Freediving in Rasdhoo
this is the beach you can enter from if you go freediving in Rasdhoo.

Freediving in Rasdhoo

As with so many spots that have great underwater scenery, there is quite some current at the best spots in Rasdhoo. However, it is a great island for freediving and unlike other Maldivian islands it has some decent restaurants and cafes. It is also the best place to explore for great white sharks, and not a bad island to make a stop over if you intend to do some freediving and spearing in Ukulhas. Freediving in Rasdhoo is a must if you are visiting the Maldives and are flying in from Male.
Freediving in Rasdhoo: How to get there

The best way to know for sure that you will get from MLE airport to Rasdhoo, is to ask your accomodation for the best ways to get there. They can book your transfer and tell you where to go and when. You can get to Rasdhoo in four different ways:

The public ferry: By far the cheapest, it leaves from Male in the morning on specific days. To be sure, check the MTCC ferry schedule. It takes several hours but is only a few dollars.
The speedboat ferry: This will cost you 30 – 45 USD depending on who books for you. There is a speedboat ferry that leaves Rasdhoo daily in the afternoon. In order to secure your spot, make sure you contact the place you are staying in Rasdhoo.
Chartered speedboat: You can charter a speedboat. It usually costs upward of 500 USD but if you have several people joining it may be cheaper than the chartered ferry and you can leave whenever.
Floatplane: With the float plane you can get from MLE airport to Rasdhoo in just 30 minutes, but it is pricey.

Freediving in Rasdhoo: Where to stay

There are quite a few guesthouses in Rasdhoo. We were in the Banana Residence, which was a very nice guesthouse. At the time of writing, several guesthouses were under construction and it is likely that they will compete with each other for prices. You should be able to book accomodation for 2 for less than 80 USD per night.

Freediving in Rasdhoo: Things to see and entry

Rasdhoo has a patch of the most vibrant and alive coral that I have seen while freediving in the Maldives. Beautiful table corals with mantas, eels, octopus, shark, turtles, you name it. We saw mantas on about half our dives, and turtles on nearly every dive. When watching the sunset in the evening we saw a juvenile shark right near the beach and eels swimming in the shallows.

The entry is difficult and painful if barefoot, especially at low tide, but it is also worth it. There is a bank of coral debris before the best part of the reef that you have to cross. At high tide you can do this swimming but at low tide you will have to walk. The reef on the south of the island is the best place to dive.

Rasdhoo is also near an island where you can dive with hammerhead sharks. Normally these dives are done on scuba but if you are willing you can do them on breathhold. You will need to do dives to ~30 m depth in the deep blue in order to see them. Not for the faint of heart….

If you dive here try to hit the slack. The current is less at high tide. As usual the best patch of coral has the most current. Here is a movie of our dive in Rasdhoo:

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Jaap

Jaap is a geologist by trade and a freediver by passion. Jaap wrote the book Longer and Deeper in 2018. His book teaches how to train for freediving and spearfishing on land.

This Post Has 4 Comments

  1. Bonny & Gava

    Hi. Isn’t it dangerous to freedive without a guide in the Maldives? We are also freedivers but we are used to the Mediterranean and have no experience with marine wildlife. Any recommendations for us? Thank you so much.

    1. Luca Malaguti

      Hi,

      Will you be freediving in the Maldives? Then yes, go with a trained professional and guide.

      Send me an email at luca@freedivewire.com and I’ll put you in touch with someone excellent.

      Ciao,

  2. audenacademy

    Hi, Can you tell me where I can take freediving course in Rasdhoo or other island. I will go to Maldives soon.

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