With about 2,500 reefs in the Maldives, of which 900 are house reefs, you must experience snorkeling when you visit the islands. As the ultimate destination for underwater adventures, most resorts and hotels have the best snorkeling Maldives house reefs. Explore the pristine azure waters and enjoy being surrounded by colourful marine life as you go snorkeling in the Maldives.

For the best snorkeling experience, head to the following places to find some best snorkeling Maldives house reefs.

1. Banana Reef – North Male Atoll

Located inside Kuda Kalhi, the Banana Reef derives its name from the banana shape when viewed from above. Visit the reef, home to the most exquisite species of beautiful fish, soft corals, and marine life you will be excited to be around. Try to look out for some prominent species like the Palette Surgeonfish, bannerfish, giant squirrelfish, soldierfish, black snapperfish, grubfish, rays, sharks, barracuda, and oriental sweetlips. Along with the amazing marine life, you can also discover some ornate caves and overhanging cliffs in the Banana Reef.

2. HP Reef – Malé Atoll

HP Reef, also called “Girifushi Thila,” is famous for its vibrant and diverse species of marine life. From a variety of small reef fish to giant pelagic species, you may find yourself swimming next to grey reef sharks, tuna, eagle rays, and barracudas. You will be delighted with the presence of the soft corals in vivid colours of bright blue, orange, and yellow that have given the resplendent HP reef its name of the ‘Rainbow Reef.’ Explore the amazing formations in crevices, caves, blocks, and a deep 25-meter-high vertical tunnel you can swim through.

maldives under sea experience

3. Manta Point – Lankanfinolhu Island

Visit Manta Point, one of Maldives’ best house reefs snorkeling places, to explore Manta Rays and other vibrant marine life. Located on Lankanfinolhu Island in North Male atoll, the site is a massive block of coral that’s 10-18 meters deep and acts like a cleaning station for the Manta rays to come and get cleaned by wrasses. You can spot lobsters, napoleons, spangled emperor fish, whitetip sharks, masked bannerfish, squirrel fish, hump head wrasses, and Mantas.

 

4. Banyan Tree Vabbinfaru (North Male Atoll)

“Vabbinfaru” in Divehi translates to “a round island surrounded by a coral reef” and boasts a quiet lagoon where fish and coral are a visual treat. Plan a visit to the island with its house reef with colourful marine life and spot varieties of fish, rays, reef sharks, and turtles. With GT Holidays’ Maldives travel packages, you can enroll at the diving center PADI on the island for courses of all levels of certification and offer day and night dives in the best dive sites with professional multilingual instructors. Apart from snorkeling, the marine center at Vabbinfaru is involved in tracking coral growth through study and research. Learn about their most famous work around the endangered Green Sea Turtles that helps track populations of sea turtles that frequent or live on the house reefs.

5. Constance Moofushi (South Ari Atoll)

Explore one of the world’s best diving and snorkeling spots at Constance Moofushi, situated on the South Ari Atoll. Surrounded by three large lagoons and a vibrant coral garden, Constance Moofushi is famous for its fantastic house reef close to the beach and home to exotic marine creatures like stingrays, lionfish, and snappers. A few meters from the resort lies the water channel that’s part of the migration route of Sea eagles, dolphins, manta rays, and whale sharks. With Maldives tour packages, you will experience the house reef with diverse marine life, beautiful corals, and colourful fish. The reef has large table corals 3 feet in diameter with sting rays, lionfish, sea cucumbers, snappers, and eels surrounding them.

6. W Maldives (North Ari Atoll)

W Maldives is close to one of the best house reefs in the Maldives, home to hundreds of species of marine life. All you have to do is jump in with your snorkeling gear for the adventure of a lifetime as you swim with reef sharks and turtles. Discover schools of fish like Angel, Parrot, Hawk, and Moorish as you glide along the many colourful corals. The house reef of W Maldives offers diverse ecosystems where you can experience vibrant coral gardens, starfish, sea fans, and hermit crabs. If you go further to the edge of the reef, you will see many marine creatures like juvenile sharks, dolphins, stingrays, and turtles coming close to the reefs.

7. Dhevanafushi (Gaafu Alifu Atoll)

Another best snorkeling Maldives house reefs to explore is Dhevanfushi, located in the Gaafu Alifu Atoll of the Maldives, around 400 km south of Malé. You will find Dhevanafushi surrounded by some of the unique, rarest, largest, and most exotic corals in the world. Visit Dhevanfushi with our Maldives honeymoon packages, experience the fantastic underwater wonders as a couple, and explore the vibrant coral gardens with an abundance of fish and turtles.

If you are new to snorkeling, we can help you find places in the Maldives that also offer snorkeling for beginners. Experience the joy of underwater life in one of the best snorkeling Maldives house reefs through GT Holidays. Follow our Instagram profile to know about the latest offers and discounts.