6 Best Maldives Resorts for Snorkeling: Ratings + Videos

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Of course, people will vary in their opinion on the “best” snorkeling experience because the definitions vary. Some consider seeing fish soup and healthy coral as an amazing experience while others may define it as seeing the big marine life like turtles, sharks, and rays.

Also, the time of the year, the weather, and the currents are going to influence your underwater adventure.

There are over 160 resorts in the Maldives! Clearly, not all can be covered, and this is not meant to be a comprehensive list.

My husband and I have personally been to Outrigger Maafushivaru, Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa, and Reethi Faru Resort. I have included three other resorts in this list after hundreds of hours of research trying to find the best snorkeling resorts in the Maldives.

I’m not joking either when I say “hundreds.” I’m embarrassed to say how much time I put into travel planning to make sure we have the best experience possible.

I hope this article gives you a starting point for helping to select the best Maldives resorts for snorkeling!

MAP OF 6 BEST MALDIVES RESORTS FOR SNORKELING:

If you stay at the Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort, you will see sharks, sharks, and more sharks. Mostly baby and juvenile blacktip reef sharks. Don’t worry, no momma sharks (at least that we saw).

The baby sharks liked to hang out near the shoreline where the wooden walkway leads to the overwater villa with pools. You are almost guaranteed to see them around sunset.

The juvenile sharks are often seen cruising near the pier by the dive shop and along the drop-off at the house reef.

We also saw sting rays, eels, a nurse shark, lobsters, and a great variety of tropical fish.

The highlight of our snorkeling was seeing a whale shark! You have to swim quickly to keep up with these majestic creatures.

There are several destinations around the world where you can have this unique experience. We’ve been fortunate to swim with whale sharks twice now. The other encounter was in Mexico.

Make sure to book the Whale Shark Excursion with Outrigger’s dive shop. You might even see a pod of dolphins on your way back as we did.

Please see my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret my reef ratings.

The Outrigger Maafushivaru Resort is located on a smaller island, which may start to feel a little closed-in if you are doing an extended stay.

There are no kids’ activities, which is something to consider for a family vacation with young ones.

In full disclosure, the main reason we booked Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa was that we got a deal of a lifetime booking an overwater villa using Marriott points over Christmas. With that being said, I would happily pay for this resort after experiencing the top-notch snorkeling.

I was not expecting much from the snorkeling at Le Méridien. None of the articles I read prior to our trip listed Le Méridien as having a top house reef. However, my husband and I were BLOWN away by the underwater life.

Again, this is another situation where you have to know WHERE to snorkel to see all these amazing sea creatures. The local dive shop will direct you.

I had never seen an octopus prior to this trip, and at Le Méridien I saw too many to count and in shallow water! It was incredible. I wanted to make friends with all of them just like the filmmaker on My Octopus Teacher on Netflix.

In addition to octopuses, we saw many stingrays, porcupine rays (no, their tails did not get chopped off as I thought originally, lol), blacktip reef sharks, turtles, lobster, many larger schools of fish, and probably some of the best coral I’ve seen in a while.

Please refer back to my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret the reef ratings.

The Le Méridien Maldives Resort & Spa is a large sprawling resort, where most guests get around by golf cart. It is very family-friendly with plenty of kid activities, which is something to consider if you are planning a romantic getaway.

The staff is very professional but not as personal as some of the smaller islands. The cocktail program needs some work.

The house reef at Kandolhu Maldives is consistently rated as one of the best in all of Maldives. Expect to see a huge variety of fish, many sea turtles, nurse sharks, eagle rays, blacktip reef sharks, and beautiful coral regrowth.

If you love snorkeling, I strongly suggest following Snorkelling in the Maldives on YouTube. Their footage is incredible (as seen in their video above).

Please refer back to my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret the reef ratings.

The Kandolhu Maldives really tries to maintain an intimate atmosphere, so they do not accommodate any children under age 6.

Frequent visitors to the house reef at Mirihi Island Resort include blacktip reef sharks, turtles, eels, sting rays, and numerous tropical fish.

Please refer back to my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret the reef ratings.

The Mirihi Island Resort is one of the smallest islands in the Maldives with no TV or pool, which is something to consider if you need nightlife and entertainment. 

The house reef at Reethi Faru Resort had a few blacktip reef sharks and turtles, but we did not see nearly as many as we did in the South Ari Atoll.

We did see a huge variety of fish as mentioned in my snorkeling report including oriental sweetlip (my favorite fish, which is like a cross between a leopard and a zebra), blue stripe snapper, white spotted pufferfish, butterflyfish, surgeonfish, triggerfish, Moorish idol, parrotfish, batfish, scorpionfish, unicorn fish, goatfish, and clownfish. Great variety.

If you need help figuring out what you just saw, Fishes of the Maldives is a great resource.

Unfortunately, we missed the Hanifaru Bay Experience because we came during the wrong season. If you happen to be at Reethi Faru in June-November,  do not miss this excursion.

You may have the opportunity to see big groups of manta rays cyclone feeding and sometimes even a whale shark. This is an incredibly unique snorkeling excursion, and I’m kicking myself that I missed it by a month.  This gives me another reason to come back.

If you have witnessed this feeding, please let me know! I would love to hear about this experience.

Please refer back to my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret the reef ratings.

The staff is courteous and kind but not as attentive as some of the other islands we have been to. The meals are good but not exceptional. The cocktails need some work. I found the trick is to ask for an extra shot on the side. For example, order the Pina Colada and float an extra shot of rum on top. 🙂

Again, Reethi Faru Resort offers great value for the money and the opportunity to be close to Hanifaru Bay. Here’s our full review.

The house reef at Baros Maldives is considered more “sharky” compared to the other resort reefs. But the sharks are blacktip reef sharks, which are relatively harmless and usually speed away when they see you. Most visitors also report seeing octopuses, turtles, and a variety of tropical fish.

Please refer back to my SNORKEL RATING KEY to interpret the reef ratings.

Baros Maldives is located near the airport.  The only transportation option is by speedboat. No epic seaplane ride, but that also means you are in paradise in 25 minutes starting your vacation right away with a drink in hand. Part of the island has a view of Male but that doesn’t seem to detract from the ambiance for most.

We love snorkeling, and the Maldives offers some of the best the world has to offer. Remember, this is not a comprehensive list, but I hope this blog post helps you narrow down some great choices. Happy planning!

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