Maldives

For more than 22 years, the well-maintained and annually renovated 32-meter-long, 10-meter-wide white diving safari vessel AMBA has been cruising the Maldives.

Horizon-2 Surf Safari is operated by Blue Horizon Pvt.

Four divemasters for 24 guests is a one-to-six ratio, which is better than most Maldives boats manage and the main reason to choose this one.

At 56 metres this is closer to a small cruise ship than a dive boat, and the operator runs it that way: free nitrox, a six-metre jacuzzi, a gym, a spa and a proper camera room.

Launched in 2024 with a purpose-built 19-metre dhoni called Blue Shadow, so the diving happens off a boat designed for it while the mothership stays a hotel.

A 40-metre steel boat that entered service in December 2024, so everything on board is new and priced to fill: it sits at the value end of the Maldives fleet despite being one of the newest hulls in it.

A 38-metre fibreglass boat from 2014 with eleven cabins, run by Maldives Boat Club on the central atoll circuit.

Virgo is operated by Arora Maldives, carrying 18 guests in Maldives.

SEAORA is a treasured part of the Submaldives fleet, a magnificent 29.5-meter luxury liveaboard designed for the ultimate Maldivian safari.

A 43-metre steel hull with proportions closer to a small ship, which is why it has a reputation as one of the steadiest boats in the Maldives; if you get seasick on the crossings, this is the one to ask for.

Seafari is a French operator with a long history in the Maldives, and Explorer 2 is their 42-metre wooden boat from 2016, refitted in 2022, with fourteen cabins for 26 guests.

Thirty metres, eleven cabins, a jacuzzi on the sun deck and a dining room that does not feel like an afterthought, launched in 2022.

The value boat of the Maldives Legend fleet: 30 metres, ten cabins split six below and four above, built in 2020.

The X stands for exclusive, and the operator means the fit-out: thirteen cabins on a 40-metre hull launched in 2024, pitched as the flagship of the Maldives Legend fleet.

The newest of the Maldives Legend boats, launched in 2024 as an expedition yacht rather than a dive boat with cabins bolted on.

Fifty metres, nineteen cabins and 38 guests: a floating boutique resort more than a dive boat, with a large jacuzzi on the sun deck, a video lounge for sharing the day's photos, and a 16.5-metre dhoni that works as the dive centre.

Princess Sara is operated by Princess Sara, carrying 24 guests in Maldives.

Twelve cabins on a 37-metre boat from 2018, refitted in 2021, run by Perfect Voyage Maldives.