The underwater world of the Maldives is certainly one of the most beautiful in the world. Most resorts have a great house reef, so you don’t even have to go out by boat to be in the middle of an aquarium.
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The reef of Funamadua Island
ROBINSON Club Maldives is located on Funamadua Island in the southern Gaafu Alif Atoll of the Maldives. The island is only 450 by 240 meters in size, located in the middle of paradise and surrounded by turquoise blue water and white sandy beach. The reef and the area for snorkeling stretches almost once around the whole island. The beauty is that due to the relatively protected location within the atoll, there are no big waves.
Aerial view of the Robinson Club Maldives
Snorkeling Equipment & Access to the Reef
To go snorkeling at ROBINSON Club Maldives, you don’t necessarily need your own equipment. The resort’s Deep & Breeze water sports centre can borrow a mask, snorkel and fins for free – a really good service so you don’t have to drag things around half the world.
Every day, the resort offers a guided snorkeling tour on the house reef, which some guests have also noticed. If you don’t know exactly how to snorkel and what to look out for at first, that’s just the thing. We also asked before hand at the water sports centre where the best places for snorkeling are and then went into the water on our own. We could jump comfortably from the terrace of our water bungalow into the water, had to swim a few meters and then were directly on the reef. Access from the beach is also possible almost everywhere. However, so that not all people damage the corals,there are several passage points marked by poles, through which one can safely swim to the house reef.
Our Overwater Bungalow in the Lagoon
The underwater world at the house reef
Between the beach or the water bungalows and the house reef there is not really much to see. Only when you arrive at the reef edge of the house reef, it becomes much more lively and there are also many – albeit very pale – corals. The culprit for the partially dead coral areas is probably – as we were told on the spot – the weather phenomenon El Nino, which was particularly drastic last year in 2016. In this phenomenon, there is an increased water temperature, at which the interaction of coral polyps and algae no longer functions properly. The corals repel the algae, losing their color and fading. However, we also saw a small baby shark directly on the beach and an eagle ray also swam in the lagoon near the jetty. So here, too, it is worth keeping your eyes open 🙂
In our daily snorkeling tours we have really seen all sorts of life underwater: from several turtles,elegant eagle rays,large feather-tailed stingrays,several larger and smaller reef sharks,pusher fish, flute fishing, colorful doctor fish, halter fish, lively nemos to iridescent puffins and a very well camouflaged octopus.
Our snorkeling video from ROBINSON Club Maldives
Snorkeling on the house reef was a lot of fun and it’s unbelievable how quickly time passes when you hang on the water’s surface in the rhythm of the waves and watch the colorful hustle and bustle among yourself. We could have snorkeled there for hours! Check out our snorkeling video at 🙂
By the way, since November 2015, tourists in the Maldives have been subject to a so-called GreenTax, currently amounting to USD 6 per day/person. This ecotax is used to preserve the environment.
All travelogues from ROBINSON Club Maldives
The ROBINSON Club Maldives is located in the Gaaf-Alif-Atoll in the southern part of the Maldives about 60 km north of the equator. The 107,000 sqm club grounds can only be reached by domestic flight from Male and by speedboat. Once you have made this long journey, a lonely island called Funamadua is waiting for you - just 450 by 240 meters, located in the middle of paradise and surrounded by turquoise blue water and a white sandy beach.
Robinson Club Maldives: Flight, Arrival & TransferRobinson Club Maldives:
Robinson Club Maldives: The All Inclusive Offer
Robinson Club Maldives: Relaxing on the island of Funamadua
Robinson Club Maldives: Our wedding on the beach
Robinson Club Maldives: Snorkeling on the house reef
Robinson Club Maldives: Deep & Breeze Diving