After spending a day on Maldives’s Maafushi Island, we were itching to go on a snorkeling day trip for the next day.
We stopped by a few tour agencies along the main port area such as iCom Tours, Velaa Trips, and Shadowpalm Tours. We noticed an excursion for the chance to see whale sharks and manta rays. Since we hadn’t seen these before, we immediately signed up.
So, here is our experience with swimming with whale sharks and manta rays from Maafushi Island and what you need to know about this tour. We paid for this tour so it’s not sponsored, and you’ll get our honest feedback.
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How to Book a Snorkeling Excursion
There are a handful of agencies along the Maafushi pier area and you can see the flyers for the tours offered.
You’ll need to inquire if they’ll have a whale shark excursion on your preferred day. Since there is a minimum number of people for the tour, agencies may not offer the excursion every day.
TIP: Ask the agency when was the last time they saw the whale sharks. It’s not guaranteed that you’ll see one. So, you don’t want to be disappointed if there aren’t any recent sightings.
If you’re interested in an excursion for the next day, it’s best to visit the agencies between 6:00pm to 8:00pm. They’ll have a better sense of the water and weather conditions and determine if a tour will happen.
Which Tour Agency Did We Use?
We reserved the tour with Shadowpalm Tours as they already met the minimum requirement for the tour (8 people).
While they gave us a caveat that seeing a whale shark may not happen, they saw one on a previous day’s tour. They showed us the video footage from the tour. So, that gave us hope that we would see one.
Quick Overview of the Tour
- Full day tour from 7:30am to 3:00pm
- Snorkeling with whale sharks
- Snorkeling with manta rays
- Swim with lucky dolphins
- Lunch at Dhigurah Island’s Bikini Beach
Things to Know Before Taking the Tour
- The cost is $100 per person. It’s the same price that we saw for all the agencies. Tour includes tour guides, speedboat transportation, snorkel and fin rental, life jackets, a beach towel, lunch, bottled water, and underwater videos. (We didn’t post any photos from the underwater videos. (We didn’t post any photos from the underwater videos that Shadowpalm Tours took as we’re still waiting for confirmation to post.)
- For Shadowpalm Tours, we paid in cash as they charge an extra 4% if using a credit card. After payment, we tried on different fin sizes. I’m a woman size 8.5 (U.S.) and wore a 2XS (the smallest size) fin.
- This tour is fast-paced. You would need to be ready to jump into the water immediately when there is a whale shark and manta ray sighting. Also, you’ll need to swim and follow everyone to see the whale sharks and manta rays.
- While life jackets are provided to those who cannot swim, knowing how to swim will make your experience better. As mentioned previously, you’ll need to swim to see the whale shark and manta rays. The marine animals do not stay in one spot! It will be intense for those who wear life jackets and cannot catch up with the group.
- Lunch has non-vegetarian and vegetarian options. Everyone is given a box of carbohydrates (rice or spaghetti). Then, there are sides of grilled chicken and salad.
- You don’t need to bring much on the day of the trip. Sunscreen, a hat, an underwater camera, and extra snacks and water will be sufficient. A dry bag is also optional to keep your stuff dry.
- Do not bring important things, such as a wallet or passport, with you on the excursion. It’s recommended to leave these at the hotel so you don’t lose them. There won’t be a chance to buy anything during the excursion.
Our Whale Shark & Manta Ray Snorkeling Excursion Experience
We checked into Shadowpalm Tours at 7:15am and received our fins, snorkel, beach towel, and a water bottle.
Our tour had 24 people, so it was a large group. There was plenty of space on the speedboat as everyone had a seat.
TIP: If you get seasick, it’s best to have a forward-facing seat and sit closer to the front of the boat.
I wasn’t feeling well and had a backward-facing seat. The bounciness from the speedboat ride was too intense for me. I ended up throwing up twice after jumping into the water. Not a pretty sight.
We received a welcome from the Shadowpalm Tours team and met the tour guides, driver, and other helpers.
First Stop: Whale Shark Area
The first stop for whale shark sightings took 1 hour 45 minutes to get to, so it was far from Maafushi.
The Shadowpalm Team used a drone to see if there were any sightings. We kept our fingers crossed that we would hear good news.
After a few minutes of flying the drone, the team said one was in the water! Hooray!
Everyone immediately put on their snorkel and fins and jumped into the water.
It was chaotic as everyone expended their energy, kicked each other’s faces and bodies with their fins, and chased the whale shark.
Here is our first sighting of the whale shark in the Maldives! Photo credit: Life Of Doing
I saw the whale shark from afar and it was not too large, yet so cute!
We can see what it’s called a “gentle giant.” The wide gummy mouth and gentle swim through the water were so majestic to see in person.
The whale shark accidentally bumped into Justin on its belly area as he tried to get away from it. Yet, it didn’t seem to care and continued swimming.
We were so close to the whale shark. Photo credit: Life Of Doing
The Shadowpalm Tours team took videos of everyone swimming or diving next to the whale shark. I couldn’t hold my breath to dive, so I swam on the surface next to the whale shark.
I’m next to the whale shark! Photo credit: Life Of Doing
Even though we saw only one shark, this trip was already a success!
Second Stop: See manta rays
Our next stop was seeing manta rays. We traveled for another 30 minutes by speedboat.
The Shadowpalm Tours used their drone to spot the manta rays and there were sightings.
We saw four manta rays gliding elegantly in the water. What a beautiful sea creature!
This manta ray swam really fast! Photo credit: Life Of Doing
The manta rays swim much faster than the whale sharks, so if you’re too slow with swimming and catch up with them, then they will be gone.
We experienced the same mad rush with putting on the fins and getting into the water to chase them.
A few people stayed on the boat and they could see the manta rays near the surface of the water.
It was harder to take individual photos and videos with the manta rays, so the Shadowpalm team took videos of the manta rays and shared them with everyone.
Third Stop: See lucky dolphins
Next on the agenda was seeing lucky dolphins.
Unfortunately, we weren’t so lucky and didn’t see any in the water. But that was okay as we already accomplished our goal of seeing a whale shark and manta rays!
Fourth Stop: Lunch at Dhigurah North West Bikini Beach
It was after 1:00pm and time for lunch. We arrived at Dhigurah Island and ate at the North West Bikini Beach area.
Here is the Bikini Beach of Dhigurah Island
The boat parked near the shore, so we walked in the water to the beach. As a heads up, the waters near the shore had tons of small rocks and broken coral, so it was like walking on Lego blocks.
Once we arrived on the white sandy beach, we found a spot near the palm trees. It was nice to have shade. But, beware of the hungry mosquitoes here!
We received a box of spaghetti with garlic and olives or a box of rice and apple juice. We could add apple slaw and/or grilled chicken. For dessert, we ate slices of sweet watermelon and papaya.
It’s lunchtime at Dhigurah Beach
We had one hour to relax and take a breather.
Cheese! We’re happy with our Shipwreck tour so far!
Last Stop: Return to Maafushi
After the full day, it was time to take the 1.5 hour trip back to Maafushi.
We arrived at Maafushi between 2:30pm – 3:00pm. Everyone returned the snorkel, fins, and beach towel, and said their goodbyes to the tour guides.
We had a few hours of rest before dining at Melon Restaurant, one of the places we ate on the island.
After 7:00pm, we walked to the Shadowpalm Tours office to collect our photos from the excursion. They didn’t have the photos ready.
But we gave them our email address and they sent an email with a link to a Google Photos album. The album included all the videos that the team took. We had 7 days to look through the album and download them.
The underwater videos turned out fantastic! We had a few videos of us swimming next to the whale shark. The Shadowpalm team also shared drone videos of the manta rays and whale shark. We’ll update this post with stills from the videos that the Shadowpalm Team took once we receive the okay.
Final Thoughts
Snorkeling with whale sharks and manta rays was a top highlight of our Maafushi trip. We highly recommend this tour as the marine creatures are gorgeous to see in person.
The Shadowpalm Tours team did an amazing job organizing the trip, taking videos of everyone, and ensuring that we had a fun experience. We would take another excursion from them in the future.
Before you leave, check out our post on the Shipwreck & Nurse Shark Excursion that we took from Maafushi.
If you need inspiration with planning a trip to Maafushi, check out the other posts we’ve written:
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