The many atolls and islands of the Maldives are packed with colourful reefs, stunning pinnacles and a rich diversity of marine life. Blue Voyager visits the best of these atolls with customised multi-day trips looking for specific marine life or heading to either the north, central or southern regions. For the best chance of seeing the Maldives’ most famous resident, whale sharks, head to South Ari, Gaafu or Thaa. Manta rays can be seen at a variety of locations such as Ari, Addu, North Malé and Baa Atoll’s Hanifaru Bay. Reef sharks can be commonly found at many sites including Lhaviyani, North and South Male, Meemu and Laamu while hammerheads are usually more localised around Rasdhoo and Vaavu. Thresher sharks and tiger sharks can be found at Fuvahmulah year-round.

Conditions are great at Addu Atoll, allowing for year-round diving with pelagics, grey reef sharks, turtles and mantas. This atoll is also home to the largest wreck in the Maldives. Baa Atoll in the north is suited to both beginners and advanced divers, with a variety of reefs, thilas, overhangs and swim-throughs and is also visited by whale sharks and manta rays. Laamu and Meemu are also popular among both beginner and advanced scuba divers offering sheltered inner reefs, caves, overhangs and drop-offs. Lhaviyani too, has something for all divers, with over 50 dive sites boasting walls, channels, reefs and wrecks.

Blue Voyager is a 37-meter steel-hulled vessel, built specifically for divers and accommodating 26 passengers in spacious modern comfort. 3 double cabins and 10 twin cabins are available, each with an ensuite bathroom, air-con, tv, towels, entertainment system and storage facilities. Guests can choose between premium accommodation, located on the upper deck and boasting superb views, or classic cabins located on the mid and lower decks. A sizeable dining room serves breakfast, lunch and dinner buffet-style, with snacks, fruit and juices available throughout the day. Blue Voyager also offers 4 separate sun decks, located at the front of both the mid and upper decks, on the top deck and at the stern. The ocean deck is a unique feature, allowing guests to relax in the open air while close to the water's edge. Floodlights are used to illuminate the water near the ocean deck, attracting manta rays and whale sharks which come to feed on the plankton.

All diving is done from a 19-meter custom-built dhoni support vessel, which is spacious, fast and fitted with modern conveniences. Each diver has a personal station with plenty of space to kit up and store gear. The dhoni is equipped with separate camera and equipment rinse tanks, a fast engine, shaded diving deck, DIN adapters, two generators and two compressors with a Nitrox membrane system. A toilet is located inside the main deck with two hand-held showers on the back deck. Blue Voyager is Rebreather, sidemount and photographer friendly. PADI Advanced Open Water, PADI Deep Diver and PADI Nitrox courses are available, with other speciality courses possible on request.

Blue Voyager offers various multi-day liveaboard trips around the Maldives which have been carefully customised to meet the needs of discerning divers looking for something special. Guests hoping to cross off exciting marine life encounters can spend a week searching for manta rays at sites such as Hanifaru Bay and Fhigala Haa, or hunting pelagics around North Malé, South Malé, Vaavu and Ari. Alternatively, those who want to visit particular destinations can explore either the ‘Best of the Northern Atolls’ or ‘Best of the Southern Atolls’. Blue Voyager also offers a 10-night ‘Best of the Maldives’ trip for those who’d like a bit of everything, including sites like Rasdhoo Madivaru, Guraidhoo Kandu, Fish Head, Fotteyo Kandul and Maluku Kandu.

An additional ‘Manta Trust Expedition’ coincides with monsoon winds and lunar currents, which both play a major part in influencing the movements and feeding habits of manta rays. The aim of this trip is to use the knowledge of Manta Trust experts to locate feeding aggregations and allow guests to immerse themselves amongst the feeding frenzy - while performing valuable ‘citizen-science’ data collection.