Maldives
December – March
The Maldives is a chain of coral atolls in the central Indian Ocean, built from a submerged volcanic ridge that leaves each atoll ringed by reef and open lagoon. Ari Atoll, known as Alifu Atoll on official charts, sits roughly 35 kilometres southwest of Malé and, at around 40 kilometres long with more than 100 islands, is the country’s second-largest atoll.
This 6-day, 5-night yacht charter itinerary in the Maldives runs from a domestic transfer out of Malé into Ari Atoll and back to Villa International Airport at Maamigili, tracing the atoll from north to south. Guests spend the opening days around North Ari’s reef pinnacles, including Maaya Thila and the hammerhead grounds off Rasdhoo, before moving through Central Ari’s wreck and channel dives, then south into the South Ari Atoll Marine Protected Area, a 42-kilometre protected corridor along the atoll’s eastern reef where whale sharks are sighted year-round. Two days are set aside in the south to allow time for whale shark and manta ray encounters without rushing the schedule. The route stays inside a single atoll throughout, so crossings are short and anchorages change daily rather than requiring long open-water passages.
