel on the island. Super Deluxe room, Grand deluxe room, Deluxe room Sea view… the offer is varied, as are the prices which fluctuate between $ 100 and $ 300 USD. It has its private beach for tourists right in front of the hotel and offers a very varied buffet. Wifi is of course available there.

Attractive prices and activities identical to those of island-hotels ... with some differences. Indeed, the Maldives being 100% Muslim, which is trivial elsewhere in the world is not always possible here ... If you want a beer, it will be alcohol-free, and know for example, ladies, that a reserved beach aux tourists was created so that you can wear your latest bikini.

This exotic stay allows you to discover the Maldivians a little, to make very beautiful dives and to be accommodated in a comfortable way at prices never seen before in the Maldives.

More:
Marc will meet you at Spot d'Evasion stand D08 at Diving Lounge.
On the Web : www.spots-evasion-plongee.com
Also on: www.maldives-passions.com