How to Spot Whales and Dolphins in the Maldives – Best for Marine Wildlife

 The Maldives, an archipelago of 26 coral atolls, is renowned for its marine life. The archipelago is renowned as a whale and dolphin watching hub, with over 20 species of whales known to frequent the waters surrounding the islands. Hence, you can look forward to spotting marine life ranging from huge blue whales to playful spinner dolphins. This article takes a look at how to spot whales and dolphins in the Maldives.

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Get Updated on the Marine Life Surrounding Your Maldives Resort

The Maldives is a fab location for plenty of sun, sand, and surf. Snorkelling around the natural coral reefs is a thrill anyone holidaying in the Maldives can enjoy. And Maldives whale watching tours are extremely popular amongst tourists. Thus, resorts too are happy to offer guests a diverse range of whale watching tours – these range across liveaboard whale and dolphin watching safaris to diving to the depths of the Indian Ocean in a Whale Submarine. You can easily book the latter from resorts such as Adaaran Prestige Vadoo. These resorts, located on the South Male atoll, are also ideal for scuba diving since the Southern atolls are favoured playgrounds for both dolphins and whales as well as the rather elusive Whale Shark; this is not a whale but a large fish species. Whale sharks are known for their gentle nature. And divers are always privileged to swim with them. Spinner dolphins are frequently spotted in the Maldives. These cetaceans feed offshore at night and come closer to shore for resting. Thus, most of the Maldives island resorts offer dolphin and whale watching tours as part of their excursions.

What Whale Species Are There and When Can You Spot Them in the Maldives?

The commonest amongst cetaceans in the Maldives are the spinner dolphins although bottlenose dolphins too are often spotted, enjoying the tropical waters of the Indian Ocean and swimming closer to the atolls. Pantropical spotted dolphins too are seen just offshore of the atolls while just outside of the Maldives atolls it is possible to spot pilot whales. Head out further and you will be lucky to come across Dwarf whales in big groups, enjoying the calm waters of the tropical ocean. You may not easily spot large species of whales around the Maldivian atolls, but it is common to see the huge blue whale. The largest mammal in the world can be spotted around the Maldives on its migratory journey, which takes place between November and May. You can spot the Humpback whale too if you are in the Maldives between June and October.

Maldives: The Ideal Location

While there isn’t much of a difference between the atolls, with their tropical allures being consistent all year round for whale and dolphin watching, there are minor changes between the south and north atolls. The southern atolls are the most rewarding for whale watching and also for spotting the elusive Whale Shark. Another exception of choosing a Maldives resort located on South Male Atoll is the Melon-headed Whale, which can only be spotted around the southern end of the archipelago in large numbers.

The Best Time to Avoid Whale Watching in the Maldives

You need to choose the calmest time of the year to visit the Maldives if you want to see whales and dolphins. The archipelago only experiences two seasons; wet and dry. The wet season is influenced by the monsoon. It brings in choppy seas and strong winds. Monsoons take place around December and January as well as the latter part of May to August. Therefore, you need to choose the seasons in between, which fall between February and early May and again between September to the beginning of December.

Enjoy whale watching in the Maldives!