The Southern Atolls

November to April is the dry season, with calm, clear water ideal for diving and snorkelling; the quieter months either side bring manta and whale-shark activity. Your advisor times the trip to the reefs and the sea you're after.

Beyond the seaplane line, the southern atolls are reached by a domestic flight and a private speedboat — so five to seven nights, often more, is worth it to justify the journey and settle into their emptiness.

Fewer resorts, quieter reefs and some of the country's best diving and surf, far from the seaplane crowds. We arrange the private transfers, exclusive-use stays and the guides who know the channels — reserved for you.

Yes. In the southern atolls of the Maldives, a nine o'clock arrival at Velana can still put you on your island the same night, because the domestic flights south operate day and night, something no seaplane atoll can offer. The flight runs about 55 minutes to Kooddoo or around 95 minutes to Gan, followed by a speedboat of 10 to 60 minutes.

Diving in the southern atolls centres on big-fish channels, with sharks, eagle rays and schooling jacks, that are barely dived. Few islands share an enormous amount of water, so the passes fill with pelagics on the tide rather than with resort boats, ferries and cargo. A diving itinerary here is built around the channels rather than the house reef, and The Pelagic Diver journey pairs eight to ten days of channels with a private dive team.

The honest cost of the far south of the Maldives is that there is no plan B. There are few resorts, so if your island does not suit you there is nowhere to move; the dive team is one team; and a medical problem is resolved by aircraft, not by boat. The green tax of US$12 per person per night and 17% TGST also apply exactly as they do in Baa, transfers included.

No. If the manta aggregation is your reason for travelling, the southern atolls are the wrong choice, because it happens far to the north in Baa. The deep south rewards serious divers drawn to channels of sharks, eagle rays and schooling jacks, and travellers who want reefs without other boats. There is no prestige in going further than the trip requires, and it is better to go north and right than south and disappointed.

A private stay in the southern atolls is estimated from around US$1,950 per person per night, so the ten nights the far south suits run from around US$19,500 per person, plus our US$250 planning fee per itinerary. The green tax of US$12 per person per night and 17% TGST apply here as everywhere in the country, transfers included, as does a 10% service charge on most islands. The premium is for distance, not for added luxury.