Eco Blue Liveaboard, Maldives

Very comfortable stay with excellent guides!

Diving with reef sharks and mantas, plus wonderful coral fish. Need to come back for hammerheads and whale sharks, though ... ;-)

Recommended for

The dive guides, diving with sharks and mantas, the comfortable, laid-back atmosphere on board.

27 Dec, 2020

The best liveaboard in the Maldives!

This was by far the best liveaboard and dive holiday I've ever been on (previously been on Leo in the Maldives and another liveaboard in the Philippines, and also diving in Indonesia, Oman, Sicily, and Iceland). The main reason for this was definitely the incredible atmosphere created by all the staff, who were so friendly and made it such a wonderful week! The boat itself is very comfortable, the food is great, and the dives were spectacular. The cabins on lower deck are beautiful wooden rooms, with powerful showers that always have hot water. The bed is made up several times a day, and the air con keeps the room cool. The food is really tasty and there is lots of it, and it is served on the table, instead of buffet style, which is much nicer. There are 3 shaded sun decks with loungers and bean bags, and there is always loads of chilled filtered water to drink. The dive tender is really large and the boat staff are so helpful - they always helped me carry my tank in and out of the boat since I had a back operation. The dives themselves were brilliant, and the briefings were always thorough and well explained. The dive guides are great - ours was Shamoon, and he was amazing! Always so friendly, fun, and helpful. The GM, Alex, was on the boat the week we were there and he was so kind, friendly, and fun! Some other amazing experiences were drinking from coconuts on a beach while listening to music with the staff and guests. Snorkelling at the back of the boat with a whale shark and dolphins who stayed all night and who we had to ourselves! Watching a pod of pilot whales from the boat - the captain followed them for us for half an hour so we could get a better look! This was one of the best holidays I've been on, and I will definitely be booking Eco Blue next time I'm in the Maldives! It surpassed my expectations on every count. Thank you so much!

Recommended for

Dive guides, staff, food.

14 Feb, 2018

Great Week of Diving

My wife and I really enjoyed the dive safari around the central atolls on Eco Blue. Pros: the boat is big enough with ample space to hangout and relax. Everything is straight forward without being too fancy. We had one of the upper deck cabins which was spacious enough for an 8-day trip. Storage is plenty with shelfs & hangers. The bathroom is a combination of all-in-one as you find it on most liveaboards (we prefer separate shower; however this was not a show-stopper at all). The room and bathroom have ventilation/windows which was nice getting a cool breeze in, every now and then. The cuisine was outstanding, plentiful and tasty (with a nice variety of salads, vegetables, fish, meat, noodles, etc.). On the drinking part there was a good variation of beer, wine, and other liquor. Vessel & dhoni: both were clean and fully functional to Maldives standards. Given that we were going at the end of the season, some minor wear & tear was to be expected but did not in any case affect the dive operation. Staff/dive guides/briefing: Just outstanding, very friendly, approachable and helpful at any time, the dive briefings & announcements were one of a kind clearly stating the dive objective, safety-, entry-, exit- strategy with detailed hand-drawn dive maps. The boat/dhoni captain & crew together with the dive guides hit the dive locations & current situation spot on. We had, as expected, some rougher seas during the dives, but always were picked-up without delay keeping every bodies safety the upmost priority. Diving: Given the time of the year May 2021, the vis was still fine. The dives were generally 60 minutes long or 50 bar. Buddy pairs could ‘go up’ as they got low on Nitrox/NDL. Diving was a mix of strong, medium and almost no current experience. We did one night-dive with mantas, one night-snorkeling with wale sharks, a dawn dive with nurse sharks (amazing !!) and two wreck dives. Despite the variant visibility we were very lucky to see plenty of sharks, turtles, rays, octopus, moray eels, lots of small critters and fish. Dive companion: As this is the most ‘unknown’ until you arrive on the liveaboard, we truly enjoyed the international mix containing of Germans (11, German-operated boat), Dutch (2), English (1) French (1), Russian (2). Generally, the diver-level was advanced, with photographers, just-divers and two doing his OW & AOW / Nitrox course. Groups were put together in the right way (hard-core photographers together). Cons: Aircon in room is a bit weak and sometimes outside noise from Aircon unit (minor & both were no deal breaker). For the early-arrivers a check-dive on the same day of arrival would be nice as well a 2nd dive-offer before the departure day for people who stay in Maldives or have late flight (24-hours no flight rule). Possibly retuning mid-day prior to departure day could have allowed for additional and more preferred diving away from Male (to reduce the marina time in Male on Saturday as much as possible). However, we understand that the Covid testing requirement possibly affects the schedule. Overall: The staff & guides were unbelievably friendly combined with a tranquil atmosphere on board. Food was amazing, super tasty. Diving for us never disappoints in the Maldives and we apricate every effort by the crew/guides to find the best underwater spots. The disembarking process with Covid-19 testing was organized very well with full support from the crew. An excellent value for money experience.

Recommended for

Dive guides & dives, manta & nurse shark diving, wale shark snorkeling

26 May, 2021