Maldives School Trip 2019
Magical Maldives Diving Holiday for Schools
The Maldives are a unique and unforgettable exotic destination, famous for it’s pristine coral islands, crystal blue waters, dazzling white sandy beaches and swaying palm trees.
The Maldives are also a mecca for scuba divers due to the diversity of marine life and coral reefs. Manta Rays, Whale Sharks and friendly reef sharks all call this area home.
In summer 2019 we have chartered M/Y Blue Voyager just for schools. We have changed the itinerary to make it more suitable to children and the crew on the this luxury yacht are also more used to dealing with children giving them extra enthusiasm and assistance.
This itinerary gives you 7 days on board and will take you to some of the Central Atoll. So you can expect to visit some (but not necessarily all) of the following; North and South Male Atolls, Felidhu Atoll, Rasdhoo Atoll and Ari Atoll.
Watch our video of a trip with one of the schools we work with in 2017…
M/Y Blue Voyager – Your Home for the Week
Owned and operated by the UK owned luxury and award winning liveaboard specialists ‘BlueoTwo’, Blue Voyager is their flagship vessel. At 37m long it boasts roomy cabins, a bar (which can be stocked with soft drinks only), sky lounge, Jacuzzi, various sun decks and a chillout ocean deck at the rear of the boat.
Each cabin has an ensuite bathroom with shower, there is large screen TV in the saloon that students can watch films on, a music system (with a large ‘off button’) and robes are provided for before and after dives.
Staff members can benefit from Premium cabins.
The Chef and Assistant Chef provide a delightful buffet for 3 meals a day and can cater for special dietary requirements. There is even an alfresco dining area where you can watch the sunset.
Rough Itinerary
Day 1: Arrival Day
We will depart the UK and arrive in Male around 8am the next morning. We will be met by our guides and Oyster Instructor for the week at the airport and transferred by boat to the liveaboard ‘Blue Voyager’ which will be anchored nearby. The Cruise Directors will give a safety briefing and you will have the opportunity to settle in before lunch. It is normal that an easy / training dive takes place in the afternoon. Dinner is usually followed by an early night!
Day 2 – 6:
Five full days of wonderful diving, with a typical program of 3 ocean dives a day plus two or three night dives during the week:
06:30 – Tea, coffee and biscuits
07:00 – Dive 1
11:00 – Dive 2 followed by lunch
15:00 – Dive 3 followed by homemade cakes and snacks
19:30 – Dinner
Any night diving will be at the discretion of the Cruise Directors and is planned subject to local conditions and diver abilities. The diving schedule is not set in stone so, for example, if we are diving a shallow manta point, we may dive 4 times during the day. On a day when we have to make a passage across a channel from one atoll to another, we might make 2 day dives plus a night dive. Our aim is to give you the best diving for the season and the given conditions.
Depending on what the training requirements are of the guests we will adapt the itinerary and schedule to suit this.
Weather permitting we should also have the chance to do one of the best night dives in the World. Every evening dozens of harmless Nurse Sharks and Rays gather in front of Alimathaa Reef. This spectacle is a high octane adrenalin charged dive that you’ll never forget! They often swim around you, in front of you, behind you and even through your legs.
Day 7:
One dive is offered this morning and then guests relax on board while the boat cruises back to Male.
Day 8:
Departure Day – A light breakfast is served before we are transferred to the airport at around 08:30am for our international flight home or onward transfer (if you’d like to stay a few extra days on a resort?). If our flight leaves later in the day then the Hulhule Hotel, which is just 5 minutes from the departure terminal, offers various “Day Packages” we will confirm this when we put your package together. If you are travelling back to the UK, your flight will usually arrive home the same evening.
PADI Training Courses
As we will have at least one dedicated Instructor on board as well as dive guides we can conduct and PADI course requirements you may have.
Traditionally we conduct any pool training and theory in the UK so we make the most of our time and opportunity while in the Maldives.
Available Dates
We have booked 6 x 1 week back-to-back trips which are offered on a first come first serve basis:
| Depart | Return | Availability |
| 20th July | 28th July | FULL |
| 27th July | 04th August | FULL |
| 02nd August | 10th August | Awaiting deposit |
| 9th August | 17th August | Yes |
| 16th August | 24th August | Awaiting deposit |
| 23rd August | 31st August | Awaiting deposit |
Price
The price including return economy flights from London to Male, 7 nights accommodation on M/Y Blue Voyager, all meals, water and 6 days diving is £2,195pp. On top of this there will be 3 FREE spaces for school staff plus an Oyster Instructor.
Deposit required – 10%
2nd Payment – 30% due 12 months prior to departure
Final payment – 14 weeks prior to departure
Names will need to be confirmed within 11 months of travel, otherwise there might be a discretionary supplement for flight price increases.
Assuming various courses will be running during the trip then there is no additional cost for equipment hire. If no courses run then equipment hire is £75pp.
Course Prices
Beginner Courses
We would be happy to arrange a Discover Scuba experience for £20pp for students and staff to give them the opportunity to try scuba in the pool before signing up to courses and the holiday.
Open Water Referral – complete the theory and pool skills before you travel £275pp (RRP £290). Includes a free mask and snorkel.
Open water completion dives – completed on the boat over 2 days £125 (RRP £170)
Improve Skills, Safety and Qualify to Go Deeper
Advanced Open Water £265pp
Emergency First Response first aid course – £125pp (RRP £175)
Rescue Diver course – £295 (RRP. £315)
FREE Staff Places
In addition to the discounted prices we are offering a free staff place for every 6 paying students.
Restrictions and Recommendations
Minimum age is 10
We would recommend each student goes to at least Advanced Open Water as it opens up many more dive sites and improves their dive skills considerably.
Making it Easy for You
Parents and students will need to complete various PADI liability and medical forms. We can provide you with letter templates and correspondence to parents, spreadsheets for tracking student details, risk assessments and assistance with our information required to meet the schools’ criteria for running holidays.
We are happy to provide posters, leaflets and even do a presentation evening to students and parents.
Contact Details
For more information or to book your voyage please call Mark Murphy on 0800 699 0243 or send us an e-mail.