Centre de plongée Sea Explorer - Le bateau

Sea Explorer is located on Filaidhoo Island in the Raa Atoll, situated within the Reethi Faru Resort. The island's house reef is exceptionally close to the shore, sitting just 30 to 80 metres away, making it easily accessible for those looking to explore the local coral gardens.

With more than 35 years of experience operating in the Maldives, the centre has established itself as a highly professional PADI 5 Star operation. Whether you are arriving via a 45-minute seaplane flight or a domestic flight followed by a speedboat transfer, you are positioned in one of the most diverse atoll environments in the archipelago.

The team is composed of 8 instructors, a divemaster, a snorkeling instructor, and dedicated support staff including compressor technicians and boat crew. This professional structure ensures that training and guided dives are handled with precision and care.

Instruction is delivered in small groups, with a strict maximum of 4 students per instructor for courses and 4 divers per guide for excursions. For those seeking more autonomy, individual diving is available for Advanced Open Water divers with at least 50 logged dives, following an orientation dive and a consultation.

Communication is straightforward as the team is multilingual, speaking English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Bengali, and Dhivehi. This allows for clear briefings and a comfortable learning environment for international divers.

As a PADI 5 Star centre, the course catalogue is extensive, catering to every stage of a diver's progression. Beginners can start with Discover Scuba Diving or the Scuba Diver course, progressing through to Open Water Diver and Advanced Open Water Diver.

For those looking to specialise, the centre offers the Nitrox Specialty Course, Deep Diver, Night Diver, and Shark Diver. More advanced training includes the Rescue Diver course and the Divemaster programme. They also offer unique local training such as the Maldivian Shark Ecology Distinctive Specialty Course and Digital Underwater Photographer.

The centre operates using Fiber Dhonis and a speedboat to reach the various dive sites around the Raa Atoll. These vessels allow for efficient transit to both the nearby house reef and more distant locations.

Safety is a priority on all trips, with oxygen available on every boat. Each dive group is also equipped with a Nautilus LifeLine Marine Rescue GPS to ensure reliable tracking and communication while out at sea.

The centre provides a full range of rental kit from reputable brands including Cressi, BigBlue, and Scubapro. This includes everything required for a complete dive, from regulators to wetsuits and fins.

Nitrox is available and provided at no extra cost to those holding the appropriate certification. For those interested in the technical side of marine life, the centre also runs marine biology programmes involving coral planting and studies on sharks, turtles, and manta rays.

The reefs are teeming with life, from resident clownfish and moray eels in the crevices of the Aquarium site to large schools of fish in the open water. You will regularly encounter eagle rays, grey reef sharks, giant trevally, silvertip sharks, and various species of tuna.

In the deeper sections or along the walls, look out for Napoleon wrasse, sweetlips, and batfish. The presence of turtles, including green turtles and hawksbill turtles, is a common highlight across many of the local sites.

Manta rays are a significant attraction, with sightings possible almost year-round, though the massive aggregations at Hanifaru Bay are most reliable from May to November. Whale sharks are also a rare and sought-after sight in the region.

The reef structure itself is a vibrant landscape of hard corals and colourful reef flats, providing the essential habitat for the vast array of resident fish and invertebrates.

Diving in the Raa Atoll can involve varying conditions depending on the site. Some locations feature stronger currents, which often provide the opportunity to see larger pelagic species.

In Hanifaru Bay, divers should be prepared for strong lunar currents. During the South West Monsoon, from May to November, increased plankton levels in the Baa Atoll attract significant numbers of manta rays to the area.