the Editor is proud to have visited the Maldives on a liveaboard for two consecutive years. In 2019 we explored the classic Four Atoll Route (related article: Your First Maldives Liveaboard Made Easy – Great Value, Big Marine Life & a Home Away from Home), and in 2020 we took on the legendary big-animal destination — the Maldives Deep South. Before we even departed, anticipation was already sky-high for the fabled Tiger Sharks and all the other megafauna. So what incredible creatures did we actually encounter? Scroll down and read on!
Maldives Deep South: Tiger Shark, Manta, Spinner Shark, Grey Reef Shark, Hammerhead Shark & Sailfish — Must-Watch Video
After watching the video above, you should be able to feel the sheer vitality of marine life in the Maldives Deep South. As always, let's start with an overall summary of the trip. If you'd like more details on the itinerary, take a moment to read on — we'll break down each rating category below.
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Transportation cost: ★★★★☆
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Diving difficulty: ★★★☆☆
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Underwater ecology: ★★★★☆ or ☆☆☆☆☆
Maldives Deep South: ★★★★☆
First, let's give a brief overview of where the Maldives Deep South is located. The Maldives is a narrow chain of coral atolls set in the Indian Ocean, often described as "pearls scattered by God across the Indian Ocean." Its dazzling white sandy beaches and dreamy blue waters make it a true paradise on earth — no wonder so many Westerners consider it their top choice for a honeymoon or an extended family vacation!
The atolls of the Maldives, strung together like a strand of pearls
The Maldives can be broadly divided into three liveaboard routes: the classic Four Atoll Route that most people are familiar with (related article: Your First Maldives Liveaboard Made Easy – Great Value, Big Marine Life & a Home Away from Home), the northern route famous for manta ray storms, and the subject of this article — the Maldives Deep South. As the names suggest, the northern route covers the northern part of the archipelago, the Deep South covers the southern end, and the Four Atoll Route sits right in the middle.
The biggest difference between the Maldives Deep South and the Four Atoll Route is that the Four Atoll Route departs from the capital Malé and loops around the atolls clockwise or counter-clockwise before returning to the starting point. The Deep South, on the other hand, is a one-way journey — one trip might go from Kooddoo Island southward to Gan Island, while the next trip would go from Gan Island northward back to Kooddoo Island.
This gives you an initial sense of why we rated transportation cost at ★★★★☆. If you're departing from Taiwan, after flying AirAsia into Malé, you'll need to arrange a domestic flight from Malé to Kooddoo Island or the even more southerly Gan Island. Not only are connecting times tricky to coordinate, but the round-trip domestic airfare actually costs about the same as the international ticket from Taiwan to the Maldives (approximately NT$14,000). If the connection doesn't line up, you may need to book an extra night's accommodation. All of this means the total time and financial cost is significantly higher than the Four Atoll Route (on this trip, the Editor's itinerary included domestic flights plus two extra nights of accommodation before and after). So be sure to plan carefully!
After nearly 10 hours of flying, we finally arrived at the familiar, compact Malé airport
Waiting for the domestic connection the next morning — soaking in that signature Maldivian blue
A special treat this time — we got to enjoy a private charter flight on the domestic leg!
On this trip we flew first to Kooddoo Island, where we spent 3 days channel diving in the surrounding waters, before heading south to Fuvahmulah Island for two days of Tiger Shark diving. The final two days took us across the equator to the even more southerly Gan Island for manta ray cleaning station dives and a wreck dive.
After arriving at the remote island airport, it was wonderfully unique to have our luggage carted directly to the harbour and loaded straight onto the boat
Boarding the main vessel and looking back at our dive tender — the surface was as calm as a lake
Diving Difficulty on the Maldives Deep South: ★★★☆☆
After boarding, we filled out liability waivers and reviewed the various safety guidelines
As the name suggests, the Maldives Deep South means deep and remote. Compared to the Four Atoll Route, most dive sites here are considerably deeper. During the first three days of channel diving around Kooddoo Island, the typical depth for hooking in with a reef hook was around 30 m. That means after doing a giant stride entry from the boat, divers need to descend rapidly to the designated depth to avoid being swept away by strong surface currents — beginners who struggle with ear equalization should take particular note.
Because of the depth, none of the liveaboards on the Deep South route supply enriched air nitrox (EANx). Spending too long at 30 m on air carries a real risk of entering decompression, so divers must bring their own dive computer and be thoroughly comfortable monitoring depth and NDL. Sometimes chasing big animals in the deep can pull you down without realizing it — on this trip the Editor accidentally descended to 46 m (not recommended!). If you do inadvertently enter decompression, simply follow your dive computer's instructions and complete the required decompression stops; don't let a "locked" computer ruin the rest of your trip. Diving in the Maldives without a dive computer is simply not permitted.
Strong currents can also scatter the group. If that happens, stay calm — deploy your surface marker buoy (SMB) and ascend slowly following your dive computer. The dive boat will come around and pick everyone up. This means every diver needs to have the basic skill of deploying an SMB.
Recommended diver level for the Maldives Deep South: Advanced Open Water Diver (PADI cert) with 60+ dives. A reef hook, dive computer, and surface marker buoy (SMB) are all essential!
The topography in the Maldives is largely vertical and sheer — the reef can plunge from just 2–3 m at the edge to 70 m in an instant. Pay close attention to your neutral buoyancy to avoid drifting too deep without noticing
Big-Animal Marine Life on the Maldives Deep South: ★★★★☆ or ☆☆☆☆☆
Many people wonder why the rating spans all the way from 4 stars to zero stars — that's quite a range! And yes, the Maldives Deep South is exactly that kind of trip: a serious gamble on luck. If the timing and tidal conditions aren't right, you could spend the entire dive staring into a wall of blue water. The boat group just before ours was unfortunately hit by bad weather — not only was the sailing rough, but the big marine life was almost completely absent underwater the entire time.
It's also worth comparing the Four Atoll Route and the Deep South side by side. Overall, the Four Atoll Route offers more varied activities, more consistent wildlife sightings, and no domestic transit — making it a better fit for less experienced divers. But despite all the inconveniences and uncertainties of the Deep South, its remote location in the southern Maldives, combined with seamounts that rise dramatically from the deep ocean, creates nutrient-rich upwellings that draw extraordinary concentrations of megafauna. Beyond the virtually guaranteed Tiger Shark encounters, Spinner Shark aggregations, Grey Reef Shark parades, and manta ray cleaning stations described below, you also stand a chance of seeing Hammerhead Sharks, sailfish, Thresher Sharks, Whale Sharks, Bull Sharks, and oceanic manta rays. In other words, if luck is on your side, your ultimate dive bucket list can be unlocked in a single trip!
Our dive log from the Maldives Deep South trip — a packed 18 dives
Tiger Zoo — Tiger Shark Guaranteed
You'd expect Tiger Sharks to look fierce and intimidating — but up close, they're actually kind of goofy
Coming to the Maldives Deep South, the star attraction is of course the adorably dopey-looking Tiger Shark! Although the Tiger Shark is one of the few shark species worldwide with documented attacks on humans, as long as you follow your dive guide's instructions you can observe them safely and at very close range. One important note: the Tiger Shark encounters here are conducted via feeding, which draws the sharks up from around 40 m depth to a shallow reef at about 5 m. If you accidentally block a Tiger Shark's path, it will turn and swim away just like a change-of-heart ex — and nobody gets a close-up view. Don't be that person!
Spinner Shark — Guaranteed School Encounter
The muscular lines of a Spinner Shark — pure cool
Spinner Sharks (Carcharhinus brevipinna) are also attracted here via feeding. The moment you enter the water, dozens of Spinner Sharks will be circling all around you. Watch them burst through the crowd at high speed to snap up fish heads tossed into the water — the power and energy is breathtaking. Your job is to hold your neutral buoyancy steady and raise your camera high to capture this unforgettable moment. In addition to the stunning Spinner Shark aggregation, a Bull Shark reportedly lives at the bottom of this dive site at around 33 m. If you're lucky enough to spot it, that's another tick off your big-animal list! One safety note: don't drift too close to the surface while shooting photos — there are many dive boats passing overhead at this site.
At first glance you might mistake them for dolphin
Grey Reef Shark Parade
A school of Grey Reef Sharks cruising past
During the channel dives around Kooddoo Island, you have a good chance of seeing large schools of trevally and barracuda patrolling the currents. And of course you're in the Maldives for sharks — here you can easily encounter whole packs of Grey Reef Sharks forging straight into powerful currents to feed, marching past like a military formation in all their spectacular glory! Proper use of a reef hook is essential for channel diving here, and you should constantly monitor your no-decompression time. When it's time to go, unhooking and drifting along with the current is a thrilling ride. The final stretch of the drift through the channel may seem uneventful, but don't let your eyes wander — on this trip we spotted an entire school of Humphead Wrasse having a gathering in what looked like a dull stretch of channel, and even a plump Nurse Shark tucked into the reef for a nap (a surprisingly rare sight on the Deep South route!).
The lovably goofy Humphead Wrasse is a familiar face in the Maldives
Other Dive Sites on the Maldives Deep South
The Maldives Deep South itinerary includes a manta ray cleaning station dive near Gan Island. While the manta rays here are smaller than those on the Four Atoll Route and don't cruise past in large groups, sightings are reliable and it's still a meaningful species to add to your underwater checklist. Gan Island also features a wreck dive — the British Loyalty, a British Royal Navy oil tanker scuttled after World War II when the British were withdrawing from the Maldives. She was towed to her current position and sunk by a Royal Navy warship. A large hole passes clean through the mid-section of the hull, giving wreck divers a satisfying penetration swim-through. Because the Gan Island dive sites are all inside the atoll lagoon, visibility is generally lower — the British Loyalty wreck in particular offers conditions comparable to Taiwan's Northeast Coast (laughs). Most Deep South itineraries include one night dive, but to be honest the night diving here is fairly uneventful — nothing like the small-critter bonanza of a Taiwan night dive, so keep expectations modest.
Overall, the underwater ecosystem of the Maldives Deep South is remarkably rich. In addition to near-guaranteed encounters with the target megafauna (barring truly terrible luck), the baseline ecosystem is extremely healthy. Schools of tuna, surgeonfish, giant trevally, and big-eye trevally sweep through certain dive sites in massive formations — a sensation that hits especially hard for divers accustomed to the quieter waters back home in Taiwan.
A tornado of big-eye trevally — always keep an eye on your depth when facing the open blue
An unexpected highlight of the trip — a Nurse Shark napping on the reef (rarely encountered on the Deep South route)
Shore Excursions Between Dives
The Four Atoll Route typically includes a BBQ on an uninhabited island, but unfortunately that service isn't available this far south on the Deep South route. The boat crew will still arrange visits to uninhabited islands and local inhabited islands — just make sure to apply strong physical sun protection before heading ashore and soak up the exotic atmosphere!
No visit to a desert island is complete without the obligatory Instagram-worthy shot!
The white sand of the uninhabited islands — beautiful from every angle
The fish market on the inhabited island — tuna dominates as the primary protein source
Quick Summary
If luck is on your side, a trip to the Maldives Deep South will have your shutter finger worn out before the week is up!
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