Emperor Leo, Maldives

Name: Best of Maldives (Male - Male)
Start: 2027-01-02
End: 2027-01-09
Location: Maldives

9.1 Superb

Nitrox available
Free Nitrox
Jacuzzi / Hot Tub
En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Non-Diver (Snorkeler) Friendly
Warm Water Showers

from $ 278 / day Check dates

“I already did a lot of liveaboards but this one was the best when it comes to service! ”
Steve M, Belgium

Highlights

All port, fuel, and park fees are included
Modern layout with double or twin cabins
Itineraries include The Best of the Maldives, South Central Atolls, and Deep South & Southern Sharks

The Emperor Leo liveaboard offers good value liveaboard diving year-round in the Maldives. She caters to 24 guests in 12 en-suite, air-conditioned cabins. There are eight double or twin cabins on the lower deck, three double or twin cabins on the upper deck, and one large executive suite. On the main deck is the large indoor salon with an entertainment area, bar, and dining room, which leads out to the front deck where the hot tub is. On the upper deck is an outdoor terrace to enjoy a cocktail and watch the sunset, and the upper deck has comfortable loungers for sunbathing in between dives.

The Emperor Leo dive itineraries explore some of the best dive sites in the Maldives. The ever-popular ‘Best of Maldives’ itinerary goes to the iconic sites of North Male, South Male, and Ari Atoll, where divers can enjoy channels, drifts, pinnacles, and the chance to meet mantas, whale sharks, and a wide variety of marine life. Diving takes place from the diving dhoni, giving ample room for getting ready and gear storage. Nitrox is free for certified divers.

Trips aboard Emperor liveaboards include all port and park fees, free Nitrox, and even complimentary wine, while you will never be charged extra for itinerary or fuel surcharges. What you see is what you pay.

Book online today to dive into the Maldives aboard Emperor Leo.

Choose your departure date

Date

Itinerary

Price

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03 Oct

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,780

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10 Oct

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,780

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17 Oct

8 Days / 7 Nights

Valid for a limited time only or until promotional spaces are sold out.

~~$ 2,780~~ $ 2,224 Save 20% -20%

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24 Oct

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,780

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31 Oct

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,780

Select Cabin only 5 spaces left

14 Nov

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,951

Select Cabin available

21 Nov

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,951

FULL

28 Nov

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,951

Select Cabin available

05 Dec

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,951

Select Cabin available

12 Dec

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 2,951

FULL

19 Dec

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 3,064

Select Cabin available

26 Dec

8 Days / 7 Nights

$ 3,064

Select Cabin available

Included: VAT, Environment Tax, Port Fees, Airport Transfer, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Wine with Dinner, Beach BBQ, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Snacks, Diving Package, Nitrox, Land Excursions, Snorkel Gear, Cabin Towels, Deck Towels.

Optional Extras: Gratuities ($150), Alcoholic Beverages ($5), Soft drinks ($3), Nitrox Course ($284), Rental Gear, Scuba Diving Courses ($101-466), WiFi internet ($31).

Book now, pay later: You can easily place your booking online. We will then hold the spaces for you and you can confirm with a payment later.

* Extra fees are shown per person.

Pay by bank transfer or online with

Best Price Guaranteed

Boat features

Jacuzzi / Hot Tub
En-Suite bathrooms
Aircon Cabins
Non-Diver (Snorkeler) Friendly
Warm Water Showers
Air Conditioned saloon
Camera Station
Paid Internet
Charging stations
Indoor Saloon
Library
Audio & video entertainment
Available for Charter
Daily housekeeping

Food & Drinks

Free Wine w/Dinner
Beer available
Wine Available
Full-board Option
Fine Wines Selection
Snacks All Day
Buffet style
Western Food
Local Food

If you have any specific dietary requirements whilst on-board your cruise, you can add this to your special requests on step 2 of the booking form. We advise limiting these requests to religious beliefs or food allergies.

Diving

Nitrox available
Free Nitrox
DIN Adaptors
Rebreather Support
Tenders for diving

Languages Spoken

The crew speaks English, French, and Spanish.

Gear Rental

Equipment is available for rent on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. If the rental gear is not included in the price, you will need to pay for it on board the boat. Show prices

Drawings & Vessel Layouts

Cabin Types

Boat Specifications

Year built: 2009

Year renovated: 2012

Length: 35m

Beam: 9.4m

Top speed: 12 knots

Cruising speed: 10 knots

Engines: 500 HP Mitsubishi

Max guests: 24

Number of cabins: 12

Number of bathrooms: 12

Tenders: Large diving dhoni fully equipped with compressors tanks & oxygen kits

Freshwater maker: 12000 liters per day

Boat navigation and safety

Radio VHF/DSC/SSB
Emergency Rafts
Life Vests
Fire Alarm & Fire Extinguishers
Oxygen
First Aid Kits
Satellite & mobile phones
Bilge pump alarm
Crew trained in first aid

Emperor Leo Reviews

9.1 Superb

Vessel

8.7
Crew

8.9
Food

9.7
Diving

9.3
Value

8.9

10 Exceptional
Sean Percival Y
Spain

Amazing first liveaboard experience
It’s been an amazing week onboard the Emperor Leo. The crew were absolutely amazing and so were the dive guides. The boat itself is huge and very spacious. Would love to repeat this trip in the future!
Recommended for
Crew friendliness and service. Boat and cabin comfort. Food onboard.
15 Jul, 2026

10 Exceptional
Maxim Y
Bulgaria

Great!
Great, and Tina and Oli are really comitted..
Recommended for
The whale sharks, the mantas and other sharks
27 Oct, 2015

10 Exceptional
ANNE B
France

Great diving, great organization, great manager, Jules
All the dives were fabulous, I remember the amount of colors, the variety of fish corals, and the superb side of the manta and shark ball
Recommended for
Rhythm all week long but also the soothing and reassuring side of Jules
27 Jun, 2023

Translated from French

10 Exceptional
Eugene W
Malaysia

something special and magical
The crews were friendly, kind, experienced and knowledgeable. The briefings were amazing. Knowing the people there were so fun and the dives were perfect.
Recommended for
crew, cruise, company
18 Dec, 2023

9.2 Superb
Grace C
United States

Excellently organized and fun liveaboard
Great crew and surprisingly delicious and varied food (though some of it tended to run out...not sure if that was the boat's fault or some of the guests on board...). Overall great experience, saw mind-blowing dive sites and safety was very important to the boat manager and guides. Would definitely recommend this liveaboard to others.
Recommended for
Dive sites, food, comfort
02 Apr, 2021

9.2 Superb
Steve M
Belgium

Very nice and helpful crew, delicious meals and amazing dives!
I already did a lot of liveaboards but this one was the best when it comes to service! At the end of the trip they did even take care to clean our diving equipment and hang it out to dry.
Recommended for
Service from staff and instructors. Delicious food. Atmosphere.
12 May, 2025

10 Exceptional
Anuniti Anil A
India

One of the best diving experiences
We had an amazing one week with Emperor Leo. The dive guides were fantastic, the crew was friendly and the cabins were comfortable- making the whole experience memorable. We saw everything from mantas, eagle rays, dolphins, whale shark, a variety of reef sharks, etc.
Recommended for
Crew, Great diving, Food
20 Jun, 2023

8.8 Fabulous
Mikkel S
Denmark

End of Season Maldives Trip
Very large boat, lots of space onboard. Friendly crew and good setup for diving (gear handling and so forth)
Recommended for
Friendly Crew. Space onboard. Diving.
23 Jul, 2026

9.2 Superb
Jeremie G
France

Very pleasant and relaxing week
Nice trip
Recommended for
The friendliness and professionalism of the dive guides. Marine life. Alexia and Maria.
24 Jun, 2025

Translated from French

10 Exceptional
Clémence V
France

At the top!
Awesome trip, no complaints! The sharks were there, life on board was pleasant. Sure, one day I'll put on the fins again aboard the Leo!
Recommended for
The quality of the dives. The quality of the meals. The boat.
12 Mar, 2026

Translated from French

154 reviews

9.1 Superb
154 Verified Reviews

Sort reviews by:

9.6 Exceptional
Eric R
United States

No regrets on my first Maldives trip. The long plane ride (SFO-SIN-MLE) was the worst part.
Fantastic from stepping on the first boat (dhoni.) Met at the airport, then walked across the street to our dive boat, where we had our gear set up even before reaching the liveaboard boat.
Recommended for
Dive crew was fantastic. All creatures, great and small - Mantas being the greatest. Food was tasty and plentiful, with local flair.
08 Apr, 2026

9.6 Exceptional
Andrew D
Australia

Superb
Absolutely superb trip. A clean,comfortable and well maintained boat. Varied and tasty food. Friendly, obliging and discreet crew. 17 interesting and differing dives including an extraordinary night dive with mantas. Rented scuba gear in flawless condition. Exceeded our expectations. Well done and thank you all.
Recommended for
Dive variety, fish life, dive guide
16 Jul, 2019

9.2 Superb
Steffen H
Germany

Wonderful week of diving!
We had a great week on the Leo and felt well taken care of and looked after at all times. The briefings were extensive and informative, the food, the crew, everything was tip-top! Anytime again!
Recommended for
Our cabin (9). The dive guide (Albert). The whole crew!.
22 Jul, 2025

Translated from German

8.8 Fabulous
Cassandra H
Singapore

Amazing dives, wonderful company!
We were blessed with amazing weather, great visibility and minimal currents. The abundance of fish took our breaths away! The guides were wonderful and we enjoyed every single dive. They were very helpful and friendly, and we definitely had some interesting conversations during the trip. The dive guides also went beyond when we faced some technical issues with our own personal gear -despite some malfunctions, thanks to them, all dives went on smoothly! It is worthy to note that they even gave a mini "lecture" on manta rays. It was very educational and helped us recreational divers understand marine life a little better. All LOBs should have something like that! The boat could do with a little upgrading/ refurnishing, but all in, this was a 5-star trip!
Recommended for
dive sites, wonderful guides
08 Aug, 2022

10 Exceptional
James E
United States

Amazing
The week was an amazing adventure with awesome guides and other adventurers on the trip.
Recommended for
Great guides. Great food. Great diving spots.
09 Jun, 2025

8.8 Fabulous
Dale W
Canada

Everything we expected it to be.
The diving was very good; especially the first shark dive, the first manta dive and the sunset dive. The beach BBQ was nice - unfortunately we were rained out half way through dinner, but it was still fun and a nice break from the boat. It was a very relaxed atmosphere on the boat which was just what we were looking for this trip.
Recommended for
1. Easy to get to from Bangkok (direct flight) 2. Location (what's not to like about the Maldives?) 3. A well organized itinerary and a very good crew that were available to attend to our every request.
03 Apr, 2019

9.2 Superb
Nashreen S
Philippines

It was great
Nitrox divings, food, nice people
Recommended for
1) Variation of dive sites 2) Food was good 3) People on the boat are nice
01 Aug, 2017

9.2 Superb
FRANZISKA A
Switzerland

Between Tiger sharkes and the smalltest of Coral Inhabitants, souther Maledives has everything you could ask for.
This was my first trip to the Maledives. I enjoyed seeing Tresher/Nurse/Tiger Sharkes for the first time in my live. The unstopping Wall of Sharkes will also be unforgettable for me. My personal favourite will be identifying "spotted coral croucher" , which were very shy and belong to the familiy of scorpion fishes. I want to give a big Thank you to Ichelle our guide for her outstanding patient combing the hunt for sharkes and giving me the freedom to still explore coral habitates as well.
Recommended for
Fun group. a lot of freedom by dive guide. so many sharks!.
28 Jan, 2025

10 Exceptional
Michele T
United States

Fantastic liveaboard, crew and dive guides: Very Well Organized
We were upgraded to the Emperor Explorer, which was a fantastic boat. We were amazed by the number of reef sharks, mantas, stingrays and eels that were spotted.
Recommended for
The food was varied and always delicious. The dive briefings were informative and very beneficial to our dive experience.
05 Aug, 2022

9.6 Exceptional
Jeff C
United States

One of, if not the best, dive trips I've taken.
I arrived at the Male airport around 730 AM and waited for the ride to the Leo, as expected. There was a short boat ride to the Leo from the airport. During the trip to the Leo, we were instructed to remove our SCUBA equipment from our luggage and set it up. Upon arrival to the Leo, we were given liquid refreshments along with a short briefing followed by paperwork / documentation verification and cabin assignments. Every evening we were provided times for the next morning's wake-up call, briefing, and departure times to start the dive. Along with this, the information was provided in writing on a white board in the galley/common room. The process and procedures for the briefings and times are well coordinated and thought out. The dive site briefings were as thorough as could be and included options based on water current conditions and directions. The staff was very friendly and knowledgeable. They did a very good job at watching the divers and making sure everyone had the best experience possible, to include matching divers based on air consumption rates and certification levels. The boat crew was phenomenal to say the least. They have the process down to a science and never missed a beat. The meals were delicious and well prepared. The boat, including our cabins, was kept clean. Any maintenance issues that popped up were handled immediately. Now for the actual diving. I was not expecting the currents in Maldives and it took some getting used to. Also, I had some weight issues, as the salinity in the Maldives is a lot less than any place I had previously been. Once I got lined out, I was good to go. For most of the dives, visibility was pretty good, 10 to 20 meters on the low side. Pelagics on every dive, with loads of reef and nurse sharks, several whale sharks and manta rays. One of the best dives of my life was at a site called Fish Head. It's a dive with nurse sharks. There were 20 to 25 of them on one dive and they acted like a cross between dolphins and puppies. The closest thing I can say as a negative is there could have been a couple of additional dives. There was only one night dive during the week. Safety is always a top priority. Reminders about No Deco limits are given before every dive. Most of the dives are between 20 and 30 meters. Everyone dives on nitrox and is required to have reef hooks and dive computers. Divers sign or initial a nitrox log before the dive and provides dive depth, time, and pressure remaining at the end of the dive as a means of accountability. So all divers are logged in and out of the water. I have been in the Caribbean, Persian Gulf, Mediterranean and Red Seas. This trip is one of the best experiences I have had in over 300 dives. It is well worth going and I look forward to going again.
Recommended for
The three best things about the trip were the staff/crew, the accommodations, and the aquatic life.
12 Jun, 2019

9.2 Superb
Giovanna S
Germany

Amazing 😊
This was my first liveaboard with emperor and I can totally recommend it.
Recommended for
Great Dive Guides, beautiful dive spots and great food
29 Jan, 2020

9.6 Exceptional
Eleanor F
United Kingdom

Incredible trip, great crew, great company
Night dive watching 3 mantas feeding, diving with whalesharks, sharks galore!, 100th dive celebrations for 2 fellow divers
Recommended for
Crew, fellow divers, very well organised operation
09 Jun, 2023

10 Exceptional
Emmanuel B
France

Absolute happiness
The boat is ultra comfortable, the food varied and delicious, everything is rhythmed in a perfect way, the crews and guides are kind, dedicated and ultra efficient, at the end of the stay the tip becomes a matter of course as their work is fabulous, a special thank you to Ismail our guide, who knows the ocean like the back of his hand and made us live intense emotions. Finally, particular attention is paid to the respect of nature and animals, a rather marked sense of ecology ends up delighting us.Thank you!
Recommended for
Night diving with mantas, whale sharks, barbecue on the beach
29 Jan, 2020

10 Exceptional
Robert M
Sweden

openwater
i think we saw everything we could wish for on the dives and the service, food was incredible on the boat. also i was quite rusty in diving not been dived since 2019 but the crews professional helped me so i manage all 17 dives.
Recommended for
whaleshark swim, manta swim, the crew,
07 Jan, 2024

10 Exceptional
Vasilij S
Lithuania

Best Of The Best
I wanted to experience diving with a sharks and team somehow with their amazing magic made it possible! :) Super happy and already looking for the next trip with emperor :)
Recommended for
sharks people views
11 Jan, 2021

6.8 Review score
Ann-Christin M
Sweden

Great trip
We enjoyed the trip and specially.the dives with nurse sharks and sting rays.
Recommended for
Very friendly & helpful staff, very professional briefings before diving, very good with a separate donie.
02 Jan, 2016

8.8 Fabulous
christian C
France

Manific
Swimming and diving with sharks and manta rays what a joy, the guides finally with real skills (a big thank you to Jules for his welcome and these skills), a really good staff with a great atmosphere. In conclusion, a manific moment.
Recommended for
The briefing, the dive sites, the friendliness
05 Jun, 2023

8.0 Very good
Alistair D
United Kingdom

Good boat, great crew and fantastic diving
Channel diving with dozens of Grey Reef Sharks and Eagle Rays. Chance encounters with a Whale Shark, Mobulas, Sailfish and Dolphins. A great week of diving.
Recommended for
Diving, Accomodation, Crew
03 Apr, 2019

9.6 Exceptional
Ekaterina E
France

Love!
Incredible night dive and snorkel with mantas Close-up interactions with nurse sharks and a lot of shark action Informative lectures about sharks and mantas :)
Recommended for
World-class diving with pelagics, food, Jules!
03 Mar, 2024

9.2 Superb
Florian K
Austria

Shark trip for experienced divers
Good trip to experience Maledives and its channels with lots of action
Recommended for
Happy hour. Diving. Crew.
03 Dec, 2025