The Maldives are made up of about 1,200 islands which are divided into 21 geographical atolls and 19 administrative, and stretch over a length of about 470 miles (about 870 km) from north to south.

This enormous land extension and the extreme diversity over various zones allows one to propose different itineraries, depending on the length and period of the cruise.

The Oceanic currents, the weak but constant Monsoonal winds which are present in the Maldives, and the particular geographical conformation of the various atolls, make the different areas of this archipelago just as attractive in most periods of the year. Therefore, you will find the eastward side reaches it maximum splendour during the months of November to May, while the westward side during the months of May to November.

During the Winter period (November-May) the winds are constant and the oceanic currents dominant, with an east-westerly direction. The east-side of the Maldives is continuously invested by limpid water full of nutrients coming from the Indian ocean, that is collected from the oceanic canals, the famous “pass”, the great pelagic where numerous prey can be found. Then the waters cross the atolls and exit westwards full of plankton, and here waiting for their favourite food are the great filterers such as Mantas and Whale sharks. This situation is inverted in the Summer period (May-November) when the winds and currents have a west-easterly direction and therefore the current carries the limpid waters westwards and the plankton accumulates to the east. It is clear that the itinerary also changes according to the length of the cruise, even though, lately is has been possible to carry out weekly cruises in many remote areas with one or more transfer by plane, thanks to the four national airports where the ISLAND AVIATION (Maldive airline) and seaplanes fly.