Moonima, Maldives
- from $ 183 / day
- 8.8 Fabulous
- 27 Verified Reviews 27 Verified Reviews
- Nitrox available Extra Flexible Booking
The 30m Moonima liveaboard offers world-class diving trips in the Maldives. Having recently undergone a complete renovation with the highest standards in service and safety, the Moonima Liveaboard offers a cozy and pleasant atmosphere. There are 10 cabins onboard, each with an en-suite bathroom and individually controlled AC, to cater to a maximum of 20 guests. Facilities on-board include an indoor air-conditioned lounge on the main deck with bar, comfortable sofas, chairs and tables, TV/DVD/CD, hi-fi stereo, and a selection of books and board games. On the second deck is a panoramic lounge area with a corner bar, where a selection of drinks, beers, wines, and international liquors will be served. There are also two sun-decks with sunbeds and a shaded area, and a lounge area at the prow of the boat.
Diving takes place from the dedicated dive Dhoni, ensuring plenty of space for gear storage and setup. From the Moonima Liveaboard divers will get the chance to explore the beautiful Maldivian waters, with trips to the Central Atolls, and even some unexplored Northern routes. Trips are planned carefully with the Cruise Director once you are on board to make sure you get the most out of your diving holiday.
The Moonima crew are well trained in eco-conscious activities and onboard guests are offered biodegradable shampoo and reusable items like straws. Drinking water production is through a reverse osmosis system. Moonima also collaborates with NGO´s like Parley for the Oceans and Manta Trust to help protect the delicate underwater marine life and corals.
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Included: VAT, Airport Transfer, Drinking Water, Tea & Coffee, Beach BBQ, Full-Board Meal Plan (All meals), Diving Package, Kayaks, Land Excursions, Stand Up Paddleboard, Cabin Towels, Complimentary Toiletries, Deck Towels.
Required Extras: Environment Tax (6 USD per day).
Optional Extras: Dive Insurance (30 USD per trip), Gratuities, Local Flights, Alcoholic Beverages, Soft drinks, Extra Dives (45 USD per activity), Nitrox (90 USD per week), Nitrox Course (220 USD per activity), Rental Gear, Scuba Diving Courses (220-320 USD per activity), Snorkel Gear, WiFi internet (30 USD per week).
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.
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Boat features
Food & Drinks
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
The crew speaks English and French.
Gear Rental
There is diving gear available on this boat. Please provide your rental needs on the booking form. See below for further details on inclusions and pricing. Show prices.
Accommodation
Boat Specifications
- Year built 2002
- Year renovated 2015
- Length 30 meters
- Deck area 3 Decks
- Beam 10 meters
- Top speed 10 knots
- Cruising speed 9 knots
- Engines Diesel Volvo
- Max guests 20
- Number of cabins 10
- Number of bathrooms 10
- Tenders 1 dhoni diving 1 skiff
- Water capacity 6000 liters
- Fuel capacity 10 tons
- Freshwater maker 6 tons per day
Boat Navigation and Safety
Moonima Reviews
- 8.8 Fabulous
- 27 Verified Reviews
- Vessel 8.8
- Crew 8.4
- Food 9.6
- Diving 8.1
- Value 9.0
- 8.8 Fabulous
- David S
![United States]()
United States
Great big animal safari
Whale shark & mantas
- Recommended for
- Whale shark, mantas and getting out on the water
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Jonathan L
![United States]()
United States
The trip was awesome, giving us our best, most diverse diving experience ever, highly professional and caring guides, superb food and great company.
Night dives with giant mantas and hundreds of nurse sharks, the practical knowledge we gained from multiple deep dives and dealing with challenging currents at depth, the great company and diving experience of our boat mates and the incredible food, from fish curries and other local dishes, to a barbecue on a deserted island.
- Recommended for
- The incredible diversity of the marine animals we encountered, from a whale shark and scores of other sharks and giant mantas to dolphins and pilot whales, the professionalism and attentiveness of the dive guides and boat crew, and the greater appreciation we gained of one of our planet's most fragile but wondrous ecosystems.
- 10 Exceptional
- don E
![United States]()
United States
I was super happy with everything.
Lots of big animals. Great boat great food and staff.
- Recommended for
- Food, staff, cabin. Not in any order
- 8.0 Very good
- Sean E
![United Kingdom]()
United Kingdom
Maldives
We were upgraded to the Sachika from the Moonima, both very lovely boats Sachika being the larger of the two with space for more guests. Diving the best sites in central Maldives and seeing Manta rays. Endless sun, perfect facilities and service on the boat.
- Recommended for
- The dive sites and guides, great boat and fantastic service from the crew
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Vytautas R
![Lithuania]()
Lithuania
Lovely private week!
Since we have booked the first week of the season it was only us and another couple on board (usually the boat accommodates 16pax). We enjoyed our semi private week and the atmosphere on the boat was great. Big thanks to Alessio and Big Ali for amazing diving as well as all the other staff on board who were extremely attentive and helpful throughout the week. We will be looking to returning shortly.
- Recommended for
- Diving, service, privacy
- 9.2 Superb
- Ron H
![Israel]()
Israel
Magnificent dives, an unforgettable adventure
Night dive with sharks and mantas.
- Recommended for
- Organization, Attractions, Service
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Iñaki C
![Spain]()
Spain
awesome
Everything was so nice, I loved dive spots, the big stuff underwater, the way the crew treated us, very friendly... I only have one bad thing, and thats the crazy noise of the AC in the room.
- Recommended for
- dive sites - food - crew
- 8.0 Very good
- JOSE B
![Brazil]()
Brazil
Great diving trip
Scenery, dives
- Recommended for
- Accommodation, food, staff
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Rachel M
![United Kingdom]()
United Kingdom
Fantastic trip and seen everything I'd hoped to see including Manta Rays, Whale Shark and lots of turtles.
Highlights were having a BBQ on a desert island, seeing the megafauna I'd never seen before whilst diving including numerous Manta Rays and a Whale Shark other highlights included being able to enjoy free time on the sand banks whilst having great service from the staff. Xico,the captain, Rico, Norwin and Ale made me feel at home and welcome throughout my stay. The Dhongy staff were also great at helping out before and after a dive and very knowledgeable and attentive to everyone's needs. Overall it was a fabulous experience for my first liveaboard and I would not hesitate to to it all over again in the future.
- Recommended for
- The staff, the dives and the food
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Yuan tian C
![Taiwan]()
Taiwan
A truly enjoyable travel
A truly enjoyable travel
- Recommended for
- Friendly people.value for money.diving guides
- 7.2 Good
- Klara Z
![Czech Republic]()
Czech Republic
Very Italian...
BBQ dinner on the island prepared by the our staff was breath-taking! The Honeymoon surprise was very cute. Maldivian dinner was so delicious.
- Recommended for
- great diving, friendly local crew, weather
- 10 Exceptional
- Patrick S
![Canada]()
Canada
Exciting
Night Diving with Reef Sharks, Manta Rays, White tip Sharks
- Recommended for
- Food, Marine life, Weather
- 8.0 Very good
- Linda P
![Australia]()
Australia
Great time enjoyable felt well looked after
Friendliness of staff and crew good happy vibe spacious rooms own bathroom dive sites but must try to reduce air conditioner noise in the bedrooms and buy new diving equipment wetsuits etc bit old now add a mild curry to the menu
- Recommended for
- Great divemaster great food tasty and lots of it enjoyed boat layout plenty of space to sit
- 8.8 Fabulous
- Beatriz G
![Mexico]()
Mexico
Overall one of the greatest experiences I have had.
I enjoy the diving, the learning, the experience. It was amazing to get to see whale shark, sharks, mantas, color fish, corals, tourtles, everything. It was nice to rest during the evenings just observing the ocean, and share with others in the boat. We had a great time during our breaks also. It was much more that what I expected. I went alone and I met a group of amazing Italian people (they were coming together). I strongly recommend to live a liveaboard trip
- Recommended for
- 1. Diving sites were great 2. Ali and Alession patience with me who was the most junior on the group 3. The people I get to meet there and how they were sharing their expertise with me
- 8.4 Very good
- Elena J
![Germany]()
Germany
Great value for money but a few drawbacks
Overall very good value for money and more included dives than advertised (26 in total for the 10 day trip). Extras were very reasonably priced, too. Lovely dive sites - I particularly enjoyed the Mantas and various other rays and turtles. Most reefs are quite dull, due to the most recent El Nino but marine life is amazing nonetheless. And the food was the best I ever had on a liveaboard. I also liked that the diving was done off the Dhoni which also hosted the compressor, thus allowing more space on the main boat and no compressor noise. A few things worth knowing before you book: - Ratio dive guide - guests is 1:8 which already is a lot. On top, our guides mostly kept both groups together, meaning we were diving in a group of 14 which is way too much for my personal liking. I'd gladly pay more for a better ratio and would definitely advise to keep the groups separate. - Quality of safety briefing was substandard: we never got an initial safety briefing for the boat and the Dhoni, nor any information about emergency oxygen etc. Same for the dive briefings - I am used to an initial briefing on key safety features such as method of entry, when to signal for air consumption, whether buddy pairs are allowed to abort a dive on their own or whether that would impact the entire group etc. - Language: everything was done in French. As only 3 of the 14 guests spoke limited/no French, we often had to ask for communications/briefings to be repeated in English. Not only were English briefings more condensed than French briefings, at times we had to rely on other guests translating. Overall, communication to guests was limited to the absolute bare minimum. If the boat is run in French only, I would expect to be advised of that prior to making a booking. - And my personal assessment on two of the dives: Whale Shark snorkelling - terrible experience to be thrown in the water with approx 70 other people who all chase after a poor whale shark. When I saw that we scared the poor animal to retreat to greater depths, I went back to the Dhoni. Also, fighting with 70 other snorkelers over a short glimpse of the animal is a safety hazard. Similarly, the nurse shark night dive was probably the worst dive I ever experienced - over 100 people in the water, trying to stay in one place despite a strong current and competing for the best view of the nurse sharks and stingrays. There are places on this planet where you can go see sharks and sting rays in a much more relaxed environment - Bahamas, Palau, Jupiter/Florida, to name but a few. Whale sharks are probably a bit more difficult to come by but I have also seen them before. The Manta night dive, on the other hand, was one of the best experiences ever - we were the only group down there with them and there was not much current for us to fight either. With the above in mind, however, I would still recommend the boat and would also go again.
- Recommended for
- Marine life, esp. Mantas, amazing food
- 9.6 Exceptional
- Khaled M
![Egypt]()
Egypt
Amazing experience
Everything was amazing:dives,food and the staff was always very helpful. The only thing that I suggest to change is the number of guides. Our group was 9 divers with only one guide.
- Recommended for
- The guides have done their best to make sure that we see all what we are expecting. We have been diving with whale Shark,Mantas and have seen about 100 sharks during our dives..
- 6.4 Review score
- Silvia B
![Italy]()
Italy
Nice experience
Beutifull dive sites
- Recommended for
- Food, time organization, boat comfort
- 8.0 Very good
- Virginia S
![Canada]()
Canada
Boat, meals and dives were great. Not impressed with the guides or their attention to safety
Whale sharks and mantas
- Recommended for
- Meals were excellent, accommodation very nice
- 6.8 Review score
- Martin J
![Sweden]()
Sweden
Good, but the safety briefings and engagement of dive guides needs improvements
Mantas, Whalesharks and visits to islands + evening BBQ
- Recommended for
- Not so crowded with gusts on the boat, good food and some (not all) great dives
- 8.4 Very good
- Kerim A
![Turkey]()
Turkey
Good Value for Money yet wouldn't be my top choice
I've done the Central Route. The crew did their best to coordinate with other locals to figure out the dive sites that we had the best chance of seeing marinelife. The dive briefings were good and detailed but the dives underwater were a bit disorganized. I don't remember our dive guide ever asking for how much air we have left our tanks during any of the dives for example. The boat is okay, looks a bit old. The wood work needs some paint to bring it back to life. The rooms are good size, AC works, bathrooms are good as well. The filtered coffee was one of the worst I have ever tasted and hopefully they will change that. The drinking water on board is made from the ocean which is great in terms of ecology but tastes a bit weird. The ship is run by Eco Pro Divers, which is a German company and attracks German tourists mostly. The last thing was that we have filled multiple forms including our personal information, dive and medical history and travel plans prior to boarding online but were asked to complete a similar form by hand when we were on board again despite having provided all of that information beforehand. Overall solid, mediocre boat. Nothing fancy, nothing too bad.
- Recommended for
- Crew friendliness, food, rooms.
- 9.2 Superb
- Thomas K
![Switzerland]()
Switzerland
Very good
Frendly Crew and Guides
- Recommended for
- Boot, Diveplace, Kabine
- 8.0 Very good
- Rosmaria B
![Switzerland]()
Switzerland
I liked the diving
Diving with many sharks and a friendly community on board.
- Recommended for
- Diving, eating, sleeping
