Liveaboards
Liveaboards in the Maldives
Dive safari boats. You sleep on board and wake up somewhere new, which is how you reach the reefs no resort can put you on.
168operational nationwide 3,356beds
Ministry of Tourism & Environment, 30 December 2025.
Liveaboards by atoll
Haa Alifu The far north. Hanimaadhoo takes the domestic flights and a handful of resorts sit around it. 3Liveaboards Haa Dhaalu Kulhudhuffushi is the north's largest town — a working island, not a resort one. 2Liveaboards Shaviyani Quiet and thinly developed. Most beds here are guesthouses on inhabited islands. 2Liveaboards Noonu Maafaru's runway takes private jets, which is why several of the priciest resorts landed here. 3Liveaboards Raa Ifuru opened the atoll up. Good reefs, and a shorter transfer than the numbers suggest. 4Liveaboards Baa UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. Hanifaru Bay manta aggregation, June to November. 11Liveaboards Lhaviyani Naifaru is the capital; the diving around Kuredu draws most of the traffic. 5Liveaboards North Malé Closest to the airport. Most speedboat transfers land inside 45 minutes. 14Liveaboards South Malé Maafushi and the guesthouse belt. Public ferry runs most days. 9Liveaboards Alifu Alifu Rasdhoo and Ukulhas. Small islands, strong currents, reliable diving. 8Liveaboards Alifu Dhaalu Whale sharks along the southern rim. Dhigurah and Dhangethi are the guesthouse anchors. 12Liveaboards Vaavu Small, quiet, dive-led. Fulidhoo is the one guesthouse island most reach. 6Liveaboards Meemu Barely developed. Two resorts and a scattering of rooms on inhabited islands. 3Liveaboards Faafu Nilandhoo carries the history — one of the oldest mosque sites in the country. 2Liveaboards Dhaalu Kudahuvadhoo's airport made the southern half of the atoll reachable. 3Liveaboards Thaa Working islands and boatbuilding. Very little resort development. 2Liveaboards Laamu Linked by causeway across four islands — you can cycle between them. A surf atoll. 3Liveaboards Gaafu Alifu Deep south. Long reefs, few visitors, and some of the country's best untouched diving. 5Liveaboards Gaafu Dhaalu Thinadhoo is the southern hub. Guesthouses outnumber resort beds several times over. 4Liveaboards Fuvahmulah One island, one atoll. Tiger sharks year-round, and a freshwater lake in the middle. 4Liveaboards Addu City The far south. Connected by road across four islands, and its own international airport. 6Liveaboards