The Maldives earns millions of dollars from its tourism industry every year, since about half a million people come to visit annually. Most tourists are, in fact, repeat visitors. The rich and famous come here, including A-List Hollywood actors such as Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes, George Clooney, Jennifer Aniston, Sting, and Kate Moss, among many others.

The Maldives provides the best scuba diving, snorkeling, swimming, and surfing experience to its visitors, and the most exciting part is that there are so many resorts to choose from. Some of the most popular and sought-after beach destinations that are perfect for beach bumming are Cocoa Beach, Banyan Tree Island and Paradise Island.

Cocoa Beach is exactly what a dream beach Paradise looks like. A person may simply close his or her eyes, imagine the best kind of beach he or she could imagine, and for sure it’s Cocoa Beach: white powdery sand and crystal clear turquoise waters, a luxurious destination just an hour away from the Male International Airport. This place is so popular that it is never without guests. The beach is just a tiny part of this beautiful coral island reef with an amazing underwater flora and fauna.

On the other hand, Banyan Tree Island is only 20 minutes by boat from the airport. The island has exciting villas and houses for a perfect tropical getaway. The meals and accommodations are world-class, as well as the massage and flower aroma treatments. Vacationing in Banyan Tree provides a feeling of tranquility as though the tourist owns his or her own private beach.

Then, there’s Paradise Island. The name speaks for itself. This well-known luxury resort has amazing facilities, picturesque sunsets and sunrises, and the most enticing beach front. It is 20 minutes away from the airport by speed boat.

These are just three of the almost 100 resort-islands to choose from. There are private islands for the rich and famous, and packets of more affordable islands for the not-so-rich.

For the more adventurous tourists, the wonders of the deep are waiting for them. The Maldives has the best dive spots in the world, some of which, to name a few, are the Aquarium dive site in North Male Atoll for its rich marine life; Lion’s Head also in North Male Atoll for its amazing overhang that looks like the head of a lion; and Maldives Victory in Hulhule Island where the airport is located, for its intriguing wreck site.

The Maldives has everything for everyone. The powdery white sand is exciting for children; the romantic tropical resorts make this country the most sought-after honeymoon destination in the world; the treacherous dive sites are sure to challenge expert divers; and the clear, blue water are just perfect for surfing and other water sports in the Maldives.

Among the 1,192 islands, scuba divers have about 100 islands to choose from, each offering magnificent underwater views, life forms and landscapes. The Maldives has 26 atolls and all of them are perfect for scuba diving. Below are just a few of the best.

Raa Atoll, also known as North Maalhosmadulu, has 16 inhabited islands, a number of dive sites, soft coral gardens, channels, and tons of colorful fishes. On board live-aboard vessels, divers can reach the Milaidhoo House Reef, which has an average visibility of 25 meters, and Hirundhoo House Reef, which is known for its caves, yellow and orange corals, and black coral bushes. This atoll is where most of the boats used all over the islands are constructed.

Dhaalu Atoll, 38 km from the capital city of Male, has two beautiful resorts, 8 inhabited isles, a number of deserted islets, and tons of sea turtles. A highlight for divers are the underground wrecks – the Liffey, which sank in 1879, and Utheemu 1, which sank in the 1960′s. Some of the fishes in this atoll are napoleon wrasses, manta rays, gray reef sharks and tunas.

Another wreck site is the Maldives Victory wreck in Hulhule Island near the Male International Airport. The 110-m long vessel was a cargo ship that sank in 1981.

Vaavu Atoll features the famed Fotteyo dive spot where there are regular sightings of barracudas, manta rays, gray reef sharks, snappers, turtles, tunas, and hammerheads, with a flourishing underwater flora and fauna.

North Male Atoll is home of the HP Reef, a diver’s favorite for its spectacular caves. Inside the caves are amazing rock and coral formations, and a ton of fishes, which include rainbow runners, dog-toothed tunas, barracudas, blue-fin jacks, gray reef sharks and eagle rays. On the shallower waters are emperors, banner fishes and angelfishes.

Mayaa Thila, located in North Ari Atoll, is one of the most popular dive sites and included in the list of protected marine areas. This reef has everything – caves, crevices, overhangs, coral formations, and of course fish – white tip sharks, gray reef sharks, frogfish, stonefish, zebra morays, and batfish, just to name a few. One of the highlights is a huge overhand with bright orange colored corals.

These are just a few of the many more amazing dive spots in the Maldives. Meanwhile, since thousands of tourists, divers, and water enthusiasts visit the archipelago every month, the Maldivian Government had put up strict protection laws against excessive fishing, garbage disposal and coral mining. Also, the government sternly prohibits any kinds of trade involving turtle shells, pearl oyster shells, black corals, shells and red corals. Since 1995, authorities have placed a total of 35 marine areas under special protection in order to regulate scuba diving in the Maldives.

Drinking

It is sad news that all forms of alcohol are prohibited in this Muslim country. What is a fun time and vacation without drinking anyway, right? The good news is, the Maldivian Government knows that there are more non-Muslim tourists than Muslims touring the islands. And so, resorts and liveaboards are allowed to serve a few alcoholic drinks, but with sky-high markups. Almost half a million tourists from western countries visit the Maldives every year. Generally, the Maldivian people themselves are not alcohol drinkers, but there are a growing number of teenagers that are showing fondness for it. Still and all, they do not like to be seen or photographed drinking in public.

Drinking in the Maldives refers more often to drinking bottled water, because in countries along the Equator, one can get dehydrated easily and quickly. Tourists are always advised to regularly rehydrate by drinking and always having a bottle of drinkable water in hand. Tap water is not safe for drinking. Sadly, though, local shops rip off tourists by raising the price of bottled water by as high as US$5 per bottle.

Eating

While the Maldivian archipelago has a total of 1,192 islands, it has only one commercial city, which is the capital city of Male, and just one international airport. While all the resorts do serve amazing dishes and offer romantic dinners by the beach in full view of the sunset, which make a Maldivian honeymoon perfect, there are but a few major restaurants in the city. The most popular restaurants are the Thai Wok Restaurant, Trends, The Garden Restaurant, 4 Degrees in Taj Exotica, Ocean Pavilion, Maayafushi, and Salsa Café. The most popular cuisines are fries, curries, rice variations, meat dishes and desserts. There are less expensive eateries that sell all sorts of food such as Thai, Chinese, American, Japanese, Italian, Indian and Sri Lankan. Expectedly, seafood dishes are common and sought after.

The archipelago is known to export the best tunas in the world. The fish industry is so important that the fish market in Male is even considered a tourist attraction.

There are only two shopping centers in the country. They are Majeedhee Magu and Chaandanee Magu, both located in Male. These exciting shopping malls have a row of eateries for the tired shopper. And still in Male, the local market sells fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as nuts and yams. The most popular fruit is the banana. Bunches and bunches are hung on a row of fruit stalls in the local market.

So, when vacationing in this island paradise, taste the local culture by eating and drinking in the Maldives as you take a break from your diving, snorkeling and beach bumming.

A Maldivian cruise is simply amazing. This is how it typically happens: you recline on a luxurious yacht or humble dhoni boat, whichever is your preference, along a chain of coral reefs in the warm blue-green waters of the Indian Ocean with a soft breeze blowing to your sunbathed face. You stop in a deserted island and explore the mysterious destination ala Robinson Crusoe or waste some more time beach bumming along on the island’s white-sand beach. You jump back to your boat and check out a few more islands along your route. You approach the next island and you notice below that you don’t really need to plunge to see the beautiful underwater because the waters are so clear and calm it seems as though you were in a giant aquarium. You decide to snorkel anyway and without going very far you see candy-color corals and tiny glowing reef fishes. You relax, swim, and snorkel some more, then relax again under the tropical sun while sipping a cold glass of fruit shake. You continue to move on and along the way you see water-sport resorts, local villages, coral atolls, and many other blinding-white beaches.

The Maldives is in the Indian Ocean near India and Sir Lanka. It is a ribbon of coral islands that looks like a garland when seen from an airplane. It is a South Asian country whose economy and popularity depend largely on its tourism. The only other bankable commerce involves fish trade, especially tuna. The Maldives is known by ecologists and environmentalists as the sinking country. Led by no less than the Maldivian president, concerned groups have been fighting to slow down if not completely stop global warming. They fear that if more polar ice melted into the ocean, the overflow of ocean water could completely engulf their country. Today, 80% of the archipelago is less than 5 feet above sea level, while the highest elevation is only 8 feet.

The capital city and only commercial hub is the city of Male. All tour packages begin here since there is only one international airport in the archipelago. While the islands are known for many other tourist attractions such as cultural establishments, religious centers and white-sand beaches, most tour packages still revolve around the world-famous dive sites. Cruising in the Maldives on liveaboards is the best way to enjoy the most beautiful dive sites. Although teeming with amazing resort and island dive sites, movements here are limited. Descending into the middle of the Indian Ocean from a liveaboard gives a diver a feeling of freedom and oneness with the ocean. So, next time you dream about that leisurely traveling on a boat, think about cruising in the Maldives.