MALE, Maldives, July 20, 2010.  Maldives Dive Travel Facebook fans have been jumping on board throughout the last year and there are now 5,080 as of July 20. As the leading provider of liveaboard scuba diving holidays in the Maldives, Maldives Dive Travel’s position as one of the most popular Maldives-related Facebook pages demonstrates the company’s success as a tourism company in the area.

Maldives Dive Travel Offers Luxury Liveaboard Dive Safaris

Maldives Dive Travel’s presence on Facebook began in 2009 and has been expanding rapidly “This has been an incredible year,” said Mona Sutherland, PR Manager for Maldives Dive Travel. “We are so excited about the number of people who are interested in Maldives Dive Travel!”

One of the reasons for Maldives Dive Travel’s success, both on and off Facebook, is the Best Price Guarantee.  Thanks to the volume of scuba diving holidays managed by Maldives Dive Travel, they are able to offer the most competitive prices in the industry and in case a customer finds a better deal out there with another provider, Maldives Dive Travel will beat that price.  Customers just need to send in proof of the quote from the competitor.

The Stunning Beaches are a Major Attraction of the Maldives

Maldives Dive Travel’s presence on Facebook seeks to introduce people to the stunning beauty of the Maldives, to the vacation opportunities that exist there and to spread the word about this world-class scuba diving destination.  The company uses the Facebook page to let friends know about upcoming special offers, interesting happenings and to share high-quality photos and videos, which serve to further interest the user in a diving holiday in the Maldives.

At present, Maldives Dive Travel is promoting a series of special whale shark diving trips that are happening this summer.  The routes of these diving safaris are planned to coincide with the movement patterns of the amazing whale shark, allowing divers the opportunity to jump in and swim with the majestic creatures between their dives.  The Maldives is one of the few destinations in the world where you have good chances of seeing a whale shark year-round.

Whale Shark Trips are Popular in the Maldives

The other big draw of diving in the Maldives at the moment is the amazing “manta ray feeding frenzy” which occurs between July and September in Hanifaru Bay each year.  The phenomenon was featured in National Geographic magazine last year and has since been attracting many keen divers who are curious to see the enormous manta rays in this fascinating performance.

Maldives Dive Travel is a travel agent offering scuba diving liveaboard holidays in the Maldives.  For information and updates go to maldivesdivetravel.com or visit the Facebook page.

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MV Orion Scuba Diving Holiday Special

MV Orion has just announced a very special price on a June diving holiday in the Maldives.  This is going to be a superb scuba diving adventure which departs Male on June 23rd and cruises to the North Male, Ari and South Male Atolls of the Maldives.

Guests on this cruise will pay for 6 nights and get the 7th night free – only  USD $1,197 per person!

MV Orion Liveaboard

MV Orion Liveaboard

The MV Orion is one of the Maldives’ most luxurious scuba diving liveaboards, offering business-class accommodation to 22 guests throughout 11 cabins.  The cabins are spread over two decks, and each have a private ensuite bathroom.  There are nine standard cabins, one junior suite and one master suite, which boasts a private 2-person Jacuzzi and private balcony.

Cruise the Maldives with MV Orion this June

Diving around the North Male, Ari and South Male Atolls

The diving in the Maldives is world-class, and the North Male, South Male and Ari Atolls are home to some of the finest dive sites in the country. World-class dive sites in these areas include Gangehi Kandu at Ari Atoll, a great place for spotting a variety of sharks including grey reef sharks and leopard sharks.  In South Male Atoll, Kandooma Thila – known for spectacular coral formations and intense varieties of fish – is one you will not want to miss and in North Male Atoll, Kuda Haa will not disappoint.  Macro-enthusiasts will be delighted here as they discover a wealth of nudibranchs, leaf fish and flatworms amid schools of snapper, tuna and lionfish.

MV Orion Dive Safari Route Planner

MV Orion Maldives Special Offer

Take advantage of this great special offer and enjoy an amazing dive safari of the Maldives this June.  The cruise departs on June 23rd for a 7-night adventure, but you will only pay for 6 nights!  All dives, including Nitrox diving, are included in the price, as well as your accommodation, all meals and non-alcoholic drinks.  The fully-stocked bar will be serving up a selection of icy cold beers, cocktails and wines, which will be charged at the end of your trip. Total price: USD $1,197 per person. To reserve your space on this fantastic holiday, contact Maldives Dive Travel today… spaces are limited and with an offer like this, they’re bound to fill up quickly!

MV Orion is one of the Maldives

Current Special Offers on Maldives Diving Holidays

Maldives Dive Travel is currently offering a selection of great special deals, making your diving holiday more affordable than ever before.  Check out the following deals and book your 2010 scuba diving holiday in the Maldives now.

Carina – Special Marine Biology Scuba Cruise, 8-22 February, 2010

Diving Holiday on the Carina Liveaboard

Explore the Maldivian reefs under the expert guidance of two marine biologists and PADI-Certified Dive Instructors: Mary Eichler-Bilek & Leo Bilek, Marine Biologists and PADI Instructors on board Carina from 8 to 22 February, 2010.  This cruise has a very last-minute price of just  US$ 2.660 per person.  The cruise start is confirmed, a few places are still open for booking.

Carina Marine Biology Tour Itinerary

Depending on weather conditions, this scuba diving safari is planned to leave Male on February 8, travel around the South Male, Felidhu, Ari and Rasdhoo Atolls (weather permitting) before returning to Male on February 22.  Furthermore, the route will follow the specific marine life upon which Mary Eichler-Bilek’s marine biology workshops will focus.

Marine Biologists Mary Eichler Bilek and Leo Bilek lead Maldives Diving Safari

Special Marine Biology Themed Cruise

This scuba diving cruise is ideal for those who love the ocean and all of its inhabitants. After ten years of diving experience in the Maldives, Mary is an expert in marine biology and she enjoys passing this knowledge on to others during her popular marine biology cruises.  In-depth dive briefings and workshops will be given in English and German throughout the cruise to help participants to see the reefs and their inhabitants in a new light.

PADI-Recognised Specialty Course Available On Board

A very special feature of this cruise is the opportunity of taking the Night Naturalist Specialty Course, a programme developed by Mary herself and recognised by PADI.  This is available at an extra price and should be paid on board.

Don’t miss out on this great diving holiday, reserve your space today by contacting contact Maldives Dive Travel.

Galileo Explorer Tour March 11-22      Jan 18, 2010

This once-in-a-lifetime, 11-night safari begins with a 50-minute flight from Male to Kaadhdhedhoo in the Huvadhoo Atoll (also called Suvadiva Atoll), the largest atoll in the world.  This is a particularly untouched part of the Maldives with only a handful of exclusive resorts operating here and very few dive boats exploring the area, meaning that there are many dive sites just waiting to be explored.  Guests on this safari will have the opportunity to dive at many undiscovered dive sites and visit many pristine islands – some inhabited and others completely secluded.

Galileo Hosts Special Explorer Cruise

Galileo Explorer Tour Itinerary

Depending on weather conditions, Galileo will travel around several of the southernmost atolls of the Maldives, ending at Huvadhoo airport in Kaadhdhedhoo, from where a flight will return to Male.  This is the perfect scuba safari for divers looking to explore the unknown treasures of the Indian Ocean.

Take advantage of this amazing opportunity at the unbeatable price of only EUR 1,386 per person for 11 nights.  A few places are still available; to reserve yours, please contact Maldives Dive Travel today.

The top 5 reasons to book your Maldives diving holiday online with Maldives Dive Travel!

Maldives Dive Travel, possessing over 20 years experience scuba diving in the Maldives, makes booking your Maldives diving holiday online a breeze!

There are tons of reasons to book online with Maldives Dive Travel, but here are the top 5!

1. Best Price Guarantee – Maldives Dive Travel offers a Best Price Guarantee! Find a better price for one of our holidays?  Send it to us and we’ll beat it! Learn more about our Best Price Guarantee here!

2. Immediate Availability – Maldives Dive Travel offers visitors “immediate availability,” meaning that you know exactly how many spots are available on a liveaboard trip when choosing your diving holiday! Instead of wasting time by writing to the operator to inquire about availability and then waiting for a response (which could take days!), with Maldives Dive Travel you know if there is space on a particular liveaboard for a specific time frame while booking your trip.

3. Liveaboards – All liveaboards featured on Maldives Dive Travel are checked regularly to ensure the highest level of service and safety.

4. Last Minute Deals – Maldives Dive Travel is constantly featuring last minute deals on the liveaboards, saving you money!

5. Convenience – At Maldives Dive Travel, we speak English and German, respond to all inquiries promptly and professionally, as well as provide information on the best dives sites, marine life, weather and much more!

Book your Maldives diving holiday online with Maldives Dive Travel now!

Maldives Dive Travel Gives You the Top 10 Reasons to Book a Liveaboard Diving Trip During the Winter Holidays!

If you still haven’t booked your liveaboard diving trip during the 2010 Winter Holidays, don’t worry! There’s still time!

As the rain falls from the gray sky, rendering your heavy wool overcoat totally obselete, the wind whipping violently around your damp body, sending chills through your trembling limbs, practically freezing you to the bone, imagine the Maldives, a warm tropical paradise, and these reasons for why you should book a liveaboard diving trip this winter season!

1. Maldives Dive Travel’s BEST PRICE GUARANTEE! If you find a liveaboard on another site priced lower than ours, we guarantee we’ll beat it!

2. The compliments you’ll receive from work colleagues when you return with a smoking hot tan!

3. MV Orion Liveaboard Diving Trip – December 21-28: Just USD $1,680 per person! Check out MV Orion high season specials here!

4. Whale Sharks & Manta Rays…Need we say more!

5. According to a study at State University of New York at Oswego, men who take vacations every year reduce their overall risk of death by 20 percent.

6. Stingray Liveaboard Diving Trip – December 22-28: Just USD $1,044 per person! Check out Stingray last minute deals here!

7. The dry season has begun in the Maldives, often heralded as the best time for scuba diving! Check Maldives weather here!

8. BBQ on an uninhabited island…How often do you get to do that!?!

9. Two to three dives per day in one of the world’s most beautiful diving destinations! Read about the Maldives most popular dive sites here!

10. Most importantly…You deserve it!!!

Visit Maldives Dive Travel now and check out our BEST PRICE GUARANTEE and special high season and last minute deals!

Diving started this morning at 6:30 from Dhonkalo Thila Manta Point. The current was running out which is the proper current for good sightings at Dhonkalo. Despite the strong current we managed to see 3 mantas for about 50 minutes.

Second dive at Fesdu Wreck, considered as one of the best wrecks around here and it hold the title because of its excellent coral growth. From black coral bushes to different varieties of soft coral and sponges, there is ample assortment. In terms of fish life this wreck is famous for seeing frog fish and leaf fish.

Third jump was to Maaya Thila, at around 15:00 and the visibility remained poor. Apart from these conditions the rest was perfect. Gray reef and white tip sharks, eagle ray and many more fish species were among the highlights.

The last dive was in the evening at Maaya Thila for a Night Dive. This is one of the best sites, and also the dive everyone looks forward to. Everything from white tip sharks hunting the fusiliers, turtle resting in caves and stingray feeding on the top reef makes this dive one of the top ranking night dives.

Today,  for the first dive we went to Dega Thila, which is uniquely formed and home to thousands of invertebrate’s. This reef has  lately been famous for seeing Frog Fish, and today we found 4 frog fish. Despite the poor visibility close observation on sponges and black coral bushes offered a great variety of small stuff to see.

The second dive was to Maalhos Thila, considered as one of the best in terms of hard coral and soft coral varieties, offers one of the best coral dives in Maldives. The jumping time couldn’t be any perfect, with almost no current we managed to do an enjoyable an easy dive.

Leopard Shark

The third dive was planned for Dhonkalo Thila but the current was running in, and after a brief explanation to the divers about the poor current direction, we decided to dive Dhonkalo Thila tomorrow morning and switch today’s third dive to Ran Faru.

Located on the north side of Maalhos Thila, this reef is a common site for a third dive when current conditions are poor. The main attraction here is the caves and the chunk of coral block near the corner. These areas are covered with different colors of soft coral and the hard coral growth is average. Due to the sandy bottoms here, Leopard sharks visit this dive site to rest on the soft grounds, and seeing one here will be an unforgettable experience.

The first dive began today at 06:30 and we went off to Kuda Rah Thila. After checking the dive guide announce that there are strong currents, we let the divers know that a quick descend was necessary in order to get the best vantage point. We jump a few meters away from the Thila and began navigating to the reef.

The action of the up current created poor visibility but it was clear enough to see the giant dog tooth tunas that were chasing the school of fusiliers at the up current.

Whale Shark

After the dive, during breakfast, the Sting Ray sailed to the outer reef in search of whale sharks. Before the search began everyone agreed that we would make only 2 dives and gave more concentration on the search. About 3 hours in we found the first whale shark near Holiday Island Beyru Faru.

Everyone got to snorkel with it while divers who had cams could snap photographs and shoot videos of the massive fish.

For the third dive we moved to western side of the atoll to Raidhigaa Island and dove at Dhigaa Thila. The visibility remained poor on this dive too, but when we observed the caves and overhangs closely we managed to see loads of small stuff.

On returning from the third dive and after a snack everyone went of f to the barbeque feast on an uninhabited Island.

Sting Ray embarks with 15 divers today on their last cruise for this season. The divers this week are British, French, German, Japanese and Singaporeans.

Having collected all the guests by mid day we headed to south Male’ atoll Guriadhoo Region and the orientation dive was made at Villivaru Giri.

The plan for this week is to move to south Ari atoll tomorrow after the first dive then to north Ari atoll and to finish it at Rasdhoo atoll.

Will keep all the reader updated on Sting Ray’s encounters and other activities as the week progresses.

Day 3 after over night at Guraidhoo diving started from:

Dive 1: Cocoa Corner
Channel crossed to southern Ari atoll
Dive 2: Omadhu Thila
Dive 3: Kahanbu Thila.
Highlights of the day: Gary Reef Sharks, Napoleons, Eagle Ray.

Day 4
Dive 1: 5 Rocks
Dive 2: Ari Beach Beyru
Dive 3: Thinfushi Ethere Thila
Highlights of the day: Whale Shark at Ari Beach Beyru.

Day 5

Dive 1: Kuda Rah Thila (Protected Marine Area)
Dive2: Rangali Madivaru Manta Point
Dive 3: Raidhigaa Thila
Highlight of the day: Kuda Rah Thila was fantastic as usual and was full of fish probably ranked as the best of this week. 3 Mantas at Manta Point an excellent dive.

Day 6

Dive 1: Dega Thila
Dive 2: Dhonkalo Thila
Dive 3: Maaya Thila Night Dive
Highlight: Unfortunately no mantas at Dhonkalo Thila but we had a great night dive – an all included fish life package.

Day 6

Dive 1 and the last of the week was Makaru Thila also called as Hafsa Thila.
Highlights of the day were Gray reef sharks, white tip, tunas and jacks.

After a productive week of diving all the guests checked out and departed on morning of the 21st. Overall this was a great week of diving especially because of the manta rays and the whale shark. After accomplishing an outstanding season of diving, the Black Pearl ends the season on a high note.