A Fun Shipwreck Snorkeling Excursion from Maafushi, Maldives

by Jackie
Published: Updated:
People snorkeling around the Vaanu shipwreck, one of the sites for the Shipwreck excursion tour from Maafushi, Maldives

If you’re looking for an exciting snorkeling excursion to do on Maafushi, Maldives, consider taking a Shipwreck Excursion. It’s one of the most fun and popular tours as it’s suitable for beginner snorkelers.

After lounging at the Bikini Beach and visiting attractions the day before, we wanted to change things up with our itinerary. So we visited various agencies along the pier area and inquired about tours. 

We stopped by iCom Tours and asked about any upcoming tours. The friendly customer service agent showed us photos from the previous day’s snorkeling activity and described everything we needed to know. The tour also includes a chance to see sting rays, nurse sharks, and fish. So, we decided to book the Shipwreck Excursion for the following day. 

The tour also stopped by Fulidhoo Island on the return trip, and we needed transportation to go there as our next vacation spot. It was a win-win situation for us as the tour departed every day!

So, here is our experience with taking the Shipwreck Snorkeling Tour departing from Maafushi. We paid for this tour, so you’ll receive our honest opinion about it.

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Quick Overview of the Shipwreck Tour

  • Full day tour from 8:00am to 3:30pm / 4:00pm
  • Find lucky dolphins
  • See sting rays on Fulidhoo
  • Swim with nurse sharks
  • Swim at the Vaavu shipwreck 
  • Lunch at sandbank

Initial Questions About the Tour

  • What is the cost? The tour costs $65 per person, which includes tour guides, speedboat transportation, snorkel and fin rental, life jackets, a beach towel, bottled water, lunch, underwater photos, and drone photos (additional fee). The cost is the same for most of the tour agencies around town.
    • For iCom Tours, a $20 cash deposit is required to secure your spot. But you can pay for the rest of the tour with a credit card. 
  • What do you need to bring? The tour payment slip, sunscreen, hat, waterproof camera, and anything else you need for the day. Extra snacks, water, clothes, and a dry bag are optional. You don’t need to bring money or your passport.  
  • Do you need to know how to swim? Technically, no. There are lifevests provided if you need to float. But I highly recommend that you know how to swim so you don’t need to rely on the lifevests. 
  • Do you need to bring snorkel gear? You may if you have your own. But iCom Tours provides the snorkel and fins. 
  • Can children participate in this tour? Your tour agency can address if there is an age limit. Yet, we saw two children on board. 
  • How did you receive the photos from the tour? I gave the iCom Tours my WhatsApp contact information during the booking. They also accept contact information for Line, WeChat, and more. 
    • A few hours after the tour ended, they sent me a WhatsApp message with a link to the Google photo album. Then, I had 2 days to download photos that Justin and I were in. We liked how the album was organized by each party. 
    • The tour guides did an amazing job taking photos with their underwater cameras and captured the special moments. 

Our Experience with the Shipwreck Tour with iCom Tours

Check In & Getting Snorkeling Gear

We arrived at iCom Tours office at 7:30am to pay for the rest of our deposit for the tour. 

Then, we received our snorkel and fin rentals. The fins need to be snug on your feet so you won’t lose them. 

Also, do not lose or damage them, otherwise, you’ll need to pay for them!

Once everyone received their gear, we took a group photo in front of the building. We had 25 people on our tour, which was a typical tour group size. 

At the pier, everyone received a beach towel. 

Then we boarded the speedboat.

We gave iCom Tours our carry on luggage and they stored it in a side storage area so they wouldn’t get wet. There were 6 people, including us, who needed to go to Fulidhoo Island at the end of the tour.

If you’re prone to seasickness, find a forward-facing seat and stay near the front of the boat.

We received a warm welcome from the iCom Team. There were 5 crew members – 2 tour guides, 1 driver, and 2 members who helped with miscellaneous tasks.


First Stop: Finding Lucky Dolphins

We went to the area where lucky dolphins swim around. After waiting a few minutes, the team decided to move on to our next destination as there weren’t any dolphins. 


Second Stop: Sting Rays on Fulidhoo Island

The next stop was seeing the gorgeous sting rays off of the beach on Fulidhoo Island. It’s a well-known spot to see a high concentration of sting rays in the clear turquoise waters. 

Jackie Szeto and Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, kneel in the water and see four sting rays swim by at Fulidhoo Island

The sting rays on Fulidhoo Island are gorgeous!

Since this is a local beach, everyone must cover up the body before departing the boat. Wearing a T-shirt and shorts on the beach is acceptable. 

It was such a cool sight to see at least a dozen sting rays swimming in the water. I also saw a sea turtle pass by. 

Each party from our boat took turns taking photos with the friendly sting rays. 

TIP: Do not touch the tail of the sting rays!

So how are there so many sting rays at one time? The tour groups bring a giant plastic bucket of fish pieces for chumming the water. The chum gets thrown in the water to entice the sting rays throughout the photo session. 

We spent 30 minutes here before going to our next stop. 


Related: Why We Love Fulidhoo Island!


Third Stop: Swim with Nurse Sharks

Next on the agenda was swimming with nurse sharks. 

A swarm of nurse sharks and shark swimming in the Maldives water

Photo credit: Life Of Doing

We didn’t swim immediately with the nurse sharks as people who purchased drone shots took photos first. 

Afterward, everyone dove into the water and took turns taking photos with the dozens of nurse sharks and fish. I couldn’t dive deep into the water, so I stayed close to the surface. The photos still turned out fantastic!

Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, is underwater and has a cluster of nurse sharks and fish swimming around him

Photo credit: iCom Tours

Jackie Szeto, Life Of Doing, is underwater with nurse sharks and fish swimming around her

Photo credit: iCom Tours

Seeing the nurse sharks up close was such a highlight of the trip! They were gentle creatures, albeit a little clumsy. They always bumped into us and each other often. We didn’t feel scared when they bumped into us. 

It was cool to see the symbiotic relationship in the waters as we saw many small fish swimming under the bellies of the the nurse shark for extra protection.  

Again, the tour team used chumming to get a high concentration of nurse sharks in the area. 

Jackie Szeto, Life Of Doing, swim next to a nurse shark

Swimming with the nurse sharks is an incredible adventure to do in the Maldives. Photo credit: Life Of Doing


Fourth Stop: Swim Around the Shipwreck

The Vaanu shipwreck was our next stop. Our guides said that the ship sunk in 2012 and currently has coral and fish swimming around it. 

A couple of people swimming next to the Vaanu shipwreck

Most of the ship is under the water. Photo credit: Life Of Doing

It’s such a calm and lovely area to swim around. We saw many colorful fish and coral growing on the ship. The iCom Team also took photos of everyone. 

Jackie Szeto and Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, have an underwater discussion next to the Vaanu shipwreck

What are we discussing underwater? Photo credit: iCom Tours

In the advertisement for this tour, we saw people posing with a bicycle under the water. It was too deep for me to hold my breath and go under. But I saw a few people sitting on the bicycle. 


Fifth Stop: Lunch at Sandbank

After the two snorkeling sessions, it was time for lunch on a sandbank in the Thinadhoo area. We were hungry!

People walking along a sandbank in Thinadhoo area

Here is our lunch spot – a sandbank in Thinadhoo

Since there were other tour boats on the sandbank, we couldn’t dock the boat directly at the sandbank. So the iCom Team docked close enough to the island and everyone walked in knee-deep waters to the shores. 

The iCom Team brought the lunch and umbrellas to shore. We just needed to bring our beach towels. 

They set up the umbrellas and gave everyone a boxed lunch of spaghetti and grilled chicken, apple juice, and water. I requested a vegetarian lunch and ate spaghetti with a few slices of carrots and cucumber. 

The sandbank had beautiful white powdery sand. It was the perfect way to enjoy lunch and enjoy the peaceful waters. 

After lunch, we walked around the island and saw a sting ray swim by. So exciting!

Justin Huynh, Life Of Doing, watches a sting ray pass by at Thinadhoo sandbank

Justin saw a sting ray pass by


Sixth Stop: Fulidhoo Island

After lunch, the speedboat stopped by Fulidhoo Island to drop off 6 people, including us. 

We were glad to have had this transportation! Our original plan was taking the public ferry from Maafushi to Fulidhoo but I misread the schedule. 

We arrived at 3:30pm and gave our beach towel, snorkel, and fins to our tour guides. 

Then we departed the boat, received our luggage, and met our hosts from our hotel, Luau Beach Inn, at the port. It was now time to enjoy a new adventure on Fulidhoo. 


Last Stop: Maafushi Island

Since we didn’t return to Maafushi, we’re unsure what happened. 

But from our previous experience with yesterday’s whale shark excursion, everyone would have returned the towels and snorkel rental and headed back to their hotels.


Final Thoughts

We had an amazing time on the snorkeling shipwreck excursion from Maafushi. The majestic ocean animals – sting rays, nurse sharks, and fish were incredible to see in person and one of the best reasons to visit Maafushi!

While there are many tour agencies on Maafushi, the iCom Tours did an excellent job with this excursion. They’re well organized and ensure that everyone on the tour gets photos. We would take another tour with them in the future!

Need more posts about Maafushi? Read what we’ve written: 

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The top part of a shipwreck in the Vaanu shipwreck area of Maldives waters

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