MV Soleil II

MV Soleil II is an impressive 41m liveaboard that cruises the central, southern and northern atolls of the Maldives. All your liveaboard diving needs will be met on board this excellent 14 cabin, fibre-glass-hulled motor yacht. Up to 28 guests can be accommodated in a range of cabins, all with ensuite bathrooms and air-conditioning. Some even feature private balconies for that extra level of luxury.

This very spacious liveaboard has a huge indoor dining and saloon area, as well as outdoor options for both relaxing and enjoying your meals in the gentle tropical breezes. The indoor saloon features TV, DVD, Bluetooth speakers and music system, as well as books, magazines and board/card games. Guests often enjoy reviewing their video clips and photos on the big screen from each day of diving. You can also avail of the bar for sundowner drinks and then slip into the hot tub to relax your cares away.

Diving is done from the dhoni - the Blue Marine 7 - which houses all your gear and keeps tank-refill noise to a minimum. You can choose between 12 and 14 litre tanks. The dhoni features camera table, rinse tanks, fresh water showers and a toilet for your post-dive relief. Soleil's Maldives safaris are suitable for divers of all ability levels as the experienced dive team will always look after you. Non-divers can enjoy plenty of snorkeling as there is a 6m 60 HP motorised dinghy for reef and beach excursions.

Although it can take a large number of guests, MV Soleil II is so spacious and well laid-out, you will never feel cramped and always find a quiet spot for yourself during your Maldives liveaboard diving adventure.

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Dive experience: An open water diver certification and a minimum of 20 logged dives are required to join the central atolls cruises. An advanced diver certification and 50 logged dives are required to join safaris in the Deep South.

Cruise price per person includes: Cabin accommodation with air-conditioning, breakfast, lunch, dinner, snacks, drinking water, hot drinks, return transfer to the boat from the local airport, dives (as detailed in the trips above), experienced English speaking dive guides (5 divers per guide), SMB, reef hook, tanks, weights and weight belt, Green Tax, 12% GST on cruise price.

Cruise price per person excludes (mandatory, unless customer provides own): Scuba equipment (incl. dive computer US$ 210 per week), diving insurance, Hanifaru Bay park fee (US$ 30), service charge (US$ 18 per day), BBQ Island entrance fee (if arranged) US$ 10 per entrance. Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival (cash or credit card).

Optional extras: Soft drinks, alcoholic drinks, nitrox fills for enriched air certified divers (US$ 6 per dive), extra day dives (US$ 35 each), extra night dives (US$ 40 each), 15 litre tanks (US$ 6 per day), torch (US$ 7 per day), introduction to diving experience (for non-divers). Unless otherwise stated, all the listed items need to be paid on arrival. Note: prices of items purchased onboard are subject to change.

How to get there: The MV Soleil II liveaboard normally departs from Male (Hulumale Lakudi jetty). The first and last nights of the cruise are spent in the harbour. Guests can arrive at any time from 6 am on Day 1 to 6 am on Day 2 and will be met at the airport (based upon their flight schedule), near the information desk, and transferred to the boat. Recommended pick up time is between 12 noon and 6 pm, since cruise service begins with lunch on Day 1. Guests may disembark any time after 6 pm on the penultimate day until 6 pm on the final day and be transferred to the airport, although it is recommended to disembark 9 am - 1 pm on the final day since service ends with breakfast on the final day. Early check-in/late check-out with lunch US$ 40.
For more details, including airlines, see our How to get to the Maldives section. The last dive of the trip will be at around 15:00 hrs on the second last day of the trip. Please wait at least 18 hours before flying after diving.

Non-diver rate: Non-divers receive a discount of 10%.

Single supplement (if you do not want to share accommodation): This is optional - single travelers may choose to share a cabin or pay a supplement of 30% of the published price for their own cabin.

Dive clubs and group discounts: Pay for 6 guests and 1 extra persons can join the cruise free of charge.

Whole boat charter rate (per night): Pay for 20 guests and 4 additional persons can join the cruise free of charge (max. 28 guests).

Maldives Central Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, hammerhead sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: North Male: Maagiri, Felidhoo: Alimaatha, Miyaru Kandu, Dhevana Kandu; Ari: Kudarah Thila, Maamagili, Moofushi Manta Point, Maaya Thila, Himandhoo Thila, Fesdhu, Vilamendhoo, Five Rocks, Rangali Manta, Rai Dhiga, Panathone, Fish Head, Bathala Maagau; South Male: Embudhoo Express, Guraidhoo Corner, Kandooma, Fish Tank, Kudahaa

Day 1
Arrive at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male and meet the Soleil II tour leader. Enjoy the short dhoni trip from the airport to the liveaboard that will be your home for the next few days. After boarding have a welcome drink and listen to the detailed boat introduction. Refreshments and dinner (depending on your arrival time) will be served during the day. The boat leaves the harbour the following morning at first light.

Days 2-7
The cruise will have many highlights thanks in part to the sometimes strong currents around the border of the atolls, called 'kandus' in the Dhivehi language, which bring the large predators. These include grey reef sharks and whitetips, and also schools of tuna and oceanic manta rays. A thila is instead an underwater island. Usually they are home to a beautiful array of soft and hard coral formations attracting a wide variety of marine life. Frequent encounters can be expected with moray eels, Napoleon wrasse, pufferfish, meaty nurse sharks, and triggerfish, among others found in the Maldives Central Atolls. For lovers of the big stuff, whale sharks are common sights in these waters too.
You will make up to 3 amazing dives a day - 2 morning dives and an afternoon dive. Your day starts at 06:30 hrs with a pre-breakfast of hot drinks, toast and biscuits while listening to the dive briefing. The dhoni then takes you to the site where you will jump in with your group. A 2nd dive follows a bigger, cooked breakfast that includes fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurt, eggs, toast and beans or lentils. Tea, coffee, soft drinks and drinking water are available 24 hours a day. Lunch is buffet-style and served in the air-conditioned dining area on the main deck. Dinner is enjoyed in the top deck open air with gorgeous ever-changing Maldivian views. Expect dishes including international favourites as well as some flavourful South Asian specialties. Biscuits, bread/toast, candy bars, cakes and fruit are available throughout the day. A delicious barbecue on a deserted soft sand beach is also on the weekly schedule.
Please note that there is only 1 dive on the last full day of the trip, before heading to Male.

Day 8
Wake up to the final breakfast of your Maldives diving safari served in the early morning. Say your farewells, take your last group pictures and swap contact details with your new-found friends before being transferred back to Male airport. If you have flight's late in the day there are options to stay on the boat longer, have lunch, snorkel and more.

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Maldives Northern Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 16 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, manta rays, turtles, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: North Male, Lhaviyani, Baa atolls, including Hanifaru Bay

Day 1
Arrive at Ibrahim Nasir International Airport in Male and meet the Soleil II tour leader. Enjoy the short dhoni trip from the airport to the liveaboard that will be your home for the next few days. After boarding have a welcome drink and listen to the detailed boat introduction. Refreshments and dinner (depending on your arrival time) will be served during the day. The boat leaves the harbour the following morning at first light.

Days 2-7
Get ready to enjoy an amazing cruise to the little visited northern atolls, including Baa Atoll. Baa was declared a UNESCO World Biosphere and its amazing reefs offer a wide variety of marine life, ranging from small fishes and turtles to the giant filter feeders - mantas and whale sharks. Walls and thilas full of hard and soft corals, plateaus, overhangs, pinnacles and swim-throughs are all yours to explore. Here you will snorkel in the world famous Hanifaru Bay, a marine protected area where hundreds of manta rays gather, from May to November, in a spectacular feeding frenzy. Watch them barrel roll as they scoop up huge mouthfuls of nourishing plankton. By regulation, only snorkeling is allowed here, but there are many fascinating dive sites nearby.
At Lhaviyani Atoll, the channels attract a lot of marine life including grey reef sharks, leopard sharks, guitar sharks, eagle rays, and there are plenty of colourful soft corals. Diving on pinnacles are also one of the highlights of the tour, as they shelter fish from the currents. Near Lhaviyani you will dive the most famous wreck site - The Shipyard - 2 wrecks located at different depths close together and surrounded by an abundance of marine life. North Male features thilas, reefs and drop offs that are rich in nutrients that attract large pelagics like manta rays. Other highlights include Napoleon wrasse, hawksbill turtles, giant trevally, barracudas and other schools of large fish.
You will make up to 3 amazing dives a day - 2 morning dives and an afternoon dive. Your day starts at 06:30 hrs with a pre-breakfast of hot drinks, toast and biscuits while listening to the dive briefing. The dhoni then takes you to the site where you will jump in with your group. A 2nd dive follows a bigger, cooked breakfast that includes fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurt, eggs, toast and beans or lentils. Tea, coffee, soft drinks and drinking water are available 24 hours a day. Lunch is buffet-style and served in the air-conditioned dining area on the main deck. Dinner is enjoyed in the top deck open air with gorgeous ever-changing Maldivian views. Expect dishes including international favourites as well as some flavourful South Asian specialties. Biscuits, bread/toast, candy bars, cakes and fruit are available throughout the day. A delicious barbecue on a deserted soft sand beach is also on the weekly schedule.
Please note that there is only 1 dive on the last full day of the trip, before heading to Male.

Day 8
Wake up to the final breakfast of your Maldives diving safari served in the early morning. Say your farewells, take your last group pictures and swap contact details with your new-found friends before being transferred back to Male airport. If you have flight's late in the day there are options to stay on the boat longer, have lunch, snorkel and more.

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Maldives Deep South & Southern Atolls (8 Days / 7 Nights - 17 Dives)

Trip highlights: whale sharks, shark action, manta rays, schooling fish & big pelagics

Diving environment: advanced divers, beginner divers, cage diving, caverns, drift diving, healthy reefs, off the beaten track, very popular, wall diving, wreck diving

Dive sites and activities: Huvadhoo: Villingili, Kooddoo Beyru; Fuvahmulah: Tiger Zoo, Plateau; Addu Manta Point

Day 1
Arrive at Gan International Airport in Addu and meet the Soleil II tour leader. Enjoy the short dhoni trip from the airport to the liveaboard that will be your home for the next few days. After boarding have a welcome drink and listen to the detailed boat introduction. Refreshments and dinner (depending on your arrival time) will be served during the day. The boat leaves the harbour the following morning at first light.

Days 2-7
For many, the highlight of a visit to the Deep South are the apex predators at Fuvahmulah Island. Be prepared for awesome encounters with thresher sharks, oceanic whitetips and tiger sharks. Here you'll dive with a variety of large predators as they hunt the abundant smaller fish. Whitetip reef and grey reef sharks, mola mola, sailfish, whale sharks, and schools of tuna are frequently seen.
Huvadhoo is made up of vibrant reefs, untouched lagoons, walls and deep channels. Stingrays, turtles and a variety of sharks including blacktip and whitetip reef sharks, nurse sharks, spinner dolphins, manta rays, thresher sharks and big schools of fish are frequent visitors here. Occasionally you will also find hammerheads too. The cruise also includes some extraordinary dives at Addu. There are over 30 world class sites surrounding the atoll, in the wide channels, and healthy reefs and thilas inside the lagoon, where you can see reef mantas, turtles, sharks, big fish, and the largest shipwreck in the Maldives - the 143m long British Loyalty. Along the outer walls you can spot dogtooth tuna, silvertips, schools of batfish, fusiliers and jackfish. The atoll is home to cleaning stations for oceanic manta rays of more than 5m wing span, as well as more shark species.
You will make up to 3 amazing dives a day - 2 morning dives and an afternoon dive, plus a night dive or two. Your day starts at 06:30 hrs with a pre-breakfast of hot drinks, toast and biscuits while listening to the dive briefing. The dhoni then takes you to the site where you will jump in with your group. A 2nd dive follows a bigger, cooked breakfast that includes fresh fruit, cereals, yoghurt, eggs, toast and beans or lentils. Tea, coffee, soft drinks and drinking water are available 24 hours a day. Lunch is buffet-style and served in the air-conditioned dining area on the main deck. Dinner is enjoyed in the top deck open air with gorgeous ever-changing Maldivian views. Expect dishes including international favourites as well as some flavourful South Asian specialties. Biscuits, bread/toast, candy bars, cakes and fruit are available throughout the day. A delicious barbecue on a deserted soft sand beach is also on the weekly schedule.

Day 8
Wake up to the final breakfast of your Maldives diving safari served in the early morning. Say your farewells, take your last group pictures and swap contact details with your new-found friends before being transferred to Kooddoo airport in Huvadhoo for your flight back to Male. If you have flight's late in the day there are options to stay on the boat longer, have lunch, snorkel and more.
Note: this cruise sometimes runs in reverse so please check exact port details above.

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[Information is best estimate in ideal circumstances and subject to changes beyond our control. The itinerary is a guide only and may be adapted to best suit the weather, tides, currents, availability and other prevailing events. Price is for the cruise, not for an exact number of dives].

The MV Soleil II has a total of 14 spacious 'hotel-room' cabins: The lower deck has 4 Standard cabins (19 sqm) with twin or double beds and 3 Large Standard cabins (24 sqm) with 2 queen-size beds each. The main deck has 2 Master cabins (24 sqm) with king-size double or twin bed. The upper deck has 6 Balcony cabins (13 sqm) with king-size double or twin beds and private balcony. All of the cabins feature an ensuite bathroom.

All the cabins have: No. of bathrooms / showers - 14/ 15- hot water

The crew of 15 comprises: Complimentary nitrox - Dhoni (see below) - Motorised dinghy - Saloon with TV, DVD, wi-fi internet & music system - Book library, movies, games & magazines - Fish ID & diving books - Restaurant with bar - Sun deck with sun chairs, mattresses & whirlpool tub - Upper deck open-air shaded area - Water dispenser

All the diving in the Maldives onboard Soleil II liveaboard safaris is done from an accompanying 19m long dhoni. This boat carries all the guests' dive equipment, the compressors and scuba tanks. There are a toilet and fresh water showers on board, rinse tanks, and a camera table.

The dining experience on MV Soleil usually begins on the day of arrival with dinner. Each day involves a pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch and dinner. Snacks including crackers and fruit are available all day. Influences include local, Chinese and Italian food, as well as international dishes and a BBQ weather permitting.

• Maldivian and International cuisine, with weekly island BBQ.
• Main meals are served buffet-style in the air-conditioned restaurant or in the open air, and comprise pre-breakfast, breakfast, lunch and dinner, with snacks in between.
• Snacks, bread/toast, fresh fruit, drinking water, and tea & coffee are available free of charge.
• Soft drinks, beer, wine and spirits are available for purchase.
• First meal served is dinner on the first day of the safari, depending on your time of arrival.
• All special diets can be catered for with prior notice.

Sample dishes: Fresh fish curry with saffron rice; fried squid with pasta; vegetable fritters with fresh salad ...

Customer reviews:

"Excellent boat - spacious and lots of places for lounging. The diving groups were kept fairly small - 6 per divemaster. The crew and staff were all very welcoming and friendly. Would definitely go again. Incredible diving. Vic (Dive The World) was helpful with answering questions and getting us the best deal..." - Ling Chen, United States, 23 January 2022 ...