Diving in the Maldives

Diving in the Maldives is considered one of the best diving destinations in the World. As beautiful as the Maldives islands are above the water, the same can be said for below, a veritable treasure trove of life, colours and sensations.

Over 1000 coral islands make up the Maldives have been described as 'emerald gem stones in a sea of turquoise'. Many islands have their own natural reefs which make them perfect for diving with life on the reefs being prolific and more than enough to keep you occupied on a dive.

The great thing diving in the Maldives for me is that its perfect for either beginners or experts. What could be better than learning to dive in the warm crystal blue sea.

Every year we send thousands of holiday makers off to the Maldives. From feedback and personal experiences we've selected what we think are the top 6 islands to go to if you're thinking of diving.

Our top 6 choices for diving:

1. Royal Island Resort and Spa, Baa Atoll - 5*
2. Bandos Island Resort and Spa, North Male Atoll - 4*
3. Kuredu Island Resort, Lhaviyani Atoll - 4*
4. Cinnamon Island Alidhoo, Haa Alifu Atoll - 5*
5. Iru Fushi Beach and Spa Resort, Noonu Atoll - 5*
6. Baros Maldives, North Male Atoll - 5*

How much does diving in the Maldives cost?
Well - if you've never dived before you will need to do a training course. These are called 'PADI' courses. We always recommend using a PADI certified school as its an internationally recognised training course. There are different levels but the 'basic' level will take 2-3 days and consist of 5 dives and 3 theory lessons. Each school is different but to give you an idea of price, it's about £185.

If you can already dive then you can book to go out on a series of dives before you go. To give you an idea of price (again it varies) but these prices are based on going to the Chaaya Reef Ellaidhoo island:

8 Dive Package: £186
12 Dive Package: £250
6 Days Diving (non-limit): £280

You'll get all of your kit, air etc included in this price. Sometimes boat transfers out to the dive sites are extra cost, depending on which dive site you wish to go to.

What is diving like in the Maldives?
You can chose from diving straight off of the beach or boat dives. The later is better if you like more variety or are more experienced. If you've never dived in the Maldives or are new to diving, you'll find diving straight from the beach is great fun.

Diving may be in shallow reef gardens filled with fish, or round thilas (submerged reefs) in strong currents. The channels between reefs also make good drift dives

Wreck Diving:
Within the Maldives there are a few wrecks which are great for breaking up the reef diving. You'll find these are dived more for the fish life found on them rather than for the wrecks themselves.

Liveaboard Boat Diving
These are great for varied diving. Each dive will be at a different location through the Maldives. You'll be surrounded by fellow divers to learn from and share expereinces. You'll live aboard a well equipped dive boat (but don't expect it to be quite like a cruise ship). You will be required to have at least twenty logged dives to dive from a liveaboard.

Liveaboard itineraries vary dependent on season and weather conditions and although prices may seem more expensive than day diving, but don’t forget that prices are all inclusive.

If you have experience of diving in the Maldives please do let us know and give us your top tips.

Animal Windfest a fantastic launch for Not Just Travel

Did you go to the Animal Windfest this year? If not where were you!! Being a bit of a watersports fanatic, I was there but I was able to also call it work :)

If you’ve not heard of Windfest then you need to get yourself along to www.animalwindfest.co.uk and make sure you’re at the next one as it’s the south coasts number one beach based watersports event. Everything from windsurfing to kitesurfing, thundercats to volleyball as well as the Animal Relentless Bike Tour (which if you haven’t seen you really need to check out http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cKxQjS0y_tw

The Animal Windfest was the perfect place for us to announce the launch of our new specialist watersports holiday team – a dedicated team of enthusiasts who are here to create the perfect watersports holidays. Unlike many companies – we don’t’ simply resell holidays, we’ll help you create the perfect holiday that’s right for you.

You can read all about it at www.notjusttravel.co.uk/windfest so I won’t explain all about it now – needless to say its very exciting. Windsurfing holidays, kitesurfing holidays and sailing and diving holidays are all part of our specialty hence why we were so thrilled to launch it all at Windfest 2009.

However what I would say is – did you see these 2 girls at Windfest? If so did you enter their competition to win a watersports holiday? If you did you could be hearing from us to say you’ve won!!! If not – don’t fear, you’ve another chance to win by going online to www.notjusttravel.co.uk/windfest and clicking on the ‘Win a Holiday’ graphic. It’s a luxury windsurfing holiday to the canary islands – including use of all the latest windsurfing equipment and mountain bikes.

If you did go and you did meet our team, we'd like to say a big thank you. Hundreds of you took the time to complete our competition forms and also to talk to us - so thank you! You might also have noticed we gave you a card with a unique website address on. With that card you'll also find we're giving you an extra £25 off any booking you make so make sure you check out our website for more details.

Did you go to Windfest? What did you think?

Taking Windsurfing Kit on Holiday

If you're planning a windsurfing holiday you've got two options. Hire kit in resort or take your own kit with you. As a windsurfing and watersports holiday specialist I do often get asked how you go about taking your kit on holiday with you.

Below I've tried to summarise what's involved in taking your kit with you. It'll help you make the important decision as to whether you hire kit or take your own. There is of course pros and cons to both.

Can I take windsurfing kit with me?
Simple answer is yes - but there is a limit to how much (unless you want to pay a small fortune).

How much kit can I take?
It's all dependent upon the airline you're flying with. However as a rule of thumb many will say the maximum luggage allowance you're allowed to take is 50kg - but this includes your normal clothing etc.

So if you relate that to how much kit

A typical board (such as a JP Super Sport 109 Pro) weighs 6.2kg
Add a board bag
3 sails
Sail bag
Boom
Mast

Is probably going to weigh in at about 25kg. That leaves you about 25kg max for all your extras. Don't forget you might also want a wetsuit, boots and a harness. To help you relate this to what you normally take on holiday - you normally have a 20kg allowance for your suitcase.

Of course you just need to do the maths on weight. It's more than possible to take 2 boards with you i.e. a wave and a slalom, just need to think through the weight.

Is it safe to take my windsurfing kit on a plane?
Yes, providing you're sensible and pack it correctly. I'd definitely recommend getting the following:

* Board Bag which you put your board, boom and 2 piece mast in
* Sail Quiver Bag to put your sails in
* Kit bag which can be for all your extras and normal luggage

Board bags and sail bags are going to protect most things and don't forget your board is pretty durable anyway.

How much will it cost to take my windsurfing kit on holiday?
Again it does depend on the airline so this is just a general rule of thumb. As a guide a short haul flight (such as Lanzarote) will cost £30 per bag (up to 32kg per bag) and a long haul flight (such as Dom Rep or Cape Verde) will cost £60 per bag.

Each airline charges differently and it's all governed by weight - but if you allow for the above you wont' go far wrong.

You pay per bag - so make sure you squeeze everything into as few a number of bags as possible.

Do's:

• Prebook at least a week in advance
• Take out insurance for all of your kit - separate to your normal holiday insurance
• Make sure you know you can store your kit securly when you get to your resort
• Make sure you know how you're going to transport it from the airport to resort
• Make sure your kit is well packed with no lose ends / straps etc

Don't

• Just turn up at the airport with your kit

What to do at the airport:
When you arrive at the airport you'll need to check in as normal at the check-in desk. Tell them you have prebooked extra luggage and describe what it is. They will direct you to a special area for oversize items. Take your windsurfing kit to the oversize luggage area (after you have checked in). From there they will take your kit and ensure it's loaded onto the plain. Make sure it is well labelled.

Don't forget:
You also need to plan how you're going to get your windsurfing kit to resort. You'll probably need to be hiring a car. Make sure you book one with a roof rack. Check before you go - don't leave it until you get to resort. Alternatively you could take a blow up roof rack with you.

AND - don't forget you're going to need some roof rack straps to tie your kit to the car.

Some airport transfer services will be able to take your kit but again its very important to check before you go.

Taxi's with roof racks can be booked in some resorts - again do so before you go.

For more help and advice please feel free to contact me at Not Just Travel and I'll be happy to help.

Windsurfing in Costa Teguise | Lanzarote

Ok, so I might be slightly biased because I keep going back to Costa Teguise, or maybe that speaks volumes on it's own! If you want an all round great destination for windsurfing in the sun, with wind, Costa Teguise in Lanzarote has got to be the place.

What makes it so good for a windsurfing holiday:

* Just a 4 hour flight from London
* Year round sun
* Fantastic wind every day
* Wind picks up throughout the day
* Great choice of accommodation
* Fantastic range of kit available in resort

There are two real places you'd windsurf in Lanzarote, Matagorda and Costa Teguise, with the later being the best for anything other than the beginners. Costa Teguise is about a 15 minute journey north of Aricefie airport. The main town is centred around the bay which is hugely popular for it's windsurfing. This picture perfect bay is home to some of the best bars and restaurants as well as having an excellently maintained beach ideal for those 'non windsurfers' in your party. At the Northern end of the bay you have one of the best hotels on the island, the Gran Melia Salinas. Walk around the peninsular and you're just a short walk (5 mins) from Sands Beach Villas (book online) which is perfect for those wanting to have quality self catering. It's also where the PBA competitors stayed last time they competed in Lanzarote. Ideal also if you are planning to take your own kit with you.

At the southern end of the bay you'll find surf shops, mountain bike hire shops, lots of choices of accommodation and some great bars. Most importantly you'll find my personal favourite in terms of windsurfing kit hire locations. Windsurfing Club Nathalie Simon may look fairly inconspicuous from the front, but behind the scenes it hides a vast array of sails and boards to cater for all abilities and conditions. Hire kit by the hour, day or week it really is that flexible. Last time I went I actually opted to pay at the end of the holiday and simply added up the amount of time I used the kit. The longer you hire, the cheaper it becomes.

What's good about hiring the kit:

* Choice of boards and rigs
* Swap and change kit as and when you like
* All the latest kit
* Hire wetsuits and harness

If you hire kit from the southern end of the beach (my preferred choice) you'll have to carry board and rig to the launch area which may take you a few minutes. The hire centre at the norther west end of the beach is right by the beach so you'll have a 30 second walk :)

Why is Costa Teguise so good for windsurfing:

* Constant wind
* Sheltered bay for intermediate / less experienced
* Open water with great varied conditions for lots of fun - 'get some air'
* Warm water conditions
* Very popular location so there are lots of windsurfers to watch and learn from
* Great locations for apre-windsurf

Safety
The other great thing I found was that the windsurfing hire shops keep and eye on you and have their own safety boats. So what ever your ability you know you're going to get home safely. Plus because you're surrounded by other windsurfers there is a real sense of community and everyone will help each other.

Lessons
You'll also find that the windsurfing hire shops provide lessons either as part of a small group or a one on one basis. I personally like the one on one as it's great for improving technique. They will come out on the water with you, so whether your looking to perfect your water start or improve your carve gybe it's the perfect location.

Just Windsurfers
It's also worth pointing out that because of the layout of the bay and the off shore wind conditions you'll find it's just windsurfers enjoying the area. To me this was a real bonus, espcially as I'm use to sailing in Poole where you get windsurfers and kitesurfers fighting for space.

What it's not so good for?
Absolute beginners might find it a little bit daunting. Novice friends of mine felt a little bit nervous because of the swimming area which is roped off and inveribably you will keep drifting into.

My summary of Windsurfing in Costa Teguise
It's a resort which does exactly what it says on the tin. It's clean, its got luxury accommodation and cheap and cheerful. It's a short enough plane journey to be able to go windsurfing for a weekend and it's cheap enough to do it on a regular basis. Above all though it's sunny all year round and the wind blows pretty much every single day. It's a short hop from the airport and nothing costs a lot. You don't need to take your kit with you as you'll find everything you need there.

Have you been?
Let me know what you think? Are you going and want some recommendations? Let me know.

If you're looking to book a holiday to Lanazarote then we can also help you.