Every day, a different adventure

Below the surface

Snorkelling

The Maldives has some of the clearest, warmest water on the planet, and a liveaboard is the best way to see it. NOAH anchors right beside house reefs and lagoons — slip off the platform into gin-clear water full of coral, reef fish, turtles and rays. No experience needed.

Complete beginners can start in a metre of shallows with just a mask and snorkel — it's like swimming in your own tropical aquarium. Lifejackets are on board for anyone who'd rather take it slowly, because the underwater world here is really not to be missed.

Stronger swimmers can head out over deeper water for the full colour of the reef and everything living on it, or take the dinghy to a reef edge further out with the crew keeping watch.

Chase the swell

Surfing

With a boat, the best breaks in the atolls are yours without the crowds. We track the forecast, anchor in the channel and shuttle you to the lineup by dinghy. Surf until your arms give out — lunch is waiting on deck.

Depending on the season and local conditions, the Maldives serves up some excellent surf, and a liveaboard is the ideal way to beat the crowds and find the right wave on your own schedule.

There's no need for a wetsuit in water this warm — but a rash guard or long-sleeved T-shirt is essential for sun protection, along with a high-factor waterproof suncream.

Season

Feb/Mar – Oct/Nov

Water

28–30 °C

Wave height

4–8 ft average

Biggest swells

Around August

Line in the water

Fishing

Fishing from NOAH is how the crew grew up: hand lines at dusk, reef fish over the side, the occasional big-game run outside the atoll. Whatever your experience, the crew will get a line in your hands and a fish on the end of it.

There's more than one way to catch your own supper. Take the dinghy out around a nearby lagoon and hope for a bite on your lure, or simply try your luck at sunset from the back of NOAH with a line and hook loaded with bait fish.

Some evenings you'll be out of luck. On others you won't believe the size and variety of what comes over the side.

Best part: the galley cooks whatever you catch — dinner doesn't get fresher.

Wild encounters

Dolphin & whale watching

Pods of spinner dolphins live throughout the atolls and are often spotted near our anchorages. When we're under way they sometimes come to ride alongside the hull — then it's leaps, spins and races beside the boat.

Spinner dolphins are the showstoppers, throwing themselves clear of the water and then settling in alongside the hull in a way that looks a lot like playing.

You might also be lucky enough to see pilot whales — pods of adults and juveniles are the most common sighting — and even false killer whales. And while you're scanning the horizon for movement, watch for a sailfish launching itself out of the water mid-hunt.

Your own sandbank

Island hopping & beach picnics

Some of the best Maldivian moments happen off the boat: a sandbank that only exists at low tide, a deserted island picnic the crew sets up while you swim, a wander through a local island village for coffee and hedhikaa. Your itinerary, your pace.