Fuvahmulah

Everything runs from the island itself. Beds are in local guesthouses, the dive centres work out of the harbour, and boats are small and quick because the drop-offs are minutes away rather than the long transits most Maldives diving involves. Mornings start early, since the dawn dives depend on first light and quieter water. There is no atoll around the island to shelter behind, so a windy forecast reshapes the whole schedule rather than just moving a site or two.

Fuvahmulah is a one-island atoll sitting just south of the equator, and that shape dictates how a dive is run. Sites are sections of the island's edge: a corner, a shelf of sand, a ridge with blue on one side and rock on the other. So you descend fast, stay tight as a group, hold position on the structure instead of wandering, and let the crew pick you up wherever the drift ends. Reef scenery is a side note; the topography mainly gives the sharks somewhere to be.

The tiger dive is run as a set piece: a briefed formation on the sand, everyone low and still, guides working between the group and the animals. The aggregation has long been associated with fish waste discarded at the harbour. It is watched rather than swum, and it rewards anyone who can hold trim without kicking. The rest of a week is open-water waiting: a ridge at first light, blue in every direction, and sometimes nothing. Divers after coral gardens or an easy first trip out of the course are better served elsewhere.