Breakfast, lunch, dinner and afternoon snacks are all included on board.

Traditional Maldivian cuisine is based around fish (tuna), chilli and coconuts. White rice and roshi (a flour-based flatbread) are also staples. Fish is normally smoked, fired, barbecued or roasted. Pork products are strictly prohibited, beef and seafood is not served on-board. Typical ingredients used widely in dishes and served on board include onion, ginger, garlic, lemon and spices.

Menus include European and Maldivian dishes, freshly prepared on board by our chefs who do their best to cater for most dietary requirements.

The indoor saloon bar offers a wide choice of soft drinks, wine, beer and spirits to purchase. Please note, no alcohol is allowed on the islands – it is only permitted in the resorts and on the boats.

Please discuss any dietary requirements with your sales representative at the time of booking.

Explore the compact capital with a local guide, taking in the bustle of the Malé Fish Market, produce stalls near Republic Square, and the golden-domed Islamic Centre. Learn about trade, atoll logistics and daily life as you navigate narrow streets toward the waterfront and Presidential Jetty.

Pause by Hukuru Miskiy (Old Friday Mosque) to view its coral-stone craftsmanship from outside and hear stories spanning sultanate to modern republic. This experience is at additional cost and bookable on tour, ideal for those with spare energy after anchoring in Hulhumalé.

Glide above coral bommies at the Madivaru cleaning stations, where manta rays hover as cleaner fish attend to them. Drift calmly in the blue, keeping a respectful distance while observing cephalic fins unfurl and wingspans sweeping the current in rhythmic loops.

These encounters are most reliable between February and April when plankton draws mantas to the area. A radio network between vessels helps your crew locate activity, and out of season it’s still possible to find solitary individuals as you glide above coral bommies teeming with reef life.

Explore a shallow coral garden on the outer edge of an atoll, where green and hawksbill turtles browse amid branching corals. Move with slow, even fin-kicks through clear water as bannerfish, boxfish and porcupinefish weave between hard-coral heads and sandy patches in the lagoon.

Your guide outlines best practice in the turtle garden—giving space at the surface and avoiding sudden dives—while explaining how reef structure shelters juvenile fish. The bright, dappled light here makes superb conditions for relaxed viewing and photography.

Visit a selection of sites across the South Ari Atoll chosen for the day’s currents and visibility—ledges, pinnacles and coral canyons rich with colour. Expect sweetlips, trevallies and the occasional dogtooth tuna cutting through schools of fusiliers, with butterflyfish and parrotfish brightening the reefscape.

Guides brief you on safe entries, exits and reading the current, then interpret reef behaviour underwater. Between snorkels, compare sightings on deck as you trace the kaleidoscopic reefs that make Ari a Maldivian classic for accessible, high-energy marine life.

Step ashore on Dhangethi to share traditional Maldivian tea with sweet and savoury bites, meeting island hosts and sensing everyday life beyond the resort lagoons. Stroll sandy lanes lined with breadfruit and coconut palms as your leader introduces local customs and seafaring heritage.

Gather for an orientation with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme, including the whale shark code of conduct you will follow in the protected waters of South Ari. The briefing enhances tomorrow’s search while ensuring wildlife-first practices guide every encounter.

Connect from the boat for an evening session with the Maldives Whale Shark Research Programme (MWSRP). Hear from a field researcher about shark biology, behaviour and the region’s unique aggregation, then review how photographs feed a spot-pattern ID database used to track individuals over time.

Learn how citizen science underpins conservation decisions, from protected-area planning to vessel codes in feeding grounds. Bring today’s images and questions—scientists help you match and log sightings so your experience directly supports long-term research.

Join your crew and partners for a presentation on coral reef resilience, seagrass meadows and the migratory megafauna that connect Maldivian atolls. Hear how bleaching, coastal pressures and boat traffic affect habitats, and how local NGOs respond through education, monitoring and restoration.

Understand how marine protected areas are designated and what travellers can do— from reef-safe sun care to responsible snorkelling practices. This reflective session typically occurs toward the end of the voyage, adding context to the wildlife you’ve seen offshore.

Set out by dhoni to explore the South Ari Marine Protected Area, watching for telltale fins and shadows before slipping into the water to snorkel alongside whale sharks. Guides brief you on the whale shark code of conduct, helping you keep a respectful distance while appreciating the scale, grace and polka-dot patterns of the world’s largest fish.

Contribute images to a photo-identification effort that supports ongoing research into individual movements and behaviour. Your team explains how ethical encounters and citizen science aid conservation, turning a thrilling wildlife moment into meaningful participation in the Maldives’ protection of these gentle giants.