Frequently asked questions

• Dress code on local islands
  Whilst it is acceptable for men to wear T Shirts and shorts or swim shorts; females should avoid causing offence by maintaining a more conservative approach to clothes by wearing T Shirts, loose shorts or sarongs and avoid wearing bikinis and swimwear unless on an un- inhabited island, picnic island, sandbank, dive boat or resort island. Some guesthouses do provide private sunbathing areas on a tourist beach or on the terrace of the guesthouse, however, it is not acceptable to walk around the island wearing a bikini.
  
  
• Alcohol on local islands
  There is a total restriction on alcohol being available on inhabited local islands, when you stay at a local Island in Addu then it is possible to visit Equatorial Village for a alcoholic and non-alcoholic drink.
  
  
• Pork meat on local islands
  Pork meat is like alcohol forbidden on inhabited local island, so don’t expect bacon butties for breakfast.
  
  
• Privacy
  As we all want to take home memories of our stay in Addu in the form of photographs or videos but do always ask permission if you wish a local to be the subject of your image.

• Certification Card
  Qualified divers need to present proof of their diving certification.
  
  
• Doctors certificate when needed
  All divers will need to sign a Risk and Liability Statement and a self assessment medical statement, unless you have a medical signed by a doctor.
  If the diver answers “YES” to any of the medical conditions on the form, a medical certificate signed by a doctor is required. The medical certificate can be obtained at a doctors clinic.
  
  
• Your Parent(s)/guardian
  Divers under the age of 18 need to provide written parental/guardian consent allowing them to dive.
  
  
• Logbook
  If possible, qualified divers can present overview of their diving history.
  
  
• Person items
  Swimsuit, towel, sunscreen, snack.

• We organize fixed 3 boat dives a day
  A day’s diving consists of 3 dives a day, with 2 dives in the morning and the 3rd dive afternoon, between the morning and the afternoon dives we come back to Maradhoo island for lunch. On request we can organize a night dive, this dive can be the 4th dive in a day.

• Departure time morning
  We generally meet at the Dive Boat at 07:50 unless otherwise specified, we come back after 2 dives at approx. 12:30 depending on the sites we choose for the day. 

• Departure time afternoon
  Single dives are available in the afternoon’s between 15:00 and 17:00.

• Night diving (on request)
  Night dives are only possible with minimum 2 divers, the extra night dive charge is 15,- usd PP. The departure time for night-diving is 18:00 and we will be back around 20:30. 

• Diving packages
  Dives in your dive packages do not have to be made on consecutive days. Dive packages are for an individual and cannot be shared.

• Yes
  All our boat dives are guided dives, the currents in Addu Atoll can be very strong and for safety reasons we dive in small groups with a dive guide, a dive guide at Aquaventure can be a PADI Divemaster or Instructor. 
  
  
• Dive groups
  Dive groups are maximum 6 divers and one dive guide, for safety purpose smaller groups can be organized by the dive guide.
  
  
• Personal care
  You can dive with a private dive guide who will take personal care for your confidence, the extra charge will be 50,- usd a dive.

• No you don't need but it's strongly recommended

  Guests are responsible for taking out adequate insurance cover for their diving activities and equipment.

  Medical (hyperbaric) treatment and evacuation costs are not coverd by Aquaventure Dive Center after a dive accident as decompression illness or any other injury occured during the dive and/or trip to and from the dive site by dive boat, car or motor bike. 

  Personal items or equipment left in the dive centre, dive boat during the day or over night are not covered by Aquventure Maldives Insurance. Items left on Aquaventure Maldives premises are left at customers own risk.

• Your dive travel insurance
  DAN Divers Alert Network
  DiveAzure

• Diving in Addu Atoll
  
  Diving in the Maldives is a year-round activity except for some stormy periods. In Addu we can see Manta Rays year round.
  
  January - April / Generally the best weather, good visibility but much more divers on dive sites, diving is good
  May - June / More wind and rain, diving is fine most of the time
  July - September / Good weather, good visibility less divers on dive sites, diving is very good
  October - December / More wind and rain, diving is fine most of the time.
  
  Note: during new and full moon we do have the most water movement in our channels that can bring more "big" fish like Manta Rays, Sharks, Eagle Rays, ect.
  
  
  More info to read >>>>
  
  "The experience from the past is not a guarantee for the future"

• Diving spots Addu
  
  There are more than 20 different dive spots around Addu Atoll including some exceptional sites such as Manta Point, Bodu Hoholha, British Loyalyu wreck and much more. Addu Manta Ponit is the only cleaning station in Maldives where we can encounter Manta Rays 12 months a year.
  
  Divesite map Addu Atoll >>>

• No, it's not possible 
  
  The reefs inside and outside Maradhoo are to far to swim out, all diving is done from the dive boat a "Dhoni ".

• Minimum 12 hours 
  
  A preflight interval of minimum 12 hours is recommended for a single dive and for more than one dive a preflight interval of minimum 18 hours is recommended. It is best to err on the side of caution and have a preflight interval of 24 hours, especially if you have been diving for multiple days. The no-fly time applies to domestic airlines as well. If your dive computer shows a longer duration than the durations mentioned here, please follow the dive computer.

• Maximum depth & divetime
  
  The maximum depth for Open Water Divers is 20m, and for Advanced Adventurer and above ratings the maximum depth is 30m. Maximum dive time can be no longer than 60 minutes, and decompression dives are not allowed.  All our boat dives are guided by a PADI Dive professional. 

• Morning Dives
  
  DIVE 1 - Max depth 30 Mtr. Max divetime is 60 minutes
  DIVE 2 - Max depth 20 Mtr. Max divetime is 45 minutes

• Afternoon Dive
  
  DIVE 3 - Max depth 30 Mtr. Max divetime is 60 minutes
  
  
• Night Dive
  
  DIVE 4 - Max depth 20 Mtr. Max divetime is 45 minutes (on request, minimum 2 divers and extra night dive charge)
  

• Maradhoo Island
  Aquaventure is located on Maradhoo Island, in the beautiful Addu Atoll of Maldives, Maradhoo Island is best described as an authentic Maldivian experience merged with a mindblowing diving getaway. A holiday in this southern tip means plunging into the most serene and untouched parts of Maldives.
  
  
• Addu Atoll
  Also known as Seenu Atoll, is the southernmost atoll of the Maldives. Addu Atoll, together with Fuvahmulah, located 40 km north of Addu Atoll, extend the Maldives into the Southern Hemisphere. Addu Atoll is located 540 km south of Malé, the country's capital. 
  
  
• Gan Island
  Its easy to confuse the names from the islands with atoll names, Gan is an Island in Addu Atoll and it's know as the "Airport" Island,  Your domestic and international flights are to GAN, it also host an airport hotel Equator Village. The taxi can bring you from Gan within 10 minutes to Maradhoo Island as the islands are connected with bridges. You can stay in Gan but still you can dive with Aquaveture Dive Center. 
  
  
• Map Addu Atoll
  The islands and diving sites in Addu Atoll >>>

• Domestic flights
  Addu Atoll is 500 km located from Male "Velana Airport" only with a domestic flight you can come to Addu. There are 2 local airlines flying from Male to GAN (Addu) and return. You can book the domestic flights your self or with us, when you book the guesthouse with us we can offer discounted rates for the domestic flights with Maldivian Aero. 
  
  - Maldivian Aero (3 till 5 flights a day)
  - Manta Air (1 flight a day)
  
  
• International flights
  Addu has an International Airport "GAN International Airport" where we receive few times a week international flights from Colombo with SriLankan Airlines. During the high season this can be 3 times a week and during low season 1 time a week at the moment. The flights schedules do change regulary and the best you can do is check online.
  
  SriLankan Airlines >>>
  
  

• Yes we can
  Aquaventure can book domestic flights Male to Gan & Gan to Male only. We can offer better rates as you can find on the airline websites. When we book your domestic flights then we need a copy from your pasport and the International flight details as, arrival date, time and flightnumber.
  
  Scedule
  Maldivian Aero do offer "mostly" 4 till 5 flights a day to and from Gan International Airport, time changes are regular and till 24 hours before departure flights can be rescheduled. It's not onusual that some flights will be combined (low season) or extra flights will be ad during high season. 
  
  Booking
  We will make a reservation for domestic flights at any time but the booking will be made after we received the full payment, normally 30 days before arrival. You will receive your E-ticket about 2 weeks before departure. 
  
  Note: Booked domestic flights are non refundable but the date can be changed till 90 days after scheduled date.

• yes we can 
  We can book rooms in several guesthouses in Addu Atoll, in most cases we can offer better rates for our divers then you can find online. Our Guesthouse partners all offer great service and the location is suitable for divers. The guesthouse management can always offer special rates on different websites without informing us.
  
  
• Book online
  You can easy book online 'at our website' your guesthouse, diving package and the domestic flights.
  Book online >>>
  
  
• Note: we don't own or operate any guesthouse in Addu, we just do our best to make your booking more easy with good rates together with our partners. You are always free to book any guesthouse yourself and book the diving seperate with Aquaventure Dive Center. Special rates for domestic flights are only possible if you book the guesthouse through us. 

• No we can not
  A diving trip to the Southern Atolls in Maldives is very popular, the combination Addu & Fuvahmulah is great and you can reach Fuvahmulah "easy" with the local ferry. During the east monsoon January till May the weather is mostlikely good and several schedules a week is more or les guarentee. During the westmonsoon weather can change easy day by day and ferries are not always planned as scheduled.
  
  
• Check & book your ferry from Feydhoo to Fuvahmulah
  You check and book easy your ferry to Fuvahmulah online.
  
  MTTC book online >>>

• Yes we accept credit cards
  
  Most of the hotels, resorts and restaurants in Addu do accept a wide range of credit cards. How ever it is important to have some "local" cash on hand for your if you are traveling to a local island. Money change can be done at the bank at the airport or withdraw cash from ATMs in Addu City on all Islands or at Aquaventure Dive Center.
  
  At Aquaventure Dive Center we also do accept cash payments, USD and Euro.

- ATM Charge is always 100 MVR / 6,50 usd for each transaction
- Most places do charge extra 3% on credit card payments (at Aquaventure Dive Center there is NO extra charge)
- Currency exchange rates USD to MVR is 1 usd to 15.42 MVR

• Cancellation Policy
  
  Full payment is required 30 days prior to arrival.
  14 days prior to arrival date: 75% of reservation cost + 100% Domestic flight costs
  15-30 days prior to arrival date: 50% of reservation cost + 100% Domestic flight costs
  31 or more days prior to arrival date: 20% of reservation cost + 100% Domestic flight costs