Expedition Overview

Dates: February 7 – March 1, 2026

Route: North Male > South & North Ari > Rasdhoo > Baa > Raa > Noonu > Shaviyani > Haa Dhaalu > Haa Alif > Hanimaadhoo (and back again)

Vessel: MY Carpe Vita

Leaders: Dr. Richard Smith & Wendy Brown

Itinerary Highlights

A trip to the Maldives had been on Wendy and Richard's wishlist for a long time, and these two back-to-back 11-night charters finally made it happen — Richard's first return to the Maldives in over a decade. For those of us who dive mostly in the Coral Triangle and Pacific, the Maldives offered the chance to explore one of the other great realms of tropical marine life, and the differences were immediately obvious. Even the ubiquitous pyramid butterflyfish look quite unlike the familiar yellow, black and white buddies we're used to, and the anemonefish here is found nowhere else.

Our route was designed to reach rarely visited atolls that most dive operators never get to, while minimising time in the strong currents and challenging channels that can make marine life observation so difficult. The return leg revisited the best of the outbound sites while adding entirely new ones, making it a genuine exploratory expedition rather than a standard Maldives circuit. We found various endemic and rarely see species. Richard even took the first images of a long-lost wrasse, previous known from only one image taken for the aquarium trade and the location of which had never been known.

Trip 1: North Male to Hanimaadhoo

7–18th February 2026

We began in North Male and worked our way north through South and North Ari, Rasdhoo, Baa, Raa, Noonu, Shaviyani and Haa Dhaalu, finishing in Haa Alif before ending the charter at Hanimaadhoo. There were stark differences between the atolls and sites. Some had species we would never see again. Some had more fish life than others, but each was interesting and unique in its own way.

Trip 2: Hanimaadhoo to North Male

18th February – 1st March 2026

Heading back south from Hanimaadhoo, we revisited the sites that had most impressed us on the way up — Haa Alif, Haa Dhaalu, Shaviyani, Noonu, Raa and Baa — while adding new locations through Rasdhoo, North Ari and South Ari before returning to North Male. The bulk of this charter was on the east side of the nation, whilst the first had prioriti

Diving Experience

• Marine life talks by Dr. Richard Smith

• Rarely visited northern atolls, away from the typical Maldives dive routes

• Indian Ocean biodiversity — a fascinating contrast to Pacific and Coral Triangle diving

• Newly described and undescribed species that Richard was actively seeking

• Comfortable accommodation aboard the 38-metre Carpe Vita

The Carpe Vita Experience

Carpe Vita is operated by Carpe Diem, who have more than 15 years of experience in the Maldives. At 38 metres with a 10-metre beam and just 10 cabins across three decks, she gave us plenty of space to spread out between dives. Diving ran off a dedicated dhoni and a small speedboat, which made for efficient, well-organised operations, and the guides were generous with their time and happy to work around our group preferences. The kitchen deserves its own mention: fresh, varied and genuinely excellent, with the crew accommodating every request with grace and good humour.

Images from the expedition showcase the incredible biodiversity and pristine coral reefs that make Indonesia's exciting diving frontiers.