Mantas, sharks & Ari Atoll reefs
A small SSI dive club on Mathiveri, a local island in North Ari Atoll. Manta cleaning stations, shark channels and turtle reefs, most of them a short boat ride from the harbour.
A local dive club, run by a local diver
Dive Club Buoyancy sits on Chaandhanee Magu in Mathiveri. Its founder and lead instructor, Fazeel, grew up on this island and knows the surrounding reefs, thilas and channels better than anyone.
Guests describe him as calm, patient and always smiling, the kind of instructor first-time divers trust straight away. Groups stay small, equipment is kept in good condition, and Fazeel films and photographs your dives and shares them with you afterwards. Briefings in English, Italian and Dhivehi.
Chaandhanee Magu · Mathiveri
From your first breath to Divemaster
Boat dives, SSI courses and snorkel trips every day. Sites are chosen on the morning for the tide and the season, with a snorkel stop for mantas or dolphins when they show up on the way.
Guided boat dives
Manta cleaning stations, shark-filled channels and the famous North Ari thilas. Single dives, two-tank trips or a full dive package.
Try Scuba
Never dived before? A calm briefing, then a gentle dive to around 9 m with Fazeel by your side. Plenty of guests call it the highlight of their holiday.
SSI courses
Open Water, Advanced, Rescue, Emergency First Response and Divemaster, plus Bubble Maker for kids. Learn on reefs most people only see once.
Snorkel trips
Manta and shark snorkelling, turtle reefs, a shipwreck, sandbanks, dolphin watching and fishing trips. Whale shark days in South Ari on request.
Stay, transfer and dive in one price
Both packages include your room with breakfast on Mathiveri, the speedboat transfer from Malé and back, and full dive equipment. Two people can share the room and the dives.
- 10 guided boat dives
- Accommodation with breakfast
- Speedboat Malé ⇄ Mathiveri
- All dive equipment included
- 12 guided boat dives
- Accommodation with breakfast
- Speedboat Malé ⇄ Mathiveri
- All dive equipment included
Thilas, channels & manta stations
Mathiveri sits on the north-west edge of Ari Atoll, close to some of the best-known sites in the Maldives. These are the ones we dive most, with depths, currents and what to look for.
Also in our logbook: Reethi Thila, Monika Thila, Kandinma Giri, Madivaru Corner and the house reefs of Ukulhas and Bodufulhadhoo. Fish Head and Maaya Thila are protected marine areas: no touching, no gloves, no collecting.
Half a minute with the club
Mantas at the cleaning station, nurse sharks, a blacktip and a reef full of fish. All filmed on Dive Club Buoyancy trips.
Who you might meet down there
Reef mantas, grey reef sharks, eagle rays and turtles, with every reef fish of the Maldives in between. Tap any photo to see it larger.
Warm water all year, mantas in high season
The dry north-east monsoon from December to April brings calm seas and the best manta season at Maavaru. The south-west monsoon from May to November is wetter and windier, but the reefs stay rich and diveable.
- Water
- 27–30 °CWarm all year round.
- Visibility
- 20–30 m+Best in the dry season, lower when plankton blooms.
- Wetsuit
- 3 mmA shorty is enough for most divers.
- Currents
- TidalStrong in the channels, gentle on the house reefs.
Real island life, a speedboat from Malé
Mathiveri is a local island of around 900 people in Alif Alif Atoll, with white beaches, a picnic island in the lagoon and none of the resort crowds. Our dive packages include the speedboat from Malé and back.
Fly to Malé
Velana International Airport · MLEDirect flights from Europe, the Gulf and Asia. Send us your arrival time.
Speedboat to Mathiveri
Included in our dive packagesShared speedboats run from the airport jetty across to Alif Alif Atoll. We book the seats and meet you on arrival.
Welcome to Mathiveri
Chaandhanee Magu · 20 min to the mantasCheck in at your guesthouse, drop by the dive shop for paperwork and gear fitting, and you are ready for tomorrow's first dive.
Two dives, and whatever swims by
- Meet at the shopCheck-in on Chaandhanee Magu, logbook and gear fitting, including 15 L tanks if you ask.
- Out to the siteIf mantas or dolphins show up on the way, we stop for a quick snorkel.
- Briefing and first diveA clear briefing, then a calm dive with an instructor who knows the site.
- Snacks and surface intervalOn the boat or on a sandbank in the middle of the lagoon.
- Second dive, then homeBack on Mathiveri by lunchtime, with photos and video of your dives.
“The dive with mantas was unforgettable”
Fazil is a wonderful instructor and such a calm person. You get the feeling you've known him forever.
On the way to the spot, we stopped for quick snorkeling with mantas and dolphins and then the dive with mantas was just unforgettable.
Another great dive was a channel dive where we saw many sharks and a very big eagle ray.
As beginners, we always felt safe and comfortable. The equipment was well-maintained.
Our guides went a little off course because we saw a whale shark! We snorkeled with him for a while.
The owner Fazeel was born on Mathiveri and knows every dive spot like the back of his hand. The best dives of my life.
Message us on WhatsApp
Tell us your dates, your level and what you want to see. We will reply with a plan, today's rates and package availability.
- +960 990 0809
- Phone
- +960 755 6604
- diveclubbuoyancy@gmail.com
- Shop
- Chaandhanee Magu, Mathiveri 09040, Alif Alif Atoll, Maldives
- Open
- Every day, 08:00–22:00
Good to know: bring your certification card and logbook, and dive insurance that covers evacuation. Card payments are accepted at the shop.