Outside normal working hours, or in the unlikely event we are unable to take your call, please leave a message on our answerphone and we will call you back as soon as possible.
For guests travelling with Regaldive requiring urgent assistance, please refer to your travel notes for relevant contact information.
Outside normal working hours, or in the unlikely event we are unable to take your call, please leave a message on our answerphone and we will call you back as soon as possible.
For guests travelling with Regaldive requiring urgent assistance, please refer to your travel notes for relevant contact information.
Eriyadu has a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere that is found in resorts where the majority of the islands guests are visiting for the diving and snorkelling. An excellent beach surrounds the island, which is covered by a canopy of vegetation providing welcome shade. At the west end of the island there is a sheltered lagoon that allows for safe swimming, with lovely views. The resort is a 45 minute speedboat transfer from Male.
Accommodation
Two categories of rooms are available: Standard (16 rooms) and Deluxe (60 rooms).
The standard rooms (seaview sky rooms) are located in a two storey block with panoramic views of the front façade of the entire island. Just minutes away from the main restaurant and Dive School, they are in a prime location. Take in the breathtaking views from your private verandah or balcony.
The more spacious delxue rooms are located on the beach, amongst the palm trees, a few metres from the water's edge.
All rooms feature air-conditioning and a lovely tropical open-air bathroom with outdoor shower / bath. They are furnished with double bed (twin bed upon request), satellite TV, mini bar, ceiling fan, hairdryer, telephone, private verandah, sun beds and beach towels. In-room Wi-Fi is available at an additional cost, paid locally.
Other Facilities
There is a bar and restaurant. Set by the water’s edge, the restaurant offers a choice of local and international cuisine, including themed nights and BBQs.
The island offers a range of water sports that includes catamaran sailing and windsurfing. Island activities include volleyball, table tennis and badminton. There is a small spa offering massage and beauty treatments. There is a weekly night time program of entertainment and a gift shop on site. Wi-Fi is available free of charge in the reception and bar areas.
The island location means that trips to neighbouring local islands, as well as Male, the capital, are easy to arrange.
For an excellent aerial view of Eriyadu, please see the video below, courtesy of our colleagues at Euro Divers.
Dive info
Eriyadu is a perfectly formed divers island, boasting a fine white beach and an excellent house reef that wraps around the entire island. Located on the North West side of North Male atoll, the island is well managed and has a relaxed quiet atmosphere. Conditions on the house reef make the island suitable for both divers and snorkellers.
Located on North Male atoll, Eriyadu offers a relaxed, comfortable atmosphere and wonderful diving. A superb beach surrounds the island, which is covered by a canopy of vegetation providing welcome shade. The house reef around Eriyadu is simply breath-taking and offers a wide variety of marine life with over 350 different species of fish. Certified divers can explore the house reef with a dive buddy. The house reef is ideal for all day diving.
Eriyadu Island is very close to some of the most spectacular dive sites in the Maldives making it a diver’s paradise. Divers can discover the beautiful and unique underwater world of the Maldives with a choice of over 46 dive sites in close range to the island. From pelagic fish schools, turtles, sting rays, mantas, grey reef sharks, white tip sharks and all kinds of tropical fish, divers will find everything for the perfect dive.
House Reef
Eriyadu house reef surrounds the island. The whole reef is accessible via 5 entry points with the majority of the reef formed into a gentle slope falling to 30 metres. Coral formations on the reef are both interesting and varied with the east edge forming a particularly dramatic wall. The reef’s formation makes the island an excellent choice for snorkellers, as a lot of the colour and marine life is easily visible from the surface.
Over the South West monsoon, from June through to the end of October, visibility on Eriyadu’s house reef improves. Various shark and ray species are often encountered on the house reef along side the resident batfish and turtles. The islands dive centre, Euro Divers Maldives allows access to the reef from sunrise to sunset for experienced divers and operates a tank drop off service.
Boat Diving
The Northern end of North Male atoll is quiet with very few islands resorts competing for space on dive sites. There are over 35 boat dives within one hour of the resort. Finger point is an excellent place to encounter large numbers of Grey reef sharks and Eagle rays. The reef also supports schools of jacks and snapper whilst Napoleon wrasses are often sighted.
The majority of the islands' dive sites are located on the Western side of the atoll. As a result Eriyadu enjoys its best diving conditions over the South West Monsoon, (June to October) with wonderful visibility on many dives. During the North East season, (December to April), both Whale sharks and Manta rays are occasionally encountered on dives sites accessible from the island.
For an excellent aerial view of Eriyadu, please see the video below, courtesy of our colleagues at Euro Divers.
Dive prices
Euro Divers
Eurodivers is a well-equipped PADI dive centre that offers a high level of service and range of courses. The gently sloping house reef falls to 30m and has five entry points, with unlimited diving available for advanced divers. Day boats depart twice a day and, owing to Eriyadu's isolated location, sites are generally quiet and undisturbed, with around 40 dives sites within easy range.
A refresher dive is included free of charge for clients pre-booking their diving through Regaldive and repeat Euro Diver clients receive additional dives in resort on presentation of their logbooks. Euro Divers also offer fluo night dives.
The dive centre is equipped with 10 and 11 litre aluminium cylinders that take both DIN and INT fittings. 15l tanks are not currently available. Nitrox fills at 32% are offered FREE of charge to certified Nitrox divers.
Use of a dive computer is compulsory. Each diver must have their own dive computer.
Dive Packs
Options available include 5 and 10 house reef dive packages, and a 6 days unlimited house reef diving option. Please discuss your requirements with the Regaldive team, who will prepare a quotation suited to your requirements.
For unguided dive packs, divers need to have PADI Open Water or equivalent qualification and logged 40 dives prior to arrival. If divers do not meet this requirement, they will be guided in a group by the dive centre free of charge if an instructor is available.
A private instructor is available upon request to guide inexperienced divers on the house reef, this is payable locally (please see local charges below).
Boat trips include an instructor to guide inexperienced divers without additional charges. Boat trips are payable locally in addition to your pre-paid dive pack (please see local charges below).
Dive packs are unguided for consecutive days, from the house reef and include tanks, air or Nitrox if qualified and weights. Limited night dives are also included. Guests can dive up to a maximum of 4 dives per day.
Dive Courses
A range of diving courses is available for those looking to learn to dive. Please enquire for details.
Extras in Resort
Prices listed below are an indication only, and subject to change.
Boat trip - Single trip: $15
Boat trip - 2 tank dive: $25
Boat trip - Full day: $45
Private guide: $50 per diver based on 2 divers.
Courses: Certification fee, study manual & log book: $155
Courses: Certification fee and log book only: $80 - $85
Equipment rental, payable in resort (USD) - Rates vary depending on total number of dives:
Full equipment including computer: $16 - $22 per dive / 6 days $160
Mask, Fins & Snorkel: Free of charge when used for diving
Shortie wetsuit: $6 - $8
BCD: $6 - $8
Regulators: $4 - $6
Dive computer: $4 - $6
Underwater torch: $10
DSMB: $5 for duration of your holiday
Local sales tax and resort charges to be paid locally:
Sales tax: 12%
Service charge: 10%
Resort info
Getting Around and Basic Information
Male airport is located on its own island. The Airport island accommodates the main terminal, the seaplane port and the airport hotel (Hulhule Airport hotel). In the vast majority of cases, Male airport acts as the hub for all transfers between island resorts and atolls.
A narrow channel of water separates Male Airport Island from Male town and a regular inexpensive boat service operates between the two islands.
Once you are on your island resort, there is no ‘public’ transport to get around to other islands, you need to organise local excursions and join guided trips.
Twin centre stays, in most cases, hub through the central point of Male to reach your next island.
Internal Transfers to Your Island Resort from Male
Your resort/boat is reached either by sea plane or boat transfer from Male airport, distance dependant, with the exception of Haa Alifu atoll. Transfers are organised as part of your holiday package, unless requested otherwise.
Seaplane and Boat Transfers
Most islands close to Male offer speedboat transfers.
Island resorts located in Ari atolls, Raa atoll, Baa atoll, Lhaviyani atoll, Felidhe atoll, Meemu atoll, North and South Nilande atolls and Haa Dhaaul atoll are served by seaplane services.
Islands and liveaboards located on Haa Alifu atoll are reached by internal scheduled flight.
Some more distant islands offer a boat transfer as well, although as the transfer crosses between atolls they can often be long and uncomfortable and affected by the currents, so we opt to use the most comfortable option for each island.
If you are transferring by seaplane you should be aware of the following:
Seaplanes do not operate a fixed departure schedule, but are planned daily according to the islands and guests that must be picked up and dropped off. The planning is carried out locally
24 hours in advance.
Seaplanes often pick up and drop off guests from a number of islands on a single transfer run.
Seaplanes only operate during daylight hours, generally 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
You may have to wait for a short duration after arriving in Male. On departing, the islands will transfer you back to Male as late a local logistics on that day will allow.
On departing your island resort your return seaplane transfer time will be confirmed the day before departure by your resort.
If you have a late international flight departing home, it is highly advisable you ask Regaldive to reserve a day use package for you at the Hulhule hotel.
Seaplanes are not pressurised flights.
Seaplanes typically operate a strict weight policy of 20kg for hold luggage.
Excess luggage is currently $2/kilo to the island and $4/kilo on the return.
Inter Atoll Flights - Haa Alifu
Transfers to Haa-Alifu in the North involve an internal pressurised flight from Male. This is arranged and costed as part of your travel package to the north of the Maldives, unless otherwise requested.
Hulhule Airport Hotel - Day use & overnights
International and internal flight schedules occasionally make fairly long connection times in Male Airport inevitable. The Hulehule Airport hotel offers inexpensive day packages to non-residents for use of their beach, pool, showers, left luggage and other facilities. Pre-booked packages are available with Regaldive, for day use with and without a room, and overnight stays (refer to separate webpage on Hulehule Airport hotel).
Climate
This tropical climate has 2 monsoon seasons. November to May is the northwest monsoon season, which is dry and sunny. June to October is the southeast monsoon and brings the wet season. Having said this, the period crossover of the monsoon seasons fluctuates each year and even during the wet season, one may experience weeks of solid sunshine and just showers in short, sharp bursts.
Air temperature is stable around 28 - 30° C and the water temperature rarely drops below 25° C. Spectacular diving takes place all year round.
Currency
Local currency is the Maldives Rufiyaa (MVR). Approximately £1 = 26 MVR
The tourist currency is US Dollar ($) or Euro (€). Island resorts charge in USD or Euros and bills can be settled with most internationally accepted credit cards at the end of your stay.
Time
The Maldives is +5 hours of GMT.
Travel info
Flight Options
Emirates via Dubai from Heathrow, Manchester, Birmingham and Glasgow. Other regional departures may be available; supplement may apply. Regaldive's prices are currently based on Emirates. Supplements may or may not apply for other airlines dependant on seat availability.
Sri Lankan via Colombo, date / flight dependant, from Heathrow.
Qatar Airways via Doha.
Charter Flights: Flights are direct, once a week for 7 night durations departing Sundays and Mondays. We can tailor-make a quote for you.
Stopovers in Dubai & Sri Lanka available on request.
Internal Transfers to Your Island Resort from Male
Your resort/boat is reached either by sea plane or boat transfer from Male airport, distance dependant, with the exception of Haa Alifu atoll. Transfers are organised as part of your holiday package, unless requested otherwise.
Seaplane and Boat Transfers
Most islands close to Male offer speedboat transfers.
Island resorts located in Ari atolls, Raa atoll, Baa atoll, Lhaviyani atoll, Felidhe atoll, Meemu atoll, North and South Nilande atolls and Haa Dhaaul atoll are served by seaplane services.
Islands and liveaboards located on Haa Alifu atoll are reached by internal scheduled flight.
Some more distant islands offer a boat transfer as well, although as the transfer crosses between atolls they can often be long and uncomfortable and affected by the currents, so we opt to use the most comfortable option for each island.
If you are transferring by seaplane you should be aware of the following:
Seaplanes do not operate a fixed departure schedule, but are planned daily according to the islands and guests that must be picked up and dropped off. The planning is carried out locally 24 hours in advance.
Seaplanes often pick up and drop off guests from a number of islands on a single transfer run.
Seaplanes only operate during daylight hours, generally 9.00 a.m. to 6.00 p.m.
You may have to wait for a short duration after arriving in Male. On departing, the islands will transfer you back to Male as late a local logistics on that day will allow.
On departing your island resort your return seaplane transfer time will be confirmed the day before departure by your resort.
If you have a late international flight departing home, it is highly advisable you ask Regaldive to reserve a day use package for you at the Hulhule hotel.
Seaplanes are not pressurised flights.
Seaplanes typically operate a strict weight policy of 20kg for hold luggage.
Excess luggage is currently $2/kilo to the island and $4/kilo on the return.
Inter Atoll Flights - Haa Alifu
Transfers to Haa-Alifu in the North involve an internal pressurised flight from Male. This is arranged and costed as part of your travel package to the north of the Maldives, unless otherwise requested.
Hulhule Airport Hotel - Day use & overnights
International and internal flight schedules occasionally make fairly long connection times in Male Airport inevitable. The Hulehule Airport hotel offers inexpensive day packages to non-residents for use of their beach, pool, showers, left luggage and other facilities. Pre-booked packages are available with Regaldive, for day use with and without a room, and overnight stays (refer to separate webpage on Hulehule Airport hotel).
Passports
Passengers travelling to the Maldives must have six months valid on their passport from the date of return to the UK.
Visas
A free 30 day permit is given to British travellers on arrival in Male. Other nationalities should consult their consular website.
Vaccinations
Vaccination requirements are subject to change and should be confirmed before departure. For the most up to date advice please consult your travel clinic or local GP. Further information regarding vaccinations for travel to this country can be found at www.fitfortravel.nhs.uk. There are no compulsory vaccinations for travel to the Maldives, but we recommend protection against typhoid, tetanus, hepatitis A and polio.
Prices
The price panel above provides an indication of a lead-in price for your holiday, based on the cheapest time to travel. Prices shown are per person, and based on two persons sharing.
As flight prices vary from day to day, Regaldive will prepare a quotation for you based on current flight prices available. This ensures that you receive the most competitive price for your chosen travel dates. Flights from regional UK airports may be available, depending on your destination and date of travel.
Please call 01353 659999 or e-mail Regaldive, using the link below, for a quotation.
Our Price Promise
At Regaldive we are committed to offering you the best possible value for money on all our diving holidays. That's why we offer you a price match promise. Learn more about our promise to you.
Offers
Early Bird Offer - Save up to 15% at Eriyadu Resort!
A perennial favourite with divers, book early and enjoy big savings at Eriyadu Island Resort in the Maldives.
Early Bird Booking Offer! SAVE 15% on stays 11 Jan to 30 April 2025 SAVE 20% on stays 1 May to 31 Oct 2025
Book by 29 Nov.
Valid for new bookings only. Subject to availability.
Reviews
Have you stayed here? Why not share your experiences by adding your review?
"Wide variety of wildlife. Friendly dive staff and centre. Beautiful surroundings."
Louise
0
No votes yet
Good variety of dive sites and conditions
"Good variety of dive sites and conditions with very small groups always with a very competent dive leader. The dive boat crew really couldn’t be faulted in terms of their care and attention before and after each dive."
Ian L
0
No votes yet
Eriyadu had everything we wanted for a happy relaxed holiday.
"Eriyadu had everything we wanted for a happy relaxed holiday.
We have been going to the Maldives almost every year for 20 years and this year we managed to re-capture the ingredients which for us make a very successful holiday in the Maldives.
The Maldives will always give you beautiful sandy beaches and lots of sunshine with warm turquoise water to swim in.
We don’t look for outrageous luxury. We like good comfortable accommodation, excellent diving and a good easily accessible house reef. We like good food with plenty of choice. We like walking on sand on the beach in the dining room and in the bar.
Eriyadu gave us all this plus excellent management and lovely friendly staff who went out of their way to make every aspect of our holiday a success.
We look forward to returning next year."
Ian, Rowena and Linda
- Devon
0
No votes yet
27 years of diving | Best dive safari to date!
"Emperor Voyager followed by Eriyadu Resort – Beach Club rooms
We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. Everything was as good, if not better, than we expected and we were very impressed with the Emirates flights. The Eriyadu apartment had recently been refurbished and was well positioned for the best part of the reef for snorkelling, which was exceptional, and the beach. Chris on the boat and the staff at resort were superb.
I was very happy with the service and value for money from Regal dive, and would look to book with them in future.
It's my best dive safari to date!"
John and Suzanne
- UK
0
No votes yet
Best-run dive centre in 13 years of diving!
"The holiday was excellent. Lots of sharks, which is what we really wanted and organisation was all smooth with no issues.
Staff were very helpful and efficient and the accommodation was very good for the price. Rooms (Club Rooms)
were clean and the air-con was good. One wee point to note is that the solar showers don't really work and are cold (at any point of the day). Staff were fantastic and the room was kept spotless.
Food was good. A wee bit samey, but all inclusive always is. Staff members were fantastic, polite and helpful. Abdullah (waiter) was the stand-out member of a very attentive team.
The dive centre was fantastic. Possibly the best run dive centre I have ever come across in 13 years of diving. They adapted the dive programme to take in the sites we wanted. They were attentive. They were very safety aware, the dive checks were the most comprehensive I have ever come across; we all had to demonstrate basic skills and DSMB deployment (every diver). This resulted in all the divers on the more difficult sites being solid and meant we never had to abandon due to someone being out of their depth (excuse the pun). All the staff were great, however, we would like to draw particular attention to Saeed who was fantastic.
Dive sites and dive sights? Lots of sharks. Lots of Eagle Rays. Sites were tailored to what we wanted, so we did lots of high current pinnacles. Everything we wanted and fulfilled our expectations.
In short, the island centre and staff were good. The dive side was fantastic!
"
Alex and Ashley
- UK
0
No votes yet
I Had a Fantastic Time - Plenty of Mantas!
"I have had a fantastic time. Once I get the OK from the boss will book the same for next year. Had a bottle of Rose Wine, Welcome cake and Welcome dinner offered. Was thoroughly spoilt.
Plenty of Mantas. I have only seen the Mantas when I have been out on the dive boats.
I had to do a check out dive on the house reef. When I arrived I was the only diver there but later throughout my stay more divers arrived. I tend not to do the house reef, mainly use the boats, except when there are no divers and this time I went out with the instructors on the house reef as the boats only go out when there are a minimum of two divers. I would also stress that the instructors do like to see your log books.
I met some divers who were disappointed with the lack of colour on the reefs, but it is still teeming with life. It is very dull at the moment as there is no colour but the boats still go to the same sites and the fish are still there, I would say slightly less on some sites.
Of course the highlights have to be to be close diving and snorkelling with the mantas and the turtles. Plenty of 'Nemos', morays, nudibranch, lobster, shoals of juveniles."
Anonymous Guest
- UK
9
Guest rating: 9/10(1 vote)
Delightful, very customer focussed.
"1st time to the Maldives and this was all we could ask for. Clean (they sweep the sand twice a day), good food, incredibly friendly and attentive staff. Lovely warm water. Clean and tidy rooms in good condition - saying they need refurbishment is a trifle pedantic although not entirely inaccurate I'd suggest. Certainly ours was fine. Adequate but not super-fast internet in the reception area. Spa is a little limited - various massages were available (watch out for the rather vigorous Discovery Massage delivered by Nina, both of us came out with bruises, but would have it again anyway!) Pool, darts, small gymn. Restaurants and bar are sufficiently large that they don't feel crowded. No evening entertainment in any meaningful way although there was a sort of half-hearted disco one night.
Diving (boat and shore) however is absolutely fantastic and the real reason for visiting this island - Manta, sting and eagle rays, various sharks, tuna, turtles, Napoleons and multitudinously coloured fish are fairly common, occasionally dolphins too although we didn't see any. House reef (coloured fish, occasional turtles, reef and nursemaid sharks etc) is easily accessible, just 20m or so from the beach. Be warned there isn't much to do apart from diving and snorkelling, so if you have a non-diver in the party, they'll have to be self sufficient and enjoy reading. Busy dive centre with 4 staff (Thorsen, Carmen, Guido and Olivier) when we were there. Dutch, German, English and French spoken with a smattering of other languages. Very safety and protocol conscious - if you want to dive outside the normal limits this is not the place for you. However if you do dive within limits, have less experience or small children, this could hardly be better. Various Padi courses seem to be offered, and the centre tends to use Nitrox32 so if you haven't got the certification, this is a good time to get it. They do 2 boat dives each half-day, an 'all levels' boat and an 'advanced' boat. The all levels boat is just that and safe for even small children. The advanced boat requires a greater skill level. Boat and dive site briefings are thorough, clear and consistent, emphasising the limits that have to be adhered to depending on your certification. Dive sites are varied; we did about 15 dives or so and saw a large selection of manta, eagle and sting rays, various sharks, napoleons, tuna, turtles etc. Most of these things we saw on several dives, many at close quarters.
However the strength is the staff: All are very customer-focussed, friendly and do go that extra mile to make each dive a good one. There are no weak links. Be warned, however, diving in Eriyadu is not cheap (although I doubt it's more expensive than elsewhere in the Maldives) and the costs quickly mount up.
As a final note, I have never seen such a beautifully clean tank room. Even though the compressor is several years old, it is pristine. Tanks all perfectly aligned, not a speck of dirt anywhere.
Wide variety of wildlife.
"Wide variety of wildlife. Friendly dive staff and centre. Beautiful surroundings."
Louise
Good variety of dive sites and conditions
"Good variety of dive sites and conditions with very small groups always with a very competent dive leader. The dive boat crew really couldn’t be faulted in terms of their care and attention before and after each dive."
Ian L
Eriyadu had everything we wanted for a happy relaxed holiday.
"Eriyadu had everything we wanted for a happy relaxed holiday.
We have been going to the Maldives almost every year for 20 years and this year we managed to re-capture the ingredients which for us make a very successful holiday in the Maldives.
The Maldives will always give you beautiful sandy beaches and lots of sunshine with warm turquoise water to swim in.
We don’t look for outrageous luxury. We like good comfortable accommodation, excellent diving and a good easily accessible house reef. We like good food with plenty of choice. We like walking on sand on the beach in the dining room and in the bar.
Eriyadu gave us all this plus excellent management and lovely friendly staff who went out of their way to make every aspect of our holiday a success.
We look forward to returning next year."
Ian, Rowena and Linda - Devon
27 years of diving | Best dive safari to date!
"Emperor Voyager followed by Eriyadu Resort – Beach Club rooms
We thoroughly enjoyed our holiday. Everything was as good, if not better, than we expected and we were very impressed with the Emirates flights. The Eriyadu apartment had recently been refurbished and was well positioned for the best part of the reef for snorkelling, which was exceptional, and the beach. Chris on the boat and the staff at resort were superb.
I was very happy with the service and value for money from Regal dive, and would look to book with them in future.
It's my best dive safari to date!"
John and Suzanne - UK
Best-run dive centre in 13 years of diving!
"The holiday was excellent. Lots of sharks, which is what we really wanted and organisation was all smooth with no issues.
Staff were very helpful and efficient and the accommodation was very good for the price. Rooms (Club Rooms)
were clean and the air-con was good. One wee point to note is that the solar showers don't really work and are cold (at any point of the day). Staff were fantastic and the room was kept spotless.
Food was good. A wee bit samey, but all inclusive always is. Staff members were fantastic, polite and helpful. Abdullah (waiter) was the stand-out member of a very attentive team.
The dive centre was fantastic. Possibly the best run dive centre I have ever come across in 13 years of diving. They adapted the dive programme to take in the sites we wanted. They were attentive. They were very safety aware, the dive checks were the most comprehensive I have ever come across; we all had to demonstrate basic skills and DSMB deployment (every diver). This resulted in all the divers on the more difficult sites being solid and meant we never had to abandon due to someone being out of their depth (excuse the pun). All the staff were great, however, we would like to draw particular attention to Saeed who was fantastic.
Dive sites and dive sights? Lots of sharks. Lots of Eagle Rays. Sites were tailored to what we wanted, so we did lots of high current pinnacles. Everything we wanted and fulfilled our expectations.
In short, the island centre and staff were good. The dive side was fantastic!
"
Alex and Ashley - UK
I Had a Fantastic Time - Plenty of Mantas!
"I have had a fantastic time. Once I get the OK from the boss will book the same for next year. Had a bottle of Rose Wine, Welcome cake and Welcome dinner offered. Was thoroughly spoilt.
Plenty of Mantas. I have only seen the Mantas when I have been out on the dive boats.
I had to do a check out dive on the house reef. When I arrived I was the only diver there but later throughout my stay more divers arrived. I tend not to do the house reef, mainly use the boats, except when there are no divers and this time I went out with the instructors on the house reef as the boats only go out when there are a minimum of two divers. I would also stress that the instructors do like to see your log books.
I met some divers who were disappointed with the lack of colour on the reefs, but it is still teeming with life. It is very dull at the moment as there is no colour but the boats still go to the same sites and the fish are still there, I would say slightly less on some sites.
Of course the highlights have to be to be close diving and snorkelling with the mantas and the turtles. Plenty of 'Nemos', morays, nudibranch, lobster, shoals of juveniles."
Anonymous Guest - UK
Delightful, very customer focussed.
"1st time to the Maldives and this was all we could ask for. Clean (they sweep the sand twice a day), good food, incredibly friendly and attentive staff. Lovely warm water. Clean and tidy rooms in good condition - saying they need refurbishment is a trifle pedantic although not entirely inaccurate I'd suggest. Certainly ours was fine. Adequate but not super-fast internet in the reception area. Spa is a little limited - various massages were available (watch out for the rather vigorous Discovery Massage delivered by Nina, both of us came out with bruises, but would have it again anyway!) Pool, darts, small gymn. Restaurants and bar are sufficiently large that they don't feel crowded. No evening entertainment in any meaningful way although there was a sort of half-hearted disco one night.
Diving (boat and shore) however is absolutely fantastic and the real reason for visiting this island - Manta, sting and eagle rays, various sharks, tuna, turtles, Napoleons and multitudinously coloured fish are fairly common, occasionally dolphins too although we didn't see any. House reef (coloured fish, occasional turtles, reef and nursemaid sharks etc) is easily accessible, just 20m or so from the beach. Be warned there isn't much to do apart from diving and snorkelling, so if you have a non-diver in the party, they'll have to be self sufficient and enjoy reading. Busy dive centre with 4 staff (Thorsen, Carmen, Guido and Olivier) when we were there. Dutch, German, English and French spoken with a smattering of other languages. Very safety and protocol conscious - if you want to dive outside the normal limits this is not the place for you. However if you do dive within limits, have less experience or small children, this could hardly be better. Various Padi courses seem to be offered, and the centre tends to use Nitrox32 so if you haven't got the certification, this is a good time to get it. They do 2 boat dives each half-day, an 'all levels' boat and an 'advanced' boat. The all levels boat is just that and safe for even small children. The advanced boat requires a greater skill level. Boat and dive site briefings are thorough, clear and consistent, emphasising the limits that have to be adhered to depending on your certification. Dive sites are varied; we did about 15 dives or so and saw a large selection of manta, eagle and sting rays, various sharks, napoleons, tuna, turtles etc. Most of these things we saw on several dives, many at close quarters.
However the strength is the staff: All are very customer-focussed, friendly and do go that extra mile to make each dive a good one. There are no weak links. Be warned, however, diving in Eriyadu is not cheap (although I doubt it's more expensive than elsewhere in the Maldives) and the costs quickly mount up.
As a final note, I have never seen such a beautifully clean tank room. Even though the compressor is several years old, it is pristine. Tanks all perfectly aligned, not a speck of dirt anywhere.
Visited April 2013. "
Graham Lishman - UK
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