We recently visited Island Break Maldives in January and had a fantastic trip. This was in large part because of the scuba diving experiences we had during our stay. Island break sets up excursion through Dive Different and we were grateful for the introduction.
Dive Different is a small dive company that is run by husband and wife, Simbe and Bolette. Simbe is a local Maldivian and Bolette hales from Denmark. We immediately clicked with them both and knew that we were in good hands.
Small Dive Shops vs. Large
Diving with large companies can be lame because of the amount of people that they take out on dives. It is easy to get lost in the shuffle and feel like you don’t have the same attention that you find with a smaller company. Both Simbe and Bolette were hands on and took their time to explain what to expect with any given dive.
Equipment
Briana has been diving for over 13 years and has done so all over the world. For this reason, I differ to her assessment when it comes to dive shops. She was very impressed with the condition of all the equipment and the fact that every diver was provided with a personal dive computer. Lots of shops, in our experience, can have pretty beat up masks and fins. Everything that we rented from the shop was in great condition.
Professional
Years ago I had a terrible introduction to scuba diving. I dove with a company in Mexico to go see some bull sharks. The short version of the story is that both the dive master and the boat left me alone in open water in an extremely swift current. Needless to say, it was a pretty awful experience and left me frazzled.
It wasn’t until I met Simbe and Bolette that I regained the confidence and piece of mind to scuba dive again. They took their time with me and put my mind at ease with their attention to detail. They are passionate about what they do and that passion pushes them to make sure customers have the best experience possible.
Dive Sites
The dive sites that we visited were absolutely breathtaking. Briana and I did some separate dives according with each of our respective skill levels. Many companies will lump the novices and experienced divers together but Dive Different made sure to provide the best individual experience for each of us.
Being a local, Simbe knew all the best locations and perfect times to visit. The aquatic life was a wide array of eagle rays, stingrays, sea turtles, reef sharks, moray eels, nurse sharks and so much more. The visibility was so clear that sometime it felt like we were at the surface even when 30 meters below.
What makes them special
Bolette and Simbe have great personalities that put you at ease. They both speak excellent English and went above and beyond to ensure we were happy. Their adventurousness and humor made them a joy to be around and we look forward to diving with them in the future.
The level of communication that they maintain allowed them to plan the perfect dives for us both. Like everything else in life, people who are passionate about their work make for the best experiences. It was cute to see this lovely couple, in their element, playing with bubbles under the water.
Fulidhoo has some of the best diving around and Dive Different is the best company to dive with in the area. Plan your next diving trip with them with the knowledge that you are supporting a local business and two wonderful people who will make sure you have the best dives possible. Check out their Instagram to see examples of their dives.
//www.instagram.com/embed.js
A Dash of Life 